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A Memoir
by Kendrick Perkins
Kendrick "Perk" Perkins is known for his blunt, opinionated, "carry the hell on" commentary on ESPN's most popular shows. As a fourteen year NBA player and starting center for the 2008 NBA champion Boston Celtics, Perk earned a reputation as an enforcer, a fierce defender, and a great teammate. Now, in The Education of Kendrick Perkins, he opens a different side of himself: a powerful and intimate memoir that goes beyond basketball to discuss the reality of being Black in America.
Abandoned by his father, then orphaned after the murder of his mother, Perk was raised by his grandparents in a small Texas town. He left their home at age eighteen, drafted out of high school by the legendary Celtics. For a country boy, Boston was a completely new world, and the NBA a league of legends: Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Kevin Garnett, James Harden, Shaquille O'Neal, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Durant, and more. Perk had to learn how to play with and against these stars, while adjusting to life on the road as a professional athlete.
But his education went beyond basketball. In this book, Perk reveals his awakening consciousness of larger issues that affected him, his fellow players, and Black Americans:
Honest, fearless, dramatic, filled with stories about life on and off the court, The Education of Kendrick Perkins is a unique memoir that shows how he and we all can "carry the hell on."
"A former NBA player reflects on lessons learned as a player, many centering on racism in professional sports and society in general...The author writes pointedly of the need for Black athletes to speak against injustice as they did in the 1960s before being silenced with money and endorsements—here, he singles out Michael Jordan—and to resist racism in all its guises. A well-balanced blend of activism and memoir that looks far beyond the court and locker room." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Former NBA center Perkins takes readers behind the scenes of pro hoops and shares his views on racism in this affecting memoir...Perkins's inside view of how Black NBA athletes have fought for equality over the course of history is eye-opening. This will resonate with basketball fans and champions of social justice." - Publishers Weekly
"Kendrick Perkins is the bold and educational voice we need today. Every single word he speaks will challenge, enlighten and encourage you to become a better version of yourself and see a better version of the world. Perkins' riveting stories about the NBA, his upbringing and social justice will make this book impossible to put down." - Emmanuel Acho, New York Times bestselling author of Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man
"It makes sense that the most exciting, authentic and knowledgeable basketball analyst in the world would create a stunning, revealing memoir. But I was still shocked at the wonder of this memoir. After reading The Education of Kendrick Perkins, you will understand why none of us should ever doubt the mind, nor the gumption of Kendrick Perkins ever again. It's hard to make a layered classic memoir and that's exactly what Kendrick Perkins has done. Though the book moves from region to region, Kendrick carries his south with him, and consistently interrogates himself, and the NBA. The book is flat out brilliant. Now carry the hell on." - Kiese Laymon, MacArthur award-winning author of Heavy
"From Beaumont to Boston and beyond, The Education of Kendrick Perkins takes the reader on a journey through Black history and Black social thought to give a unique perspective of what it is like for a Black man to make it in the NBA." - Louis Moore, author of We Will Win the Day: The Civil Rights Movement, the Black Athlete, and the Quest for Equality
This information about The Education of Kendrick Perkins was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Kendrick "Perk" Perkins played fourteen years in the NBA and helped lead the Boston Celtics to their first NBA championship since the Larry Bird era. He is widely known as one of the greatest teammates in NBA history and a true star in his role. Since retiring from basketball, Perk has become one of the most unique, charismatic and provocative analysts in sports media. He appears on ESPN's most popular shows, including NBA Today, NBA Countdown, First Take, and Get Up. He lives in Houston, Texas.
Seth Rogoff is a novelist, cultural critic, and professor of history and English at the University of Southern Maine, where he also teaches creative writing. He lives in Portland, ME.
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