Not a Game, The Incredible Rise and Unthinkable Fall of Allen Iverson by Kent Babb

Not a Game, The Incredible Rise and Unthinkable Fall of Allen Iverson by Kent Babb was received from the publisher in exchange for this review. I am NOT a huge sports fan and I do not follow the National basketball Association for certain. However, when I saw this book, I had to obtain it and read it. The reason why was I had met Allen Iverson, live and in person in late 2005 or 2006, in a hotel in a affluent part of Philadelphia. When I say “met,” what I really mean is, I was working in Philly and staying in a hotel that Iverson and his “crew/posse/gang of thugs,” was also occupying. I was led to believe that Iverson rented a room non stop in this hotel for parties and whatever else he may want a room outside his home for. Iverson and his crew hung out in the bar, which they seemed to think was theirs and theirs alone. Being a obstinate law enforcement type, I was not about to allow them to run me out of “my”: hotel bar, so for two evenings I made myself sit in the bar and get as close to THE Allen Iverson as I could, all the while Binging him to see who exactly this was. My impression of him was that this multi millionaire was being led astray because he was still trying to live the thug life. If he ditched his crew he could be a made man for the rest of his life, because we all know the body will give out with age. As he was going, he was going through thousands of dollars a evening, all the while protecting his public image as a thug and spending freely on his entourage, which was good for them but they were obviously taking advantage of him. Further, as the evening progressed, not that I hung in a hotel bar for more than a few hours, but as Iverson drank, he seemed to get meaner and his crew became more protective in trying to act as if they owned the bar. If you were ever in north Philly in the 2000’s and saw a Bentley illegally parked outside a name brand hotel, you may have just missed seeing Iverson in his prime. As the years progressed and I watched his fall in the media, I only wished I had risked a possible beat down and insisted on getting a photograph with Iverson. Time goe on to early 2015 and I then read this book which describes, in great detail, my thoughts on the man that is Allen Iverson as being true. If you like(d) Allen Iverson, or the NBA or just want to read a true story about a troubled multi-millionaire athlete who managed to turn 150+ million into 47 cents, this is the book for you. If you know someone else who likes these type true stories, please get this book as a gift for them. Maybe Iverson will do a book signing tour without his entourage and you can meet the man, the myth, the legend.

4 Stars.