Historical Reading

On this page are published reviews of
History books recently read & enjoyed
by Manhattanville History people.

	When I was a child, William Shirer's The Rise & Fall of the Third Reich was on my parents' bookshelf. This 1960 classic endured for a long, long time due to its narrative power; Shirer had been a foreign correspondent in Nazi Germany and so was an eyewitness to many of the events he described. As scholarship proceeded, more and more came to be known about the war, and so the need for a "replacement" for Shirer's book became clearer. Cambridge University's Richard Evans has now completed two of the projected three volumes in his history of the Third Reich's rise and fall, and I think Shirer will at last have been superseded. Having read them as background for my World War II course, I can testify to Evans's achievement. His judgments are fair and his anecdotes, many derived from contemporaneous diaries and official papers, offer what is always the best view of history as it unfolds: those caught up in it, who have limited awareness and do not know how things are going to turn out. People always wonder how it was possible for the Nazis ever to have appealed to large numbers of people; Evans shows the context of national despair, arising first from defeat in World War I and revivifying with the 1920s hyper-inflation and then the mass unemployment of the Great Depression, and stresses the totalitarian employment of propaganda and violence along with considerable political astuteness that enshrined Nazi control and led to the tragedies and horrors of World War II. One anticipates the third volume, which will cover the war years, greatly. --L. Bowling Winning is an Attitude: A Season in the life of John Chaney and the Temple Owls, by Steve Wartenberg. This past year John Chaney was criticized for his decision to send a player into a game against rival St. Joseph’s, for the purpose of being physical and “sending a message.” The end result was a player on St. Joe’s with a broken arm and, according to the media, a coach’s reputation tarnished. For weeks Chaney was the main topic of conversation in the sports world, as most people jumped on the opportunity to criticize someone who had come across as standoffish and mean. It was not easy to find anyone defending Chaney, not just his actions in the game, but Chaney the man. But there were and are certainly a number of people who defend him with everything they have. There is a reason for that loyalty to Chaney and in his book, “Winning is an Attitude,” Steve Wartenberg makes that clear. John Chaney believes that coaches should not be judged on their win-loss records. He believes that many of the great coaches have losing records or have been fired. His point is that the role of a coach is to teach players about the importance of education and continually striving for success. Chaney wants to win as bad as any coach, but he believes that winning is secondary to teaching and demanding that his players get their education. Chaney grew up in one of the poorest sections of Philadelphia and is now coaching one of its premier colleges. A former Philly legend himself, Chaney entered the coaching ranks after a successful stint playing in the Eastern Professional League at a time when African-Americans were very limited in the opportunities the NBA permitted them. Chaney over the years has grown quite fond of his years as a player and believes that had he been given the shot, he would have made a fine NBA player. But if he had, he would not be nearly as great a coach as he has become. It is because of his own personal struggles that he was able to become such a great teacher and coach. Playing in the Eastern League forced Chaney to find a full time job to support himself and his young wife. He began teaching at a public school in Philadelphia. He also began coaching and quickly found that coaching was much more rewarding and promising than playing. From 1956 to 1972 Chaney taught and coached at Philadelphia public high schools, quickly earning a reputation as tough and demanding, yet highly successful. After the 1972 season he was presented with the opportunity to coach at Division II Cheyney State. In his 10 years at Cheyney he won a national championship along with over 200 games. For a period of time at Cheyney, he continued to teach and was even named one of the best teachers in the state in 1978. In the summer of 1982 Chaney was hired to resurrect a mediocre basketball program at Temple, a school with a long, successful basketball history. This book details the 1989-90 season for the Temple Owls. Wartenberg follows the team around much like John Feinstein did in his book A Season on the Brink. In that book, Bob Knight emerged as a scary, ill-tempered coach, befitting the image we already had of him. However, in *Winning is an Attitude, the typical image of Chaney as a mean, old coach is changed drastically. In fact, Chaney emerges from this story as a kind, caring and compassionate man. He doesn’t recruit your typical “blue chip”, perfect player; instead he recruits players with an edge, coming from poor backgrounds, often Philadelphia. In essence, he recruits himself. He seems to love the challenge of working with these types of players. The reason for this is the reward for seeing a player turn himself around and make something positive out of his life. There are many examples in the book of former players coming back to a practice and getting a hug from Chaney who then tells the team about how successful that player has turned out to be. He constantly preaches the importance of education and not wasting the opportunity that college provides. His practices are more like a lecture from a professor than a coach demanding the perfection of his X’s and O’s. He is a teacher at heart and that is what he brings to his players: a nonstop education on how to not only survive, but on how to win at life. What emerges from this book is a man whom one cannot help but admire. He is a man who believes strongly in education and in helping those who do not get a fair shot at an education. He fights endlessly for what he believes in, especially regarding the NCAA and Proposition 48. On paper, it would appear that his teams at Temple have been very successful. But to see how truly successful his players have been, this book provides the necessary window. Chaney gives unlimited access to the author and it becomes clear that the author is won over by what he sees from Chaney on a daily basis. In looking back at the incident that occurred this past season, one cannot help but feel compassion for the player who was injured, but also for Chaney. Chaney made a mistake, one that he admits to and is sincerely apologetic for. He went to the home of the injured player and asked for forgiveness from the player and his parents. He was suspended for the remainder of the season. In other words, he has paid for his sin. Such a great man should not be continually punished and reminded of his mistake. His good far outweighs his wrong. This book is an excellent look at not just a basketball coach, but an excellent teacher, one who has made a great impact on the lives of many people. John Chaney is an amazing person and this book makes us realize that. --Patrick Scanlon '03*