Finished 12-26-11, rating 4.5/5, non-fiction, 202 pages, pub. 2004

Never lie

Never cheat

Never steal

Don’t whine

Don’t complain

Don’t make excuses

Joshua Hugh Wooden’s “two sets of threes” to live by (John Wooden’s father)

John Wooden, a basketball coaching legend, won 10 national championships in his 27 years at UCLA, but it was his honest and positive approach to life that won him a multitude of fans.  This book chronicles some of the biggest moments of his life and how they influenced him, from his father reading poetry to he and his brothers to the death of his beloved Nell in 1985.  He loved his family, respected others, and was always striving for success, on the court and off.

Jason and I read this aloud to each other for a few minutes each night as Gage listened or played, a perfect book for it.  I hope that Jason will read this with Gage when he gets older.  Wooden is role model because of the way he lived his life.  He had success after success and yet he was always trying to learn lessons from perceived failings.  It was so refreshing to read about someone considered the best in their field who was also just a decent human being. He was 99 when he died in 2010.

The book had lots of pictures and lots of basketball talk and is a perfect read for fathers & sons. 

This book was from my personal library.