Yale R. Jaffe knows basketball - he has been involved in the sport for years.
For some of us who haven't gone to a high school basketball game in many years, Advantage/Disadvantage was certainly an eye opener.
I remember one of my cousins married in a very small town, where Friday night football was truly king - I could imagine the kind of intruige would go on someplace like there, but why I didn't think about a big town like Chicago.
Mr. Jaffe has expertly woven stories of characters, from Marcus, a black man who had his career broken by his wife's mistake, his best friend, a high school basketball coach, who learns that his 'kids' are teaching him great lessons, and he is making a difference in thier lives, a crooked bookie who calls the shots in the betting on the games, and a local sports reporter with whom he gets into a scheme of advantage/disadvantage,where the results can be quite lucrative for a sports reporter who has big ambitions, and is being held down at a local newspaper.
It is an excellent character study of all main characters. It highlights some of Chicago landmarks.
An excellent read for sports fans of all ages. Sometimes I would have wanted to have the characters speak in Chicago-speak - by talkin da talk and walkin da walk - but aside from that, great read.
ellen george
Advantage/Disadvantage by Yale R. Jaffe, ISBN 10: 1329204187, BookSurge Publishing, review by ellen george
