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MARAVICH
By Wayne Federman and Marshall Terrill
"Pistol Pete is a legend to all who understand the history of basketball." -- Jason Kidd

From childhood "Pistol" Pete Maravich mesmerized fans and opponents alike with audacious ball handling and prodigious scoring. Julius Erving called him "a basketball genius." The mop-topped, floppy-socked prodigy was a legend at LSU, averaging a staggering 44.2 points per game -- the highest in NCAA history. Then a brilliant pro career with the Hawks, Jazz and Celtics led to enshrinement in the Hall of Fame and selection as one of the top 50 players in NBA history.

But there was a price. Maravich brought a child-like exuberance to the court that often masked a tortured and confused adult. His obsessive personality -- he often referred to himself as a "basketball android" -- and inability to win a championship triggered despair and thoughts of suicide. Eventually he found peace in Christianity and a quiet home life.

Then, at age 40, Maravich died. The exact cause -- a congenital heart defect -- stunned both the sports and medical worlds. Pistol Pete had been living on borrowed time. It was called a medical miracle that he survived his teens, let alone become a superstar athlete.

Now, after staying silent for two decades, Maravich's widow, Jackie, has welcomed authors Wayne Federman and Marshall Terrill into Pistol Pete's private world. She has shared personal memories and provided unfettered access to the Maravich family archive of clippings, films, letters, calendars, diaries, and photographs to allow Pete's story to be fully told.

The result is the definitive biography of "Pistol" Pete Maravich. In addition to countless hours spent with Jackie and her sons, Jaeson and Joshua, the authors interviewed more than 300 teammates, opponents, journalists, coaches, detractors, fans, and extended family to bring back to vivid life the story of a transcendent athlete who thrilled everyone except himself. Also included is a comprehensive appendix of Maravich statistics, plus Pistol Pete's 25 greatest games.
About the authors
Wayne Federman is an actor, comedian, and writer. He has appeared in more than a dozen movies including The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Fifty First Dates, and Legally Blonde as well as on television's Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Larry Sanders Show, and The X-Files. He has his own half-hour stand-up special on Comedy Central and is a regular on the Tonight Show. Wayne co-wrote and starred in the short film Max and Josh, which premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Federman recently completed a screenplay based on this book. He resides in Los Angeles.

Marshall Terrill is a veteran reporter for The Chandler (Ariz.) Connection and is the author of 10 books, including the best-selling Steve McQueen: Portrait of an American Rebel. Terrill has written books with sports figures such as basketball legend David Thompson and boxers Ken Norton and Earnie Shavers. He recently finished Elvis: Still Taking Care of Business with Memphis Mafia member Sonny West, which will be published in 2007. Terrill resides in Tempe, Arizona with wife, Zoe.
BOOK COVER

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Details
432 pages
6 x 9
24 B&W photos, 12 color
1-894963-52-0
$24.95 cl

Praise
Its labor-of-love enthusiasm is infectious, and it's essential for Maravich completists, especially for the reassessment of his pro career and for anecdotal feats of basketball wizardry." - New York Times Review of Books

"It includes such tireless research that any reader will become an expert on the man who shot so often and scored so much he is still referred to as Pistol." - Rocky Mount Telegram

The authors conducted hundreds of interviews with his former teammates, opponents and fellow players. The result makes for a treasure trove of basketball folklore." - The Tennessean

This is the best basketball book I've read in years. The research on his life is exceptional, and the writing is simple and descriptive, making it an easy read." - Pro Basketball News

"Not only is the book packed with incredible detail and statistics, but the eight-year project by the authors unveil some stunning facts that even a diehard Pistol Pete fan like myself never knew." - Livingston Parrish News

"There have been many other books on Maravich, but this one guns 'em down like 'Pistol Pete' on his 69-point afternoon at Alabama." - Memphis Commercial Appeal

Pistol Plaudits
"Pete was 'The Man.' I'd just sit there and shake my head and say to myself: 'How'd he do that?' " -- Magic Johnson

"Pete was the original. He was the best ball handler I ever saw. Ever." -- Pat Riley

"Oh my. He did things with the basketball that players - still today - can't do. If Maravich was playing today, he'd be a god." -- Isiah Thomas

"(Oscar) Robertson was the best guard I ever played against. Jerry West was the best I ever played with. And Pete is the best I've ever seen." -- Elgin Baylor

"I've got a lot of Pistol Pete in my game," -- Steve Nash

"Like a master chess player, Pete Maravich saw things that nobody else did." -- Bill Walton.

"He was the greatest ball handler I've ever seen in my life. He could do things with the basketball that were unbelievable." -- Rick Barry

"He was one of the truly great players that could fill an arena." -- Larry Bird

"A lot of guys break the laws of gravity. Pete breaks the laws of physics." -- Red Auerbach

"I learned all my tricks from Pete Maravich." -- Kobe Bryant

"The stuff that Pistol did with the ball was the breaking ground for what we can do today," -- Jason Kidd
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