Many political figures have spent the last few years seeing how often they can show their support for the concept of family values as if anyone is against family values. Finally, someone in public life has come up with a new twist on the subject. Former Senator Bill Bradley has written a book on basketball values. Bradley’s latest literary effort, Values of the Game, is about some of the qualities that go into a successful basketball player or team and how they can be applied to life in general. While he wrote the book so that parents and children can talk about the principles outlined within it, it comes off as something more interesting thoughts on why the game itself is so addicting to its participants when played properly.

Bradley always has carried the reputation as one of the most thoughtful and intelligent people ever to participate in sport’s highest level. He attended Princeton University and delayed a professional career in basketball to accept a Rhodes scholarship to study at Oxford University in England. Later Bradley became an important part of the New York Knickerbockers teams, winning the NBA championships in 1970 and 1973.

Bradley had little difficulty moving to another phase of his life after retirement. He served three terms as the Democratic Senator from New Jersey, retiring in 1996. Bradley is said to be considering a run for the Presidency in 2000.

Despite worrying about campaign-contribution reform and the tax code for most of the past two decades, Bradley obviously has been paying some attention to basketball as well. His frequent references to today’s stars and games allow him not to come off as an old-timer who is convinced his sport was played better in his day. Instead, he wants to tell people how to play the game right. That comes with equal parts passion, discipline, selflessness, respect, perspective, courage, leadership, responsibility, resilience, and imagination each of which gets its own chapter in this nicely-illustrated, oversized book. When a team comes together to combine those qualities, basketball moves from a mere game to an aesthetic pleasure for the participants.

Bradley frequently experienced such a feeling at the game’s highest level; such feelings of joy probably were harder to come by in the Senate. Perhaps that’s why he chose to write about basketball instead of politicswhile thinking about his next major career move. No matter what the cause, few have written about what’s right with basketball as well as Bradley does.

Budd Bailey is a writer in Buffalo, New York.

When historians look back at the Bush administration, foreign policy will dominate their attention. During Bush’s four years in the White House, U.S. – Soviet relations changed dramatically, the Gulf War tested the post-Cold War NATO coalition, Germany was reunified, and the political map of Eastern Europe re-drawn. In their thorough new book, former President George Bush and former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft share primary documents and personal notes detailing how the United States influenced these and other international developments. Although the nuances of U.S. – Soviet relations may not captivate the average reader, Bush and Scowcroft bring energy to the subject by recording not only committee meetings and public statements, but agreements reached over lunch at Camp David or while boating in Kennebunkport. The narrative alternates between Bush’s recollections and those of Scowcroft, both of whom lace their commentary with anecdotes. Although A World Transformed is anything but light reading, it is not devoid of humor. Early on, Bush spends two pages on The Scowcroft Award for Somnolent Excellence, exposing the tendency of certain high officials to fall asleep during meetings. Throughout the book, Bush emphasizes the informal relationships he cultivated with world leaders as crucial to his foreign policy. Maintaining close communication with leaders like Gorbachev, Thatcher, Kohl, and Mitterand afforded Bush numerous opportunities to influence their decision-making on world affairs. As Bush illustrates, for example, the Gulf War coalition held together in part because of the strong personal bonds between Western leaders.

On Iraq and the developments leading up to operation Desert Storm, A World Transformed is comprehensive. From the first alert until the final shot, Bush and Scowcroft are meticulous in recording key conversations and strategic decisions along the way. In addition to clarifying how the crisis began, the authors offer insightful analysis. The Gulf War became, in many ways, the bridge between the Cold War and post-Cold War eras . . . Superpower cooperation opened vistas of a world where, unlike the previous four decades, the permanent members of the UN Security Council could move to deal with aggression in the manner intended by its framers. About halfway through the book one wonders how domestic policy was conducted if our leaders were so deeply involved in international affairs. And one cannot help but notice the conspicuous absence of Vice President Quayle from the book’s pages. He is mentioned only a few times and rarely seems to have played a significant role in important decision-making. In any case, it is hard not to admire the commitment of Bush and Scowcroft to the task of comprehensive documentation. Their book will give historians a new tool for understanding the turmoil that defined the world during the Bush administration.

Jeremy Caplan is on staff at The Paris Review.