How would you like to have lunch with Red Auerbach, one of legendary figures in basketball history, once a week, week after week? About a dozen people most, but not all, with a basketball connection do exactly that in Washington, D.C. Every Tuesday morning at 11, the group gathers at a Chinese restaurant for good food and better conversation. The 87-year-old Auerbach, the storied Boston Celtic coach, serves as the conversational fulcrum. John Feinstein is one of those lucky dozen. After sitting and listening for a few years, he decided to get some of the dialogue down on paper. The result is Let Me Tell You a Story: A Lifetime in the Game, a book that ought to delight any student of basketball. While Auerbach gets top billing as author, this is written from Feinstein’s viewpoint. He skillfully goes through Auerbach’s life in chronological order. The Celtics won nine championships with Auerbach as coach in the 1950s and ’60s, and took seven more with him as general manager/president. As you’d expect, there are plenty of stories about such players as Bill Russell, John Havlicek and Larry Bird, plus comments on today’s players and coaches.
Feinstein weaves the stories of the luncheon guests, as well as Auerbach’s influence on their lives, throughout the text. Other books have been written by and about Auerbach, but this one certainly is the most fun.
