Review "Brutally honest, tragic, and fascinating, Carey’s grim cautionary tale exposes the highs and lows of the complex basketball superstar." —Publishers Weekly “So here's the happiest, saddest, craziest basketball tale you're going to read for a long, long time. Marvin Barnes worked at a different syncopation from the rest of us, candle always lit at both ends, heart beating to its own rhythm. Nobody—absolutely nobody—was closer to him on his many travels than Mike Carey. Lucky for us, Mike Carey can write like a demon. This is a terrific book.” —Leigh Montville, New York Times bestselling author of Ted Williams and The Big Bam “Mike Carey captures the essence of Barnes in an interesting read. Marvin's talent was limitless but so were his demons. “Bad News” is a very insightful book about one of the most gifted players of his day.” —Mike D’Antoni, Former Spirits teammate and longtime NBA head coach ““Bad News” is an exceptional and memorable read. Carey, one of our country’s sports writing treasures, has masterfully recounted a classic cautionary tale.” —Dan Forer, Emmy award-winning producer of ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, Free Spirits ““Bad News” should be a must-read for every sports fan. It’s the story of a supremely gifted pro basketball player who gained fame and riches at a young age, only to lose all his self-respect and his entire fortune in a few short years due to a self-destructive nature and addictions to cocaine and heroin. The book chronicles the many years Barnes spent in prison, his humiliating struggle to survive as a homeless person, and the events that led to his death of a drug overdose at the age of sixty-two. Poignantly written by Mike Carey, the book should serve as a warning to today’s athletes and those to come.” —M. L. Carr, former Celtics president and a teammate of Barnes in St. Louis and Detroit "Mike Carey didn't simply research the story of the talented and troubled Marvin Barnes. Carey saw it firsthand for nearly forty years. The result is a compelling look at a mercurial life." —Buck Harvey, San Antonio Express "Carey captures it all. Barnes’ floppy hats, his leather bells, his parading around town with the most gorgeous women in his silver, glistening Rolls-Royce with a red mobile phone long before ANYONE had a mobile phone. He goes back to the beginning and takes you through a ride in that Rolls. It’s a ride that is exciting and astonishing but incredibly predictable and ultimately sad." —Terry Lyons, Digital Sports Desk"Brutally honest, tragic, and fascinating, Carey’s grim cautionary tale exposes the highs and lows of the complex basketball superstar."—Publishers Weekly“So here's the happiest, saddest, craziest basketball tale you're going to read for a long, long time. Marvin Barnes worked at a different syncopation from the rest of us, candle always lit at both ends, heart beating to its own rhythm. Nobody—absolutely nobody—was closer to him on his many travels than Mike Carey. Lucky for us, Mike Carey can write like a demon. This is a terrific book.”—Leigh Montville, New York Times bestselling author of Ted Williams and The Big Bam“Mike Carey captures the essence of Barnes in an interesting read. Marvin's talent was limitless but so were his demons. “Bad News” is a very insightful book about one of the most gifted players of his day.”—Mike D’Antoni, Former Spirits teammate and longtime NBA head coach““Bad News” is an exceptional and memorable read. Carey, one of our country’s sports writing treasures, has masterfully recounted a classic cautionary tale.”—Dan Forer, Emmy award-winning producer of ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, Free Spirits““Bad News” should be a must-read for every sports fan. It’s the story of a supremely gifted pro basketball player who gained fame and riches at a young age, only to lose all his self-respect and his entire fortune in a few short years due to a self-destructive nature and addictions to cocaine and heroin.The book chronicles the many years Barnes spent in prison, his humiliating struggle to survive as a homeless person, and the events that led to his death of a drug overdose at the age of sixty-two. Poignantly written by Mike Carey, the book should serve as a warning to today’s athletes and those to come.”—M. L. Carr, former Celtics president and a teammate of Barnes in St. Louis and Detroit"Mike Carey didn't simply research the story of the talented and troubled Marvin Barnes. Carey saw it firsthand for nearly forty years. The result is a compelling look at a mercurial life."—Buck Harvey, San Antonio Express"Carey captures it all. Barnes’ floppy hats, his leather bells, his parading around town with the most gorgeous women in his silver, glistening Rolls-Royce with a red mobile phone long before ANYONE had a mobile phone. He goes back to the beginning and takes you through a ride in that Rolls. It’s a ride that is exciting and astonishing but incredibly predictable and ultimately sad."—Terry Lyons, Digital Sports Desk Read more About the Author Bob Costasis a long-time broadcaster who has covered every major American sporting event throughout his career, as well as the winter and summer Olympic Games. Over the course of his career, Costas has won twenty-eight Emmy awards, and in 2012, he was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame. Read more
E**S
Sports tragedy. One of the all time ABA greats on the court. Off the court, equally if not exceedingly more, one of sports all time tragedies.
Sports tragedy. One of the all time ABA greats on the court. Off the court, equally if not exceedingly more, one of sports all time tragedies.
P**F
Both enjoyed multi-million dollar contracts in professional sports
Absolutely incredible book. I am 61 years old and a lifelong Providence resident. Providence is a city where it is common to know local celebrities. I met Marvin. I also knew Ernie DiGregorio, another star player for Providence College. I also had the opportunity to met and speak with Marvin during one of his rare periods of recovery in the later years of his life. I mention Ernie D because the path of Ernie's life was so completely different than Marvin's. The dichotomy is striking. Both men were at the very top of the sport. Both enjoyed multi-million dollar contracts in professional sports. DiGregorio leveraged this opportunity to become a success in sports, business, and life in general. Yet Marvin lived a human tragedy: drugs, crime, prison, heroin addiction. Ernie came from a stable home, with strong parental and family support. While the book does not provide the answer to the Barne's tragedy, it certainly documents in great detail the inability of Marvin to handle sudden fame and fortune. A close acquaintance to Marvin in the book stated that Marvin was afraid to succeed. My takeaway: Marvin was a victim of an incredibly toxic environment as a child. He was damaged as a young person, and was incapable of taking hold of resources within his grasp to make him a success in life. This is the story of how fame and fortune can ruin a misguided life.
M**R
A Tragic Story That Needs Telling
I covered Marvin Barnes during his brief career with the Buffalo Braves. I remember his media conference when he reported to Buffalo and his Detroit Pistons team after a release from prison for carrying a handgun onto a plane. WBEN-TV reporter Vivian Rosenberg asked him if he would do anything differently. "I wouldn't have gone to prison," he responded. This is a story of a tremendous waste of talent wrapped up in a man with an endearing personality. Unfortunately, the poster the Buffalo Braves put out "Buffalo is Marvin's Garden," never became true.
M**O
Drugs are Bad News
This may be a book about a basketball legend but it is an appropriate read for anyone dealing with a substance abuse problem or their family and friends. Marvin Barnes should have been a Basketball Hall of Famer and a multi-millionaire. But drugs beginning with pot which led to cocaine and then heroin, crack and alcohol destroyed not only his career, but his body and finally his life. The sad tale in this book is that Barnes was given chance, after chance, after chance, after chance to rehabilitate himself both in programs and in prison but always fell back into the drug world which often left him homeless. Author Mike Carey did an excellent job in detailing this basketball star's repeated falls from grace.
R**N
RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: BASKETBALL-CRIME-DRUGS-DISAPPOINTMENT-DRUGS-LETDOWN-ADDICTION-DISGUST-DRUGS-DEATH
Though I’ve written close to seven-hundred-reviews… this is a very hard review to write.. It’s agonizing… disappointing… at very short times… hopeful. Unknowingly at first… you find yourself… literally judging yourself… as to how many… second… third… fourth… fifth…And literally way over twenty chances… and counting… you give a fellow human being… who lies… steals… and takes tons of drugs… while getting all these countless chances… simply (once you get passed X number)… because he was blessed by the Lord with the physical talents… to at one short time in his life… to be an unbelievable basketball player. And because of that talent… it makes it even worse what he did with his life with drugs.Marvin “Bad News” Barnes… even in high school… where he led his team to a state championship… had dreams of being a big shot crime figure. Even while playing ball he was pulling off robberies. The reader immediately… has to believe… that with every physical talent the Lord gave… he also took away one from between his ears. When he went to Providence College he lead the team to the NCAA final four… was an All-American… set records that still stand… and wound up signing an extremely large contract with the ABA Spirits of St. Louis… all while inhaling drugs non-stop. The fact that Marvin was “glib”… and a good “goofy” interview he gained additional notoriety… and more “drug” rope to hang himself… in a long extended drug destruction of body… soul… and reputation. As I read this I found myself… almost yelling at the characters in the book to quit giving Barnes any more chances… and any more… GIGANTIC… sums of money. He screwed everybody… and simultaneously screwed himself even more. Once in a while… for a miniscule moment in time… after maybe the tenth… or the twentieth… or the thirtieth… chance… after being provided even more money… or another rehab… or another jail sentence… for a blink of an eye there was some tiny glimmer of hope… and “I” would think… I’m not a good enough person… since I didn’t think he should have for the umpteenth time… been given the gifts… that thousands if not millions of addicts…. that truly fight the good fight… could have done wonders with.Then… as I’m feeling disappointed in my feelings… and a few more pages of the book are read… and he’s blew it all to hell again… and now I’m more adamant than before… that there’s no way on earth he should have received the money and opportunities he was continually given. And then it happens (literally)… again… again… again.That’s why I started this review by stating “this is a very hard review to write.” This story at times has glimpses of humor… but with any intelligence… one can quickly see… that any humor… is simply a very short mask for the repetitive… degeneration… and self-destruction that will assuredly come in unending barrelful's.This is not a basketball book… though the main character played “some” basketball… this is plain and simple about a drug addict of the worst kind… who though given a sacred gift from above… dedicated the biggest percentage of his life to inhaling every imaginable drug… in every… imaginable way… and instead of concentrating on putting the ball in the basket… he dedicated himself to flushing his life… and many caring people’s… additional chances… straight down the toilet.
A**R
behind the scenes of ABA
great read, saw him play in Hawaii
E**Y
Good News about Bad News. The book is terrific and a must read!!
I loved the book. I was in college at that time and rooted for The ABA to succeed. I followed Marvin from his stellar Providence career to The ABA and then some. But as far as the book goes, Mike paints a picture of Marvin's story with words that cannot be duplicated. It is a thoroughly researched book takes me right back to the 70s and into Marvin's life. This is a MUST read I started reading the book on a lunch break a couple of days ago and couldn't put the book down, it ruined a day of work for me. I pulled a George Costanzo and slid under my desk to finish the book. THATS how good the book is and how riveted I was to finish reading about Marvin's journey.I hope that Mike takes on another such project. I will be the first in line to purchase and read the book.
A**R
Five Stars
Awesome
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