Review: The Education of Kendrick Perkins: A Memoir

The Education of Kendrick Perkins: A Memoir by Kendrick Perkins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, however I opted to listen to the final publication version of the audiobook.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Let me preface this by saying I don't know Kendrick Perkins, nor have I followed his career.  I watch a lot of college basketball, but my son and husband who follow sports a lot more closely know who he is.  That being said I don't really have much of an opinion on him as a player or TV/social media personality.  I've never seen him play or watched him on TV.  

This is not typically the type of book that I read, but I did gain some insight into Kendrick Perkins as a person and his journey through the NBA.  I thought it was really interesting to see his perspective of what it is like on the inside and who some of his best friends and mentors/mentees where.  We get to see many of the people he mentioned on TV and what the media tells us about them through their game play, paparazzi stories, and brand sponsorships but we never get to know them personally.  Perkins gives us some insight into what these players are both on and off the court on a more personal level.  At the end of the day they are all working hard to  play the game they love, and many of them are good friends despite what the media will have you believe.

This is more than a book about basketball and Kendrick Perkins and his journey.  It goes much deeper into racial issues in the United States.  As with any non-fiction book that I read especially those that delve into social commentary that mentions historical or current issues, I would have liked a list of references so that I can continue to educate myself on the issues at hand and learn.  

The narrator did a good job conveying the information that Perkins and Rogoff wanted you to know.  I'm not a big memoir/biography person in general and I gained some information about a person I knew nothing about previously.  I think fans of Perkins will really enjoy this.  

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