An all-Jewish basketball team barnstorms across Depression-era americanca, confronting prejudice and point-shaving in this "some-times agonizing, frequently hilarious" novel (Chicago Tribune) by "the game's foremost chronicler" (Wall Street Journal).
On January 7, 1927, the Harlem Globetrotters, a barnstorming basketball team, made their debut in Hinckley, Illinois, before an audience of 300. They were the vision of Abe Saperstein, a Jewish man who managed a touring team of African-American round-ballers. Now, 70 years later, the Globetrotters are known around the world and have played an intriguing role in the history of race in America. Charley Rosen's novel The House of Moses All-Stars is an intriguing spin on the Globetrotters' story. Set amid the Depression at home and the rise of Hitler in Germany, Rosen tells a story of Jewish hoopsters dribbling through middle America. For the team, the games are more a means of making a buck in hard times than breaking down barriers. But as they tour the country in a hearse with the Star of David emblazoned on the side, they uncover the realities of bigotry and racism that even American sport cannot suppress.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Peripatetic Jewish Basketball Team:
Charley Rosen's The House of Moses All-Stars is a most unusual "road trip" novel. Set in the depression, sportswriter Rosen takes a pick-up professional basketball team made up of six Jews and one goy cross-country in a renovated hearse as they play (and occasionally fix) games, run from the mob, and mature from boys to men. Mostly a comic novel, All-Stars consistently amuses, but is not particularly deep. To me, one of Rosen's attempts at "depth" falls particularly flat. The narrator, Aaron, joins the team... more info
Immensely entertaining:
True, it is bawdy--but so is Shakespeare. This is a hilarious book, a chance to ride with a barnstorming ballclub. Each page is drenched with humor, or with insight which transcends the game, and this group of men. Rosen's Cockroach Basketball League is also a terrrific read. He is clearly the best basketball novelist going.
Bawdy and superficial:
I enjoy reading sports fiction with my 10 year old son. The descriptions of this book suggested it addressed important themes which transcended basketball. However, as I read the book, I found the treatment of those themes quite superficial. In addition the book was bawdy. While it may accurately reflect locker room mentality, many readers may not find that mentality entertaining. It is not an appropriate book for children.
Not just about basketball.:
"House of Moses All-Stars" does have, as can be expected terrifically written scens of the basketball games. But more than that, it tells a great story, with interesting characters and gives a great overview of all the various aspects of Depression-era America.
