Structure

This autobiographical book is written from the first person point of view of Phil Jackson, former coach of both the Chicago Bulls and L.A. Lakers. Jackson led these teams to a total of eleven championship wins during his time as coach. His book tells of his early years in basketball as well as the influence that his spiritually rigid family had on him. He describes the way he used influences from Zen Buddhism, Native American tradition and things he learned from coaches under which he played to develop his own style of coaching.

Jackson writes his story in chronological order, beginning with his early start in basketball as a player in high school and college. He moves on to his transition between school ball and the NBA, then goes on to describe how he made the move from player to coach. During these early chapters in...