... it’s an up-close-and-personal look at a time that simply doesn’t exist anymore. It’s a book packed with the sorts of stories that could never happen today.

... colorful, fast-paced.

Despite telling it like it was, Shaughnessy isn't interested in settling old scores here, and thereby holds up his place as a part of the team.

... a surprisingly detailed, candid, ultimately affectionate behind-the-scenes account of one of the greatest NBA teams of any era. While his focus is on team leader Larry Bird and his relationships with his teammates, his opponents, and even the press, including Shaughnessy himself, the author gives ample space to how master architect Red Auerbach built the team.

Shaughnessy’s high point is the championship run of 1984, when the Celtics defied a powerful Los Angeles Lakers to take the crown. Throughout, the author is amiable and self-effacing, but the best parts of his book are the you-are-there accounts of the on-the-hardwood.

The reporting...varies in depth; those expecting insights into what happened on the court won’t find many, and Shaughnessy’s self-proclaimed penchant for cheap shots—he compares an executive who made an undisputed major draft mistake to Neville Chamberlain—likely won’t endear him to readers. Even die-hards who bleed Celtic green will be underwhelmed..