Year of the Dunk: A Modest Defiance of Gravity

by Asher Price

Overview

By embarking on a quest to dunk a basketball at the age of 34, journalist Asher Price investigates the limits of human potential—starting with his own.
 
We all like to think that (with a little practice) we could run faster, learn another language, or whip up a perfect soufflé. But few of us ever put those hopes to the test. In Year of the Dunk, Asher Price does, and he seizes on basketball’s slam dunk--a feat richly freighted with distinctly American themes of culture, race, and upward mobility--as a gauge to determine his own hidden potential. The showmanship of the dunk mesmerized Asher as a child, but even with his height (six foot plus) and impressive wingspan, he never pushed himself to try it. Now, approaching middle age, Asher decides to spend a year remaking his body and testing his mind as he wonders, like most adults, what untapped talent he still possesses.
 
 
In this humorous and often poignant journey into the pleasures and perils of exertion, Asher introduces us to a memorable cast of characters who help him understand the complexity of the human body and the individual drama at the heart of sports. Along the way he dives into the history and science of one of sports' most exuberant acts, examining everything from our genetic predisposition towards jumping to the cultural role of the slam dunk. The year-long effort forces him to ask some fundamental questions about human ability and the degree to which we can actually improve ourselves, even with great determination.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804138031
Publisher:	Crown/Archetype
Publication date:	05/12/2015
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	643,785
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

ASHER PRICE grew up in New York City and now lives in Austin with his wife and their dog. He writes about energy and the environment for the Austin American-Statesman and plays pick-up basketball on the neighborhood court every Sunday morning.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I The Run-Up

1 Assembling the Gurus 13

2 Evolution and the Dunk 25

Part II The Year of the Dunk

3 The Dunking Year Begins: Twelve Months to Go 43

4 Taking the Measure of the Man 54

5 A Natural History of Leaping 68

6 The Rise of the Dunk 83

7 Besting the Fates 97

8 A Dunk Contest: Six Months to Go 102

9 Girl on Fire 113

10 "Dayenu" 124

11 Psyching Myself Up 134

12 Aiming Too High 151

13 So, Can White Men Jump? 163

14 It's Gotta Be the Shoes: One Month to Go 185

15 Jumping Secrets of the Ninjas 198

16 Carrying Capacity 201

Part III The Touchdown

17 Allez Hop! 209

Postscript 223

Appendix A The Dunker's Handbook 229

Appendix B The Physics of Spud's Dunk 233

Acknowledgments 235

Notes 239

Index 259

Editorial Reviews

02/23/2015
Journalist Price gleefully narrates his quest to dunk a basketball as a not-so-young adult. Price is over 6’2” with “orangutan arms,” but he’s approaching his mid-30s and possesses a spotty athletic pedigree (though he served as captain on his college Frisbee team) to go with his love handles. Embarking on a strict diet and an exercise plan featuring tutelage from an Olympic gold medalist, Price, a testicular cancer survivor, gives himself a year to accomplish this specific athletic endeavor. Price uses this venture to plumb a number of related subjects, including the physics of jumping and the cultural significance of the dunk. In addition, the author details his own emotional state. “Two inches ain’t much,” Price observes about his improvement in vertical leap, “but it showed that at least I—and, by extension, just about anyone past his or her prime—had the capability of improvement.” The book is a springy mix of science writing, memoir, and history that is by turns informative, entertaining, and endearing. (May)

Publishers Weekly

“Journalist Price gleefully narrates his quest to dunk a basketball as a not-so-young adult...A springy mix of science writing, memoir, and history that is by turns informative, entertaining, and endearing.” –Publishers Weekly

“Price faced down numerous psychological and physical obstacles, as well as dramatic setbacks off the hardwood, but his optimism, perserverance, and development are at the heart of this good-natured chronicle of his efforts.” –Kirkus Reviews

“Year of the Dunk is a science-sprinkled narrative so deftly spun you won't notice how much you're learning. It is by turns challenging, inspiring, suspenseful, and constantly hilarious. Price's exploration of the limits of his own hops is undertaken on behalf of all who have ever set a lofty goal. This is one of the most enjoyable sports books I've read.” –David Epstein, author of the New York Times bestseller The Sports Gene

 “White men, it seems, can jump after all. In fact, they can soar, as Asher Price shows in Year of the Dunk, his craftily documented pursuit of the slam. As Price pursues his quest to throw down a rim-clearing stuff, his opponent is not just gravity, but time. Price’s journey to reshape his body and upgrade his hops becomes a fun meditation on the mid air slam dance that for decades now has fascinated millions the world over.” –Roland Lazenby, author of Michael Jordan: The Life

“From a seemingly simple quest—to launch his creaky body high enough to ram a basketball through a hoop ten feet off the floor—Asher Price has spun a high-flying tale of science and sweat that’ll captivate even the most earthbound reader. Year of the Dunk is nerdy, fun, and full of surprises.” —Earl Swift, author of Auto Biography

“In this quirky and endearing memoir of personal growth, Price leaps gamely from his own underdog story to the historical and scientific narratives that underlie his quest to dunk. He explores the evolution and biomechanics of jumping, unpacks the racial tensions bound up with dunking, and gives us the low-down on all those high-tech sneakers. Two thumbs up.” —Alex Stone, author of Fooling Houdini

“It’s good! Year of the Dunk recounts science writer Asher Price’s quest to train his body to dunk a basketball. And it’s good! The book as well as the shot.” —Gregg Easterbrook, author of The King of Sports 

From the Publisher

★ 03/01/2015
Funny and informative, this book is a real pleasure. Along with the story of his year-long attempt to get his body in enough shape to dunk a basketball, Journalist Price tells us about his battle with testicular cancer and the science behind jumping insects and robots. We also learn a lot about the history of the fitness movement and physical education in the United States. Ultimately, though, the book is a meditation on human limitations. Are all of us born to jump while only some take advantage of this potential? Or are some of us simply physically unable to jump very high, no matter how much we train? One particularly interesting point Price makes is that great and successful athletes simply do not recognize limits to their potential, while simultaneously being possessed of a greater awareness of their bodies than most of us could ever hope to attain. In other words, they're just not like the rest of us. VERDICT You don't have to be a sports fan or an aspiring athlete to enjoy this profound debut memoir. Let's hope we hear more from Price soon.—Derek Sanderson, Mount Saint Mary Coll. Lib., Newburgh, NY

Library Journal

2015-03-03
Austin American-Statesman energy and environment reporter Price seeks to overcome his "genetic foibles" in pursuit of a singular and profound experience: dunking an NBA basketball. Before he began his yearlong exploration of whether dunking was "literally and metaphorically" unattainable for those with his specific genetics or increasing age (34), he was humbled when tests performed by doctors at a fitness lab diagnosed him as being in "completely average" condition. Through his efforts to increase his body's upward kinetic force to enable him to dunk, Price examines the larger issue of whether humans can outwit their physical limits and asks if it is actually possible to "dream up a task" and force your body to follow. On his journey, the author consulted a variety of experts, including geneticists and other scientists (including a Cambridge professor who specializes in the nervous system of locusts), as well as brick-chopping karate black belts and children at basketball camps. By not dragging readers through the weeds of mathematical formulas—an appendix includes tips for "how to jump higher" and a microlesson in the physics of dunking—Price comes across as a nonintimidating science teacher with a dry, sometimes self-deprecating wit. In easy-to-understand language, he explains such concepts as neuromuscular composition and the biomechanics of propulsion in humans and animals. During the course of his pursuit, Price faced down numerous psychological and physical obstacles, as well as dramatic setbacks off the hardwood, but his optimism, perseverance, and development are at the heart of this good-natured chronicle of his efforts. "I was like a lot of people: athletic enough, with a thin desire to win, but never the best and never desperate to be the best," he writes. In this briskly paced book, readers will recognize the courage and tenacity of everyday competitors and the power and awe-inspiring achievements of elite athletes.

Kirkus Reviews