On the Shoulders of Giants, Vol 4: Jazz Lights Up Harlem

Written by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Narrated by Stanley Crouch

The legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar takes listeners back to the Harlem Renaissance-a time and place when jazz was king. Famed jazz critic Stanley Crouch narrates as Kareem shares thoughts on this distinctly American musical style and its profound influence. Also offering insights are such iconic figures as Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, and Maya Angelou.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 27, 2009
• ISBN: 9781440775178

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is recognized by Sports Illustrated and Time magazine as history’s greatest basketball player (he is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer). The author of several New York Times bestsellers, Kareem’s previous books include Giant Steps, Kareem, Black Profiles in Courage, A Season on the Reservation, and Brothers in Arms. Since his retirement as a player in the NBA, Kareem has worked as a special assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers and acted as a volunteer coach for children on the White Mountain Apache reservation in Whiteriver, Arizona. 

Reviews for On the Shoulders of Giants, Vol 4

[jim53_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

We've kown for a long time that there's more to Kareem than skyhooks. In On the Shoulders of Giants, he shares his passion for history. He describes the Harlem Renaissance from several points of view: the social history that led up to it, the significant thinkers who contributed to it, the black basketball teams that originated there, and finally the jazz music that flourished in Harlem. He ties up each section with a couple of pages about how that facet affected his life. Not superficial but not terribly deep either, the book gives overviews of key topics and fascinating descriptions of key individuals, and it can serve as a guide for further investigation for the reader who is so inclined. I enjoyed it quite a bit.