I must say I never knew some of the stuff that apparently goes on the high school basketball world. While I'm sure there was a bit of creative licensed used in the writing of this book, there surely is a fair amount that is true to life. While I had some difficulties with the dialogue, I loved the characters and the story they told. What a shocking insight into the prep world of basketball in the Chicago area. ( )

An interesting trip, "traveling" with Yale R. Jaffe's "Advantage Disadvantage", January 21, 2009


I recently had the pleasure of reading Yale R. Jaffe's "Advantage Disadvantage". Although I finished the book a few days ago, it has taken me some time to collect my thoughts to post a review.

The first chapter hooked me from the start, as one of the characters finds himself being booked at the Cook County lockup in Chicago. Okay. The cover of the book implies that I was to read a tale relating to basketball. Hmm....

By the end of the chapter the proverbial whistle is blown and the game begins. We are introduced to characters from all walks of life: single mothers, people with dreams of the future, people who take their stations of life for granted, and those who abuse the positions they created. There are people that are desperate, scared, seeking revenge and hopeful. There are those who are white, black, rich, poor, educated, not educated, job holders and those seeking work. There are gang members, basketball players, parents, detectives, referees, scouts and newspaper reporters.

For me, I was reminded of the first time I saw the movie "Pulp Fiction", where the viewer is met with random, yet completed scenes, which at times jump from one place to the next. The audience is forced, perhaps without realizing it, to figure out where everything is connected. By the end of the movie, the audience realizes that we are all in fact connected, and each move we make not only affects ourselves, but also affects someone else: for good or for bad, whether we know it or not. Each second of the clock seems to bring a new ethical decision. The question is: what would you do?

Mr. Jaffe's book is not as "random" as "Pulp Fiction," but this referee does point out a lot of different things that were going on at the same time, which made me think. Many times with books, I have been able to predict the ending. Mr. Jaffe's tale however, took me by surprise: it was as though the entire world suddenly fell silent, as though we were watching a basketball player sink a 3 point basket at the buzzer.

J.R. Reardon
author, "Confidential Communications" ( )