"Bad As I Wanna Be," Chicago Bulls superstar Dennis Rodman's newly-released autobiography with Tim Keown, is a revealing account of his tumultuous life on and off the basketball court.
In this book of surprises, "The Worm" confronts such controversial issues as his unconventional personality, race relations, sexual orientation, his six-month relationship with Madonna, as well as the NBA.
Released during the Bulls' championship season, "Bad As I Wanna Be" currently tops the New York Times' list of best-selling hardcover non-fiction books.
Today Rodman is known for his aggressive play, his "bad boy" image and his colored hair, liberally-tattooed torso and experimental fashion choices.
This book, however, is powerful for illuminating Rodman as a normal human being.
He writes: "I've been homeless. I've worked at 7-Eleven. I'm a real person, with real experiences, not some image that somebody in the NBA office created."
Rodman's style of expression may be unpopular and sometimes crude, but it is admirably direct and honest.
I would not recommend this book to the squeamish or easily offended. Rodman feigns no attempt at hiding anything, including vulgar language, biting criticism of other NBA stars, and his own body, which is displayed on the front cover nude and straddling a Harley, with only a basketball to cover himself.
A reader of Rodman's autobiography might be prepared to sympathize with Rodman's views and tolerate intermittent egotism, oft-repeated complaints and occasional tirades.
But aside from these annoyances, Rodman's story is a compelling and inspirational one. Describing his "Cinderella-story" route to the fame and riches of the NBA, Rodman navigates the reader through his austere upbringing in a Dallas housing project.
Born poor, he describes sneaking into the state fair as a child by walking through five miles of sewage tunnels and appearing out of a manhole.
Rodman describes battling through hard times, relying on a surprisingly late growth spurt and the encouragement of many people before becoming a star player.The decision to appear and behave unlike the average "cookie-cutter" model NBA player, Rodman explains, came after a long, painful night in April, 1993 when he considered killing himself.
Of his conflict, Rodman writes, "I was two people: one person on the inside, another person on the outside." That night, Rodman "shot the imposter" and began to discover and display the "real" Dennis Rodman.
Rodman's autobiography is currently the most popular hardcover non-fiction book in the country for good reason: it is full of surprise, honesty, fascination, and inspiration.
