... 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 ... These stories—stories about what the players were really like in the locker room and at the bar after the game as well as about their performance on the court—are a fascinating snapshot of a bygone era, featuring compelling and thoughtful looks at some of the greatest to ever play the game. Rendered with the standard self-deprecatory wit and good humor by Shaughnessy, it’s a book that any Celtics fan—any NBA fan, really—will find to be fascinating reading.
... colorful, fast-paced ... Wish It Lasted Forever is the longtime Globe sportswriter’s fond remembrance of his brief time covering one of basketball’s all-time great teams ... an insider’s look into the outmoded culture of the game.
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 ... All basketball fans should enjoy this romp with one of the NBA's all-time great teams.
... 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 ... Of particular note is just how informal relations were between players and the media back in the day—beat reporters like Shaughnessy traveling, breakfasting, drinking, even shooting occasional hoops with the players—before the league exploded into the international colossus it’s become. Recommended for the strong sports collection.
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 ... Goofy and often funny, Shaughnessy’s book offers considerable insight into the making of a winning team in the hands of players whom some consider to be the greatest in the history of the game. A treat for fans of the old Boston Celtics and for roundball fans generally.
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.
