Golden Days: West's Lakers, Steph's Warriors, and the California Dreamers Who Reinvented Basketball

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars | 154 ratings

Price: 17.72

Last update: 12-21-2024


About this item

The best-selling author of Dream Team tells the interconnected stories of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors and the early 1970s Los Angeles Lakers, two extraordinary teams playing in extraordinary times and linked by one extraordinary man: Jerry West.

During their 1971-72 championship season, the LA Lakers won 33 games in a row, a streak that still stands as the longest and greatest in the history of American professional sports. It was a run of uninterrupted dominance that predated by decades the overwhelming firepower of today's Warriors, a revolutionary team whose recent seasons include some record-threatening win streaks of their own.

In Golden Days, acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum uses these two teams - the Jerry West/Wilt Chamberlain/Elgin Baylor Lakers and the Stephen Curry/Kevin Durant/Draymond Green Warriors - to trace the dynamic history of the National Basketball Association, which for much of the last half century has marched memorably through the state of California.

Tying together the two strands of McCallum's story is Hall of Famer West, the ferociously competitive Laker guard who later became one of the key architects of the Warriors. With "the Logo" as his guide, McCallum takes us deep into the locker rooms and front offices of these two era-defining teams, leveraging the access and authority he has amassed over his 40-year career to create a picture of the cultural juggernaut that the NBA has become.

Featuring up-close-and-personal portraits of some of the biggest names in basketball history, from the larger-than-life Wilt Chamberlain to the innovative Warriors coach Steve Kerr to the transcendent duo of Curry and Durant, Golden Days is a history not just of a changing sport but of a changing America, as seen through the prism of two teams that ruled the league during times of violence and political turmoil - the Charles Manson murders and the athlete-activist in the age of Trump among the narrative backdrops.

In the end, McCallum's book leaves an indelible portrait of West, the man who lived, played, and worked through it all - and who remains, on the cusp of his 80th birthday, one of the most vital, complicated, and compelling figures in all of sports.


Top reviews from the United States

  • W76er
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is a good one!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2018
    Loved the 72 Lakers/Wilt/West and the Dubs...and Jack made the format work. He did write that when L.A. won game 68 they tied the Bucks for best ever record back then....nope it was my 67 76ers who won 68 and the Bucks just 66. No worries. Although, I could have done without words like 'bundlingromans' and 'diaspora' in a sports book, it's a fun book to read. Some great 'asides' as well from Jack. BTW, you 76ers fans can go on Amazon and my Season of the 76ers for 2002.
  • KRL Hope
    4.0 out of 5 stars Old-school author writes interesting book
    Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2017
    Interesting book with lots of good stories. However Jerry West is depressing and the book is missing some hope. The author also does a pretty good job of not bashing conservatives through the eyes of the liberal Golden State Warriors and now PC Jerry West. I bought this book because Jack is an old-school author but I will not support financially anything Stephen Curry or the Golden State Warriors offer such as shoes, Nba or mainstream TV or clothes. They have all gone to far like the anthem kneelers.
  • Jeremy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific book
    Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2017
    I started following the Lakers during the 71-72 Season as a 10 year-old. My first sports hero was Jerry West. I have read much about that era and West By West which is an amazing read.

    This book has new and interesting information about the Lakers, West and today’s Warriors. At the outset, I was curious about the book’s conceit — linking the 70’s Lakers with the current Warriors via West — but the writer pulls it off.

    If you are a basketball fan there is much in this book to recommend. Most of all this book does the best job I have encountered of uncovering why exactly West is so good at what he does.
  • David Pruette
    5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent basketball book
    Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2017
    Jack McCallum is a good writer. His books such as Dream Team are well organized and informative. He does a huge amount of information gathering and the results reflect it. Golden Days continues the trend. The book tells the stories of the current NBA champion Golden State Warriors and the phenomenal Los Angeles Laker teams of the early 1970s. It is filled with interesting characters and great stories.

    A must for any sports fans.
  • Geoff Landtbom
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book But...
    Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2017
    While this is a good, entertaining book and while I understand what Jack Mcallum was trying to do I don't think the format worked all that well. The book would have worked better if he had divided the book into two halves, one for Wests only championship team as a player, the other for the rise of the Warriors and Wests eventual exit from the Warriors (he was pretty much forced out. Alternating chapters just seemed to be a little too confusing at times. On the other hand I really liked this blend of basketball history. So if you can get past the alternate chapters format I'd say it's worth the purchase.
  • D Maximo
    5.0 out of 5 stars West, Wilt, Curry, Durant, Kerr, et al.
    Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2018
    Just finished this book. Took my time reading it. It's packed with information about the Jerry West Lakers and the Jerry West Warriors. I loved this book. It gets into the minds of the players, coaches, owners and the author. It's about the business of basketball, the Lakers 33 game win streak, the Warriors streaks and championship games/series won and lost. I highly recommend it to any basketball enthusiasts.
  • Charles W. Peters
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent NBA writer. Check it out!
    Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2018
    Jack McCallum is a dependably excellent writer on pro basketball. His previous tomes on the Dream Team, the 7 Second Suns, The Boston Celtics are all excellent too. Anything he writes is worth reading!
  • Dan Johnson
    3.0 out of 5 stars Good if you haven't read much about West or the ...
    Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2017
    Good if you haven't read much about West or the 60s Lakers, but there are better books out there for that era. And the stuff on the Warriors doesn't add much to what you already know from reading ESPN or SI.

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