Shaq Uncut: My Story

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Superman. Diesel. The Big Aristotle. Shaq Fu. The Big Daddy. The Big Shaqtus. Wilt Chamberneezy. The Real Deal. The Big Shamrock. Shaq.

You know him by any number of names, and chances are you know all about his legendary basketball career: Shaquille "Shaq" O'Neal is a four-time NBA champion and a three-time NBA Finals MVP. After being an All-American at Louisiana State University, he was the overall number one draft pick in the NBA in 1992. In his 19-year career, Shaq racked up 28,596 career points (including 5,935 free throws!), 13,099 rebounds, 3,026 assists, 2,732 blocks, and 15 All-Star appearances.

These are statistics that are almost as massive as the man himself. His presence-both physically and psychologically-made him a dominant force in the game for two decades.

But if you follow the game, you also know that there's a lot more to Shaquille O'Neal than just basketball.

Shaq is famous for his playful, and at times, provocative personality. He is, literally, outsize in both scale and persona. Whether rapping on any of his five albums, challenging celebrities on his hit television show "Shaq Vs.," studying for his PhD or serving as a reserve police officer, there's no question that Shaq has led a unique and multi-dimensional life. And in this rollicking new autobiography, Shaq discusses his remarkable journey, including his candid thoughts on teammates and coaches like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Phil Jackson, and Pat Riley.

From growing up in difficult circumstances and getting cut from his high school basketball team to his larger-than-life basketball career, Shaq lays it all out in SHAQ UNCUT: MY STORY.

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Shaq Talks Back

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The Whore of Akron: One Man's Search for the Soul of LeBron James

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"If there was an opportunity for me to return to Cleveland and those fans welcomed me back, that'd be a great story."—Lebron James

Scott Raab is a last vestige of Gonzo Journalism in an era when sanitary decorum reigns. Crude but warmhearted, poetic but raving, Raab has chronicled—at GQ and Esquire—everything from nights out with the likes of Tupac and Mickey Rourke to a moral investigation into Holocaust death-camp guard Ivan the Terrible to the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, but the book you hold in your hands is neither a story nor a job: The Whore of Akron is the product of lifelong suffering, and a mission bound with the meaning of existence.

Raab sat in the lower bowl of Cleveland Stadium on December 27, 1964, when the Browns defeated the Colts for the NFL World Championship—the last sports title the declining city has won. He still carries his ticket stub wherever he goes, safely tucked within a Ziploc bag. The glory of that triumph is an easy thing to forget—each generation born in Cleveland is another generation removed from that victory; an entire fan base "whose daily bread has forever tasted of ash."

LeBron James was supposed to change all that. A native son of Akron, he was already world famous by the age of seventeen, had already graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, was already worth $90 million to Nike. He seemed like a miracle heaven-sent by God to transform Cleveland's losing ways. That the Cavaliers drafted him, the hometown prodigy, with the first pick of the 2003 draft, seemed nothing short of destiny. But after seven years—and still no parade down Euclid Avenue—he left. And he left in a way that seemed designed to twist the knife: announcing his move to South Beach on a nationally televised ESPN production with a sly title ("The Decision") that echoed fifty years of Cleveland sports futility.

Out of James's treachery grew a monster. Raab, a fifty-nine-year-old, 350-pound, Jewish Santa Claus with a Chief Wahoo tattoo, would bear witness to LeBron's every move, and in doing so would act as the eyes and ears of Cleveland itself. (He did not keep this intentions a secret and was promptly banned by the Miami Heat.)

The Whore of Akron is an indictment of a traitorous athlete and the story of Raab's hilarious, profane (and profound) quest to reveal the "wee jewel-box" of LeBron James's very soul.

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Shaq and the Beanstalk: And Other Very Tall Tales

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Basketball star Shaquille O'Neal relates updated versions of five fairy tales linked together, in each of which he plays a major role: Shaq and the beanstalk; Little Red Riding Shaq; Shaq and the three bears; Shaq's new clothes; and Shaq and the three billy goats gruff.

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Celebrity children's books don't have a great reputation--but this one deserves to be a big, big exception. You don't have to be a Shaquille O'Neal fan to enjoy his clever spins on familiar fairy tales. Shaq's adventures begin when he is about seven or eight and throws his lima beans out the window instead of eating them. Of course, a beanstalk grows, he climbs it, and he meets George the giant. After a few misunderstandings (George wants to eat Shaq), they come to an agreement. Shaq must deliver cookies to George's grandmother (setting the stage for a retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood") and recover the hen that lays the golden basketballs (who ran away during Shaq's fight with the giant).

In six dynamic, photograph-splashed tall tales, Shaq meets the three bears, encounters the billy goats Gruff, and finally makes it home. You can hear Shaq's voice in the telling ("...there before me stood the biggest Big Man I'd ever seen. I'll tell you, if this guy had skills, he would have done well in the NBA."), and he takes pains to include some advice for living ("I have always believed that fighting is the loser's way out."). All in all, these are terrific stories, told with skill and a big heart. The fact that they come from a 7-foot-tall physical genius should only make them more appealing. (Ages 4 to 10) --Richard Farr

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West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life

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He is one of basketball's towering figures: "Mr. Clutch," who mesmerized his opponents and fans. The coach who began the Lakers' resurgence in the 1970s. The general manager who helped bring "Showtime" to Los Angeles, creating a championship-winning force that continues to this day.

Now, for the first time, the legendary Jerry West tells his story-from his tough childhood in West Virginia, to his unbelievable college success at West Virginia University, his 40-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, and his relationships with NBA legends like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant. Unsparing in its self-assessment and honesty, WEST BY WEST is far more than a sports memoir: it is a profound confession and a magnificent inspiration.

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Ain't No Tomorrow : Kobe, Shaq, and the Making of a Lakers Dynasty

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"Elizabeth Kaye is a wonderful writer--as a reporter she's like a bulldog . . . [she] discovers and explains the game of basketball in a way that no one ever has."--Sylvester Stallone

"An inside look at the near-implosion of a championship team, the 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers, titans who clashed, grew, gave, and learned to work as one. Like the Lakers, this book is a winner."--Paul Sunderland, commentator for Fox Sports News/NBC

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