Golden Days Audiobook By Jack McCallum cover art

Golden Days

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

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Golden Days

By: Jack McCallum
Narrated by: Jack McCallum
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.25

Buy for $20.25

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

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.

©2017 Jack McCallum (P)2017 Random House Audio
Basketball Popular Culture Sports History Warrior
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"With his classic eye for detail and deadpan wit, Jack McCallum connects two of the greatest teams in sports history through the endlessly fascinating persona of Jerry West. McCallum manages to unearth new details about some of the giants of the game, while shining a light on overlooked figures such as Elgin Baylor, delivering an original, fascinating, and breezy read." (Zach Lowe, senior writer, ESPN)
"I spent some of the 2016-17 season working as a consultant for the Golden State Warriors, but even I didn't know every detail of how this championship team came together. Golden Days breaks that all down and shows how the Warriors have revolutionized basketball." (Steve Nash, two-time MVP)

What listeners say about Golden Days

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    46
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    36
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    36
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Pretty good

I’ve liked McCallum’s other books better, but this one was still interesting. He’s a good writer and I enjoy his witty asides. My main critique is that if you’ve read West’s autobiography, a lot of this is familiar (though there were definitely new wrinkles and insights). The secondary critique is that it doesn’t feel like you get to know Curry, Thomson, or Durant anywhere near as well as West and Steve Kerr. However, I suspect that might have something to do with this generation of players being steered away from writers. Overall, it was still worth reading.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

For bball fans, but well done

Any additional comments?

An insight comparison between Legend Jerry West as a player and Executive with the Warriors and Steph. Well done

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

awesome

one of the most educating and at the same time easy books that i've listened to

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Jack McCallum strikes again

As a reader of some of his other gems about the dream team and my suns, this one is a great back and forth between two distinct eras and teams. If you enjoyed his other books, I’d highly recommend this one as well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very interesting and fun to read

Amazing how Jerry West has been such a great influence to so many organizations, teams and players. am a Worriors fan so this fit right in with the last few years in basketball. yars ago I read a book about Jerry West and this was like an update on his life. I hope he continues to help develope teams like Golden State and the Celtics. Team is the main word hear. Less isolation ball makes the game much more interesting to follow.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful