October 31, 2011
Coach Carter and his Richmond, Calif., high school basketball team rocketed onto the national stage when he locked his undefeated team out of the gym for failing to uphold the strict academic criteria he had set for them. Carter’s dedication to education and excellence and to the development and growth of his players was immortalized in the 2005 film Coach Carter. In the years following his coaching career, Carter has become a widely sought after motivational speaker. He now shares his life story from humble beginnings to his success as an entrepreneur and as Richmond’s coach in an uplifting work sure to inspire anyone who is trying to break through personal or professional barriers to achieve success. The 12 chapters cover Carter’s steps to success, such as “Courage Counts,” “Embracing Hard Work,” and “Quality Role Models Never Hurt,” but the true lessons come to life through Carter’s stories. His accounts of his own journey as one in a family of nine children trying to make ends meet on a small farm in rural Mississippi as well as chronicling how his players—most of whom had rough upbringings in Richmond—overcame obstacles, poverty, and adversity with opportunity and encouragement are emotional and inspirational. Coach Carter scores big with this efficient, straightforward read filled with no-nonsense observations on how to win in life.