Living through the Hoop: High School Basketball, Race, and the American Dream - Hardcover

Reuben A. Buford May is Professor of Sociology at Texas A & M University. He is the author of Talking at Trena’s: Everyday Conversations at an African American Tavern (NYU Press, 2001).

“A powerful and sober analysis of the lives of poor young people and coaches who sustain themselves with meaningful relationships and impossible dreams. May is an outstanding participant observer and interviewer who takes his reader into a social world, unpacks its meaning, and shows off the power of a vivid sociological imagination.”
-Mitchell Duneier,author of Sidewalk and Slim’s Table

“Much of what’s recounted here will surprise few; what leaps out is Living [through the Hoop]’s stark, confessional observations, its lengthy ruminations and the apparent lack of a fairy-tale postscript.”

“;Moving and memorable, Living Through the Hoop offers an unflinching account of black male ballplayers’ lives. Immersing himself in the lives of players on a high school basketball team, leading ethnographer May eloquently describes the impact of their hoop dreams. May's profound analysis shows basketball playing can often lead to success in not so flamboyant ways, as young men learn to avoid lures of mean streets, develop teamwork and fairness values, and counter omnipresent barriers of a racist society.”
-Joe R. Feagin,author of Systemic Racism

“May’s description of the experiences of these boys is readable and poignant; he describes the impact of drugs, alcohol, and violence on his players and also explores issues of masculinity and sportsmanship.”
-Choice

“May’s commitment to these boys is clear, as he becomes convinced that even though their fantasies of living the American dream are for the most part a dirty trick, it still remains about the best thing going in their sadly limited lives.”
-Publishers Weekly