"Exhaustively reported and eminently readable . Three-Ring Circus is a valuable addition to the Kobe Bryant canon--deeply reported and unflinchingly honest. By documenting Bryant's youthful immaturity and harmful actions, Pearlman offers a fuller picture of a beloved but complicated man." -- Time "Pearlman [is] an amazing journalist with an eye for the revealing detail . NBA fans will absolutely devour this book." -- Booklist, starred review "Pearlman excites with this enjoyable, exhaustively reported, and unsparing portrait of the early 2000s Los Angeles Lakers . Pearlman's ability to uncover juicy anecdotes . illuminates how egos and immaturity were the Lakers' fatal opponents.
This will be a three-pointer for hoops fans." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review "A must-read for all basketball fans, especially considering Bryant's tragic death in January 2020." -- Library Journal, starred review "Everything you wanted to know about the Los Angeles Lakers in the Kobe and Shaq days . More nuanced than the homages following [Bryant's] tragic death earlier this year . [Pearlman] deftly illuminates the many dramatic twists and turns of a unique team . Easy reading that will appeal to all fans--and likely raise the ire of a few apologists." -- Kirkus Reviews " Three Ring Circus is a sports-writing classic, reminding us all that greatness can be ugly up close. The book shines in its portrayal of a young Kobe Bryant, as Pearlman pulls back the layers of the polarizing figure to show what it is to ache to be great: the isolation, the loneliness, the superhuman drive that such greatness requires, before time, circumstance, and age allowed him to evolve.
" --Mirin Fader, Bleacher Report "It stuns me as a writer that somebody could find so many voices and so much detail for such a recollection. It must have been Jeff Pearlman who wrote this." --Chuck Culpepper, Washington Post "Behind-the-scenes dives into teams never get old, and Jeff Pearlman offers just that into one of the most captivating dynasties. This is a hardcore, uncensored reveal of the enormous egos powering those fascinating and controversial Lakers." --Marcus Thompson, best-selling author of Golden: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry.