The Basketball Diaries: The Classic About Growing Up Hip on New York's Mean Streets

I could not find this book at my local library, but of course I found it on Amazon. This read is insightful, interesting, and downright blunt about the events and life in a young boy in the city of New York.

This book is a very well described portrayal of 1980’s New York. Husband loves it.

Great “Gen-X” read about clearly one of the toughest kids I’ve ever read about and a brutal history about a little part of Manhattan that’ll make the film Taxi Driver look like a Disney movie. This has some shocking moments, not for the faint of heart, but I found the writer’s brutal honesty refreshing and instructive. This book should be in every high school library but it never will because of the language, which is too bad because I can see teens learning a lot from this personal account of growing up hard, without apologies or preaching morality tales to anyone.

I did find the book to be interesting, but I feel like it didn’t really give us much for an ending. Didn’t really go through the pains of finding sobriety like I expected. Mostly getting sick while trying to get clean, but falling down and using again. I think I wanted more of his journey from the person he used to be to the person he is now.

A college classic. This isn't great literature by any stretch of the imagination, but every disaffected 19-year-old boy who's ever read it has come away changed. Also, reading it now as a middle-aged grown-up, I am certain that many parts of the diaries were edited later, and are close to bulls***. I lived in NYC back then, and it's not quite how things went down. But still, I would recommend gifting this book to any college student who's the least bit hip. I read it in 1979 or so, and 35 years later it still sizzles.

Great easy read.....For those that say the book has no plot or structure, keep in mind that this is a diary. These are daily diary entries of kid between the age of 13 to 15. It's not supposed to have a plot or structure. Incredible the life this kid experienced at such a young age. He lived more life by the age of 15 than most in a full lifetime. Quick easy read. Took several hours to get through.I'll pass on the movie as I'm sure it sucks. Hollywood tends to ruin every great book.

18 year old son became interested in NYC in the 70's and 80's. Jim Carroll was New York, for the good and the bad, and this book is an overlooked master-class in true. the kid got it, loved it and lived up to his promise -- he read it before watching the movie. great generational share and worth the time to read and gift.

I had to wonder where were this kid’s parents? Also, I hated the way it ended (no spoilers, so I won’t say why).

Assisti o filme há algum tempo e fazia tempo que queria ler este livro e a experiência em inglês é muito boa.Chegou rápido, veio bem embalado.

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Love reading it, a glimpse of NY of the 60s. I carry it around to school and everywhere, and there's a lot of slang in there that's not used anymore but you'll get it from the context. Topics are youth, growing up in tough neighbourhoods and conditions, drugs ofc, and basketball obviously.very nice read, inspiring if you will. Also written so well for a 15 or so year old

It’s excellent , so unique

Perfecto