Feinstein, John. The last amateurs; playing for glory and honor in Division. 1 college basketball.

Little, Brown, Back Bay Books. 442p. c2000. 0-316-27842-4. $14.95. SA

Everybody cheers for the underdog! Dating back to Biblical times, when David fought Goliath, there's a special feeling associated with witnessing someone successfully accomplish something thought to be impossible. The concept of the underdog is particularly important in the world of sports. Basketball is no exception, and the underdog concept takes "center court" in John Feinstein's excellent profile of the collegiate Patriot League in The Last Amateurs.

While most college basketball fans (and the general public as well) are familiar with the major collegiate leagues (Big 10, PAC 10, Big East, Mid-American, etc.) few are aware of the Patriot League. Composed of Bucknell, Colgate, College of the Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, U.S. Military Academy (West Point), and U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis), the Patriot League--according to Feinstein's detailed analysis of players, coaches and games--is a league with "heart" that places academics before basketball.

The detail in this book (a credit to Feinstein, a sports writer who has written several best-selling golf books and is a frequent contributor to Golf Magazine, the Washington Post, and National Public Radio) and its comprehensive index make it a great resource for use in a sports literature, social science, or physical education class. However, The Last Amateurs would be best used as a teacher resource or in a group/class project setting for senior high students with excellent reading comprehension skills. Tom Adamich, Tech. Serv., Stetson Univ., College of Law, S. Pasadena, CA