Wilt: Larger than Life

Wilt: Larger Than Life (ISBN 1572439157) is a biography of NBA professional basketball player Wilt Chamberlain by journalist Robert Cherry. The 416-page book was published in November 2004 by Triumph Books. The foreword is written by Jerry West, Chamberlain's teammate and friend on the Los Angeles Lakers.

Cover of the book

The book spans Wilt Chamberlains' life, starting with his roots in Philadelphia, highlights his rise to young basketball prodigy in Overbrook High School and at Kansas University, follows his NBA career as member of the Philadelphia / San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers and Lakers franchises and his successful business life afterwards and up to his death. Cherry also delves into the more colorful aspects of Chamberlain's private life, most prominently his notorious claim to have slept with 20,000 women.

In the final "Acknowledgements" chapter, Cherry sites over 150 interviews, and singles out Chamberlain's lawyer Sy Goldberg, his sister Barbara Lewis (née Chamberlain) his long-time physician Dr Stan Lorber, and close personal friends Lynda Huey, Zelda Spoelstra, Bob Billings as main sources.

As Angelo Cataldi, host of The Morning Show, 610 WIP, said: "I'm not sure even [Robert Cherry] realizes exactly how superb a job he did at capturing the greatest athlete and my favorite athlete of the past half-century. Cherry got access to all of the most important people in Wilt Chamberlain's life, and he recounted the incredible accomplishments of the player and also the tortured psyche of the man. Cherry sugarcoats nothing, and he explores every facet of Wilt's life, including a whole chapter on the 20,000 women Wilt supposedly slept with and the never-before-told final days of Chamberlain's life. This book has my highest recommendation."

"Don't bother looking for a better treatise about the complexities, mysteries and caprices of Wilt Chamberlain than a new book by Robert Cherry. You won't find one, now or ever. Cherry's ... research, extensive coverage, clear and concise narrative, and obvious devotion to a labor of love will astound you. At least it did me, and I thought I knew a lot about the Big Dipper." - Bill Mayer, Sports Editor and Managing Editor Lawrence Journal -World.

Reception

Booklist has been appreciative of the book. It calls it "a solid biography for any sports collection", "addresses the misconception [that Chamberlain was perennially called a loser]", and "also gives enough, but not too much, attention to Chamberlain's ill-considered, though possibly accurate, boast that he'd slept with some 20,000 women."[1]

References
  1. Alan Moores. "Wilt: Larger than Life". American Library Association. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
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