Last Dance: Behind the Scenes at the Final Four
Author: John Feinstein
I purchased this book on account that it chronicles the 2005 Final Four – an April weekend that included my beloved Michigan State Spartans. It took the excitement of the 2015 March Madness basketball tournament to first open the pages – approximately 18 months after making the purchase. My reading list is just too long and this was not a priority in my mind.
Anyways, the book was not what I expected. This is of no one’s fault but my own as it clearly describes the books contents on the front and back flaps. I was hoping for a detailed account of the events that transpired the week of the 2005 Final Four. I was particularly hoping for a behind the scenes look at each team that participated.
It turns out that Last Dance is more a historical reference to past college basketball post-season tournaments and a behind the scenes look at the people who are responsible for making the event what it is today. This includes referees, the Selection Committee, television networks, and past players and coaches. The book concludes with a few chapters on the actual weekend of the Final Four but really only includes the two teams that played in the championship game – North Carolina and Illinois.
As I was reading through the book I was constantly debating on calling it quits and moving on to the next piece on my reading list. Now that I have managed to flip the last page, I realize that it was a more enjoyable read than I gave credit during the process.
Although it was not what I expected/hoped it would be, Last Dance is still a good read as a fan of college basketball. I was able to learn a little bit about the history of March Madness and given some insight to the parties involved for making it all happen.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is a big fan of college basketball, both past and present. More specifically, I would highly recommend this book to a fan of North Carolina, as they were by far the team most chronicled – as well as the champions of the 2005 tournament. For a fan of Illinois, the team on the losing end of that game, it may be a little tough to stomach.
