The Breaks of the Game

Name: The Breaks of the Game
Price: 11.35 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.5 (875 reviews)
Author: David Halberstam

by David Halberstam

Nonfiction Memoir

4.5 (875)

4.5 stars from 875 reviews. Top 91% of Nonfiction books we track.

400 pages~6.7 hr readPublished by HyperionPublished 1981-01-01

$11.35Near peak price

Last checked: Jun 1, 2026

Price history: $2.99 – $13.99

While not the biggest discount we've seen for this book, it's still a great deal and we recommend grabbing it before price returns to its normal range.

Price range: $2.99 – $13.99

Buy on Amazon - $11.35

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Perfect for you if...

You're interested in how money and ego corrupt institutions, whether you care about basketball or not.
You appreciate deeply reported narrative nonfiction that puts you in the room with real people under pressure.
You want to understand 1970s America through the lens of one failing professional team.

Maybe not for you if...

You want a straightforward sports book focused purely on plays, stats, and game recaps.
You need a feel-good underdog story rather than an unflinching look at decline and dysfunction.
You prefer lighter reading that doesn't grapple with race, class, and systemic corruption.

About this book

The Breaks of the Game examines the 1979-80 season of the Portland Trail Blazers, a team led by Bill Walton that had won the NBA championship just three years earlier. The book focuses on this difficult season in the franchise's history. Beyond basketball, Halberstam uses the sport as a lens to explore broader themes about American society. He examines how power, money, and talent intersect and sometimes lead to corruption. The book addresses the role of media, fan culture, ethical conflicts, the physical toll of modern sports including drug use and body demands, athlete salaries, racial and class tensions, and the transformation of sports into mass entertainment with athletes becoming celebrities.

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We track price drops, sale patterns, and predict when this book will go on offer next.

Price History

Kindle price over time. Green zones = periods when the book was free.

$2.99 – $13.99

Price has dropped 9 times over the last 6 years. Goes on sale roughly every 162 days. Typically stays discounted for 18 days.

Sales Rank

Amazon sales rank: lower number = better selling book. #1 is the bestseller.

Currently around #30K in the Kindle store — a steady mid-list seller. Climbing the charts — 29% improvement recently.

Rating & Reviews

Purple line = star rating over time. Blue area = total review count growth.

Currently 4.5★ from 875 reviews

Gaining approximately 4 new reviews per month. Rating has remained stable at 4.5 over the tracking period.

Sale Prediction

Actual Predicted

This book goes on sale roughly every 162 days. Next drop estimated in about 23 weeks. Typical discount: 79% off.

Prices shown in USD from Amazon US. We continuously pull new data to improve tracking. If dates look old, it usually means there has been no significant change since the last data point.