By Rus Bradburd
University of New Mexico Press

Review by: Jessi Hafer

“How I wound up there – after fourteen years of coaching major-college basketball in the States – and what unfolded in the town of Tralee is less a story than a tale. In fact, it’s less a tale than a ballad; a ballad without discernible meter, which might make it what the Irish call a “slow air.”

This is a great book for sports fans. I was not planning on reviewing this book myself because I’m not a sports fan. However, one Saturday afternoon, I picked up the book to give it a glance. By the following afternoon, I had read every page.

In “Paddy on the Hardwood,” author Rus Bradburd shares his experiences living in Tralee, Ireland, coaching professional basketball (the Tralee Tigers) and improving his fiddle skills in the traditional Irish music scene. You will love this book as long as you like one of the following: basketball, music, or interesting characters. I’m sure everyone likes at least one of these three things. The delightful surprise is when you get to a section of the book you don’t think you’ll enjoy as much (like the basketball parts, in my case) and you DO enjoy them, and you’re drawn in.

I would never admit this, but I found myself rooting for Rus’s basketball team! My usual detachment from anything sports-related was overcome by the story of these underdogs trying to make it on a tight budget in a country where basketball is nowhere close to the popularity of basketball in the States. The obstacles compound, with unsophisticated practice and game facilities, an ever-changing player roster, strict limits on practice time, and sponsor difficulties.

When not guiding his basketball team, Rus seeks guidance himself. Admitting that “the Irish music scene wasn’t huge even in Ireland,” Rus sharpens his skills in the music sessions in numerous pubs and in lessons with fiddler Paddy Jones. Each chapter is named after a traditional Irish tune, but the most familiar aspect of the music portions of the story is the struggle of trying to learn something new.

Rus tells us about a lot of quirky Irish phenomena and characters along the way. From their addiction to cell phones, plethora of pubs, and unique sense of humor, you can’t help but smile as you get to know the people and places in Rus’s book. The true magnetism of Rus’s book is that Rus tells each portion in his story in a way that is approachable for people unfamiliar or unappreciative of basketball or Irish music, yet details are so well chosen and construed that aficionados are compelled and propelled through the story as well. As you turn the pages, you will find yourself wondering – no, needing to know - what happens to the team, the players, and Rus’s fiddle lessons in this