Art Chansky signs his book Game Changers: Dean Smith, Charlie Scott, and the Era That Transformed a Southern College Town
Thu 6/15, 5:30-6pm
Art Chansky signs his book Game Changers: Dean Smith, Charlie Scott, and the Era That Transformed a Southern College Town
Just in time for Father's Day, Art Chansky will be in the store from 5:30-6pm on Thursday 6/15 to sign copies of his book Game Changers. Place your order online or by phone by 5:30pm on Thursday, and we'll make sure it's signed. Personalized signed books need to be pre-paid. Attendance is not required to get a signed book, but you're welcome to stop by and chat with Art while he signs!
About Art Chansky and Game Changers:
Among many legendary episodes from the life and career of men’s basketball coach Dean Smith, few loom as large as his recruitment of Charlie Scott, the first African American scholarship athlete at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Drawn together by college basketball in a time of momentous change, Smith and Scott helped transform a university, a community, and the racial landscape of sports in the South. But there is much more to this story than is commonly told. In Game Changers, Art Chansky reveals an intense saga of race, college sport, and small-town politics. At the center were two young men, Scott and Smith, both destined for greatness but struggling through challenges on and off the court, among them the storms of civil rights protest and the painfully slow integration in a Chapel Hill far less progressive than its reputation today might suggest.
Drawing on extensive personal interviews and a variety of other sources, Chansky takes readers beyond the basketball court to highlight the community that supported Smith and Scott during these challenging years, from assistant basketball coach John Lotz to influential pastor Reverend Robert Seymour to pioneering African American mayor Howard Lee. Challenging many myths that surround this period, Chansky nevertheless offers an ultimately triumphant portrait of a student-athlete and coach who ensured the University of North Carolina would never be the same.
Art Chansky, UNC ’70, has written four books on the history of UNC Basketball and Dean Smith, including the 1996 best-seller The Dean’s List (Warner Books) and the 2005 best-seller Blue Blood (St. Martin’s Press). He has also written Dean’s Domain (Longstreet, 1999) and Light Blue Reign (St. Martin’s Press, 2009).
The former Sports Editor of The Daily Tar Heel and the Durham Morning Herald, Chansky has also written hundreds of feature stories and Internet columns about UNC Basketball, Smith and his Hall of Fame career. However, this book is a departure from those – a prequel that tells the story of Smith the humanitarian before the world knew him as one of the best basketball coaches in the history of the game. Chansky has personal relationships with most of the people contributing to this book.