Watching a player launch into the air and slam a basketball home down through the rim is one of sports most exciting moments But is the move more than eye-candy? Doeden makes a compelling case for exploring the history and highlights of an athletic innovation that helped to turn a slow-paced game into one of the world’s most popular. Dynamic descriptions of basketball action alternate effectively with substantive history and science-based analysis in four short chapters, full of photographs and sidebars. Basketball fans will find plenty of famous firsts and learn about game changing male and female basketball royalty. While the brief biographies may draw readers, it is the surprising and compelling facts that will stick with them. High interest and high value combine in a book perfect for pleasure and school projects. Just like the slam dunk, the eponymous book, delivers a win. Backmatter includes a glossary, source notes, further reading and an index, making the book just as good for reports as it is for pleasure reading