"Swidey, an award-winning journalist for the Boston Globe Magazine, quickly converts his readers into genuine fans of these young men. Like O'Brien, he shows a fanatical devotion to his subject. He follows the team off the court and into the projects, to pizza parties and prestigious tournaments. The Assist will prove indispensable to anyone interested in the art of coaching at any level or in any sport. And by distracting us from the sordid, steroid-fueled headlines, Swidey reminds us why we enjoy watching sports in the first place."
-- THE WASHINGTON POST

"I highly recommend it."
-Bill Simmons, ESPN's The Sports Guy.

"Team sports, like life, are never simple. Beneath the concrete final score, there are games within games, small plays leading to big plays, a melding of diverse talents and personalities into a cohesive (or disparate) unit. Rarely is that tapestry revealed as fully, and as convincingly, as in Neil Swidey's The Assist."
-- BOSTON GLOBE

"Neil Swidey might have started out trying to tell the tale of an exceptionally successful high school basketball team and their coach, but as he spent time with the subjects of his story, he realized that they could help him explore a much larger story. His book is about basketball, certainly, but it is also about education, race, the hypocrisy with which our games are riddled, and a collection of young men trying to figure out who they are and who they can be."
-BILL LITTLEFIELD, HOST OF NPR'S ONLY A GAME

"One does not have to be from Boston to appreciate Swidey's writing skills. His characters are real and have a story to tell. It's a tale that pulsates with the intensity of a full-court press." - TAMPA TRIBUNE

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY gives The Assist an A- 'There's triumph, tragedy, and salvation in this story. Not to mention a movie.' Read review here

"He shoots, it's good...Swidey masterfully deploys his observations to make his points."
--NEW YORK POST

"[Swidey] builds narrative momentum and details his subjects with the touch of a skilled novelist. This is a prodigiously reported, compulsively readable book that readers (sports fans or not) will savor."
-PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"The Assist is a great book that should be read by every high school athlete in the country."
--Dan Rea, host of "NightSide with Dan Rea" on WBZ Radio (AM 1030)

"With a powerful, moving narrative, Neil Swidey has delivered the rarest of transcendent sports books. Coach Jack O'Brien and his Charlestown players will bring you to your feet, and they'll bring you to tears. Most of all, they'll make you care about a game so much bigger than winning and losing. This is a brilliant book, one that will stay with you."
- ADRIAN WOJNAROWSKI, author of New York Times bestseller The Miracle of St. Anthony

"Thankfully, The Assist isn't a formula sports story where everything leads up to 'The Big Game' that's won in overtime. It's an absorbing examination of at-risk, inner-city youths who succeed against all odds. GRADE: A." --ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

"This is a fine piece of journalistic literature; do not make the mistake of thinking it is for sports fans only." --SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

"Like Hoop Dreams, this captivating account transcends its time and place." -BOOKLIST

"Swidey is there for it all." -NCAA Champion Magazine

"A noble debut." -Kirkus Reviews

"A powerhouse work of literary journalism about a powerhouse basketball program and the coach who wouldn't take no for an answer."
-Madeleine Blais, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle