Product Description

Recent Duke University graduate Aaron Dinin has produced an entertaining, imaginative look at Krzyzewskiville, the tent city named after Duke University’s head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski (Sha-shef-ski). A unique Duke tradition, Krzyzewskiville is used to determine which students are admitted into key games. Taking Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales as his model, Dinin has created characters who narrate their semi-fictionalized tales—by turns reverent, bawdy, and humorous—to enlighten readers about this cherished institution.

So the story begins. On a wintry night in Durham, North Carolina, writes Dinin, twelve students huddle under the meager protection of a nylon tent. They have little in common except the sacrosanct tradition that has brought them together for the past month. Before the sun next sets, they will anoint themselves in blue and white paint and enter nearby Cameron Indoor Stadium to worship at the altar of Blue Devil basketball. In the meantime, they abide in Krzyzewskiville.

A stranger enters the tent, a respected sportswriter, and suggests that the tenters pass the hours until the next tent check by telling stories of Krzyzewskiville. Like Chaucer’s pilgrims, the students compete to tell the best tale. They report on ribald extracurricular tenting activities, relate a dream in which Duke basketball players and coaches test a fan’s loyalty, debate the rationality of tenting as a way of allocating students’ tickets, and describe the spontaneous tent city that sprang up one summer when their beloved "Coach K" was offered a job elsewhere. This storytelling competition creates a loving portrait of the complex rules and tribal customs that make up the rich community and loyal fans that are Krzyzewskiville.

Mickie Krzyzewski, Coach K’s wife and a familiar courtside figure at Duke basketball games, has contributed a foreword praising the "love, commitment, and ownership" of the citizens of Krzyzewskiville.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1016795 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 296 pages

Review
"Dinin channels Chaucer as Duke's tent-dwellers rewrite The Canterbury Tales." -- Carol Herwig, USA Today

"Dinin probes the history and cachet of the little village . . . [with] a respect for good storytelling." -- John Levesque, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Dinin's book can be treasured for its wit and charm." -- Marilyn Dahl, Shelf Awareness

"In the grand Southern tradition, Dinin has taken a postage stamp of land and created a world." -- Chad W. Post, The Believer

"This is a beautiful little book . . . filled with the boundless joy of being a Dukie during the wonder years." -- John Valentine, Independent Weekly

From the Publisher
"This inventive and enlightening romp through the wintertime tent city on the Duke campus is like a trip back in time. You’ll find yourself in college again, taking Anthro 101 and Chaucer and letting ACC basketball run your life."—Alexander Wolff, senior writer, Sports Illustrated

"It takes great effort to be able to create the spirit that lives in Krzyzewskiville. That spirit is nourished by living together in self-imposed sacrifice for the good of a single common cause. . . . Is it mythical? Is it magical? Is it insanity? Is it right? Yes."—Mickie Krzyzewski, from the foreword

From the Back Cover
“This inventive and enlightening romp through the wintertime tent city on the Duke campus is like a trip back in time. You’ll find yourself in college again, taking Anthro 101 and Chaucer and letting ACC basketball run your life.”—Alexander Wolff, senior writer, Sports Illustrated

Customer Reviews

Witty and Entertaining
I thought the Krzyzewskiville Tales did just what it was supposed to do... I learned about Duke and K-ville, but in an entertaining way. I read some other review that said some negative stuff, but I just think those people didn't get the literary allusion. It's desgined in the style of Chaucer, and the book keeps true to that while still explaining the history of K-ville. As a Duke alumnus, I'm proud to have this wonderful tradition represented in such a creative way. And all my friends and family that I've bought it for have trully enjoyed it.

A converted Duke basketball fan
Though never having been a particularly big Duke basketball fan, I picked up a copy of this book upon a friend's advice, and am glad I did. It's an entertaining way to learn about the fascinating history of what everyone knows is a storied basketball dynasty (whether you like 'em or not, it's true). The stories are easy to read, but packed with relevant information, and I was able to breeze through the book in one sitdown while still feeling like I'd gained a lot of knowledge. I look forward to what Mr. Dinin writes next.

K-ville
Aaron Dinin gives an insider view of the greatest support group the Duke basketball program has-its students at Krzyzewskiville.
The story unfolds as a group of students, tenting for tickets for a Duke basketball game, decide to while away a few hours by each giving their perspective on K-ville.

A must read for basketball fans, everywhere.