“Reclaiming history.”

Chatter rolls at the Gaithersburg Book Festival with historian, professor, and author Theresa Runstedtler. She shares “Black Ball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the Generation That Saved the Soul of the NBA.” Meticulously researched and compellingly written, the book chronicles and corrects the league’s history, both its “dark ages” of the 1970s and subsequent rise.  She weaves historical insights and social analysis into a fascinating look at how the game was changed and the players launched the NBA into the global powerhouse it is today.