I'm glad one of the best sportswriters there is (Jeff Pearlman) decided to write a book on the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers. Pearlman has this way of being engrossed and super passionate about the sports subjects he writes about. And I know this because I've read five books written by him (The Last Folk Hero, Boys Will Be Boys, Football for a Buck, Gunslinger, and Showtime).Showtime was about the on and off the court ups and downs of the 1979-1980 to 1990-1991 Lakers, with a final chapter dedicated to the season (1991-1992) when Magic Johnson revealed that he was HIV positive. Then there was an afterword that served as an update on some of the players and front office employees of those Showtime era Lakers teams.I either wasn't born yet or too young (I'm an early 1980s baby) to understand what was going on with the 1980s Lakers. So, what better way to educate yourself on a subject that you were too young for than by reading a book like this, going on YouTube to watch Showtime era Lakers games, or studying the Lakers on the Basketball Reference website.This book really educated me on a special era in not only Lakers history but in NBA and sports history.I learned so many things about the 1980s Lakers from this book such as on page 69 where I found out that it was the teams' director of promotions (Roy Englebrecht) at the time and owner Jerry Buss who started the Laker Girls. If it weren't for those two men, there would be no Laker Girls and Paula Abdul may have never become the star that she was in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I also learned from this book (page 168) that Kobe Bryant's father used to play for the San Diego Clippers in the early 1980s.For years I always thought that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was this nice and gentle giant, but not according to this book. Pearlman really went in on Abdul-Jabbar but with evidence though. Pearlman is old enough to remember the Sky Hook maven when he was in his prime plus the author had a handful of interviews from players, coaches, and etc. who knew and played against big ole number 33. According to this book and from my own reading of the book, people put up with Abdul-Jabbar all those years because he was a star, and the Lakers were winning. I'll never look at Abdul-Jabbar the same way again after reading this book.Pearlman really did a great job in this book analyzing the stars, the backups, and the scrubs of those Showtime teams. Most people who write about the Lakers Showtime teams only really care about Magic, James Worthy, Kareem, Byron Scott and A.C. Green. But not this book. He discussed obscure and backup players such as center Mike Smrek, point guard Wes Matthews, power forward Frank Brickowski, and others. He even discussed the tragic saga of Bob McAdoo and failed first round draft picks in that Showtime era.Pearlman wanted to go full circle with this book, and he accomplished that. Even though this book was comprehensive as it numbered 417 pages, I get the feeling that Pearlman wanted this book to be 500 pages or more. Just a lot of passionate writing coupled with an in-depth analysis of a special era in Lakers history.Pros of Showtime: This book was well researched. Just about every page of this book was filled with facts and stories that could satisfy even the most die-hard Laker fans. Plus, this book wasn't just written with a sports reporter's pen, it was also written with a psychological bent and I appreciated that.Cons of Showtime: Tell me why it was necessary for Pearlman to go after the beloved Chick Hearn on page 79 (".... the egomaniacal Hearn ...) and in other places of the book? One of the rules of Laker fandom or any sports fandom for that matter is to never disrespect the legacy of Hearn or Vin Scully. EVER!!!In conclusion, Showtime is an excellent book on a once in a lifetime era in Lakers history. Pearlman wrote this book with an objective and a no one is spared manner. He didn't sugarcoat anything in this book. He discussed Norm Nixon's mood swings. The huge ego of Pat Riley when the Lakers started winning championships. Magic being a prolific bedfellow to so many women from 1979 to 1990. The exciting private and public life of Jerry Buss. It's all there in this book. And I'll say this, if you don't like this book then maybe you just don't like basketball or care about the Lakers.