Book excerpt: Allen Iverson transcended race, celebrity, and pop culture and emerged from a troubled past to become one of the most successful and highly compensated athletes in the world. Babb examines what drove his successes and failures, getting behind the familiar, sanitized, and heroic version of Iverson-- the hard-charging, hard-partying athlete who played every game as if it were his last. He brings to life a private, loyal, and often generous Allen Iverson who rarely made the headlines, revealing the back story behind some of Iverson's most memorable moments, and delves deep to discover where Iverson's demons lurked. Over time, Iverson himself came to believe his own hype: that he lived in a world where celebrity is eternal and riches are everlasting.