Nate Branch: Playing My Way Through Life

Harlem Globetrotter Nate Branch brought joy to millions of fans for fifteen years and his amazing life is captured in this biography, co-authored with award-winning author Barry Kienzle. Nate’s love for music, learned at an early age, continues to entertain and praise God from the church piano.

Mom’s Choice Award
Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist

Hollywood Book Festival Award
New York Book Festival Award
Paris Book Festival Award
New England Book Festival Award

$19.95

Mom’s Choice Award
Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist
Hollywood Book Festival Award
New York Book Festival Award
Paris Book Festival Award
New England Book Festival Award

Harlem Globetrotter Nate Branch brought joy to millions of fans for fifteen years and his amazing life is captured in this biography, co-authored with award-winning author Barry Kienzle.

Nate Branch is a man of multiple talents, using all of them on his sensational trip through life. Born of a Baptist preacher in America’s Bible belt, he learned to play the church piano at a young age and his love of music and song was forever woven into his soul. He excelled at basketball at the high school and college levels and eventually entertained millions internationally for fifteen years as a Harlem Globetrotter. He never abandoned his call to music, honing his skills throughout his career and returning to it after playing, now continuing to entertain and praise God from the church piano.

Author

Nate Branch, Barry Kienzle

Cover

Paperback

ISBN

9781951556853

Pages

168

Size

6 x 9

Year Published

2022

1 review for Nate Branch: Playing My Way Through Life

  1. Reviewed by Kimberlee J Benart for Readers’ Favorite

    Nate Branch: Playing My Way Through Life is an autobiography by former Harlem Globetrotter Nate Branch with Barry Kienzle. Branch played for the iconic exhibition basketball team for fifteen years, from 1967 when he was recruited after he left college, to 1983 when he was abruptly dropped from the team after illegal drugs were found in his luggage. Branch denied knowledge of the drugs and believes they were planted. Although the narrative is heavily focused on his years with the Globetrotters, it fully covers his life before and after that era with a special focus on his abiding love for music. Excerpts from lyrics he has written and several photographs are included as well as a foreword by Dave Newhouse, a former sportswriter for the Oakland Tribune.

    In Nate Branch: Playing My Way Through Life, Nate Branch and Barry Kienzle give us both the biography of a man whose first love in life was music but who played basketball simply because he was good at it, and an unvarnished look at the inner workings of the Harlem Globetrotters from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. This included the team’s 1971 strike over poor working conditions. The story is written in a straightforward, conversational tone. Branch presents himself as an imperfect man with a natural talent who was allowed to do things, go places, and meet people he could never have dreamed of in his boyhood. “Who could ask for a more rewarding life?” he asks. “God has smiled on me!” An interesting and eye-opening read.

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About the Authors

Nate Branch is a man of multiple talents, using all of them on his sensational trip through life. Born of a Baptist preacher in America’s Bible belt, he learned to play the church piano at a young age and his love of music and song was forever woven into his soul. He excelled at basketball at the high school and college levels and eventually entertained millions internationally for fifteen years as a Harlem Globetrotter. He never abandoned his call to music, honing his skills throughout his career and returning to it after playing, now continuing to entertain and praise God from the church piano.


Barry Kienzle was born, raised and educated in northern Kentucky and is in every sense, a Kentucky boy, proud of his heritage and the state he calls home. As such, he is very familiar with its history and culture and feels honored that his first novel, The Crossings, is a story with northern Kentucky origins.

Barry studied Accounting at Northern Kentucky University, became a CPA and worked primarily in the accounting and finance areas in construction and real estate development companies, currently as a CFO. As he nears retirement, he is venturing toward a second career in writing and felt compelled to begin it with a novel about an amazing venture of his father’s who, in 1932 hopped a freight train and rode it to New Orleans to see the Mardi Gras.

Barry’s devotion to the community has led him to serve on many boards over time including Habitat for Humanity, senior citizens groups, school and other capital raising campaigns and other not-for-profit organizations. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of both the Northern Kentucky University Foundation and the Bank of Kentucky. For more information visit Barry’s website HERE

Zoom Into Books Presentations

 

Challenges of Writing Historical Fiction  – View Here on Zoom Into Books YouTube Channel

The Crossings and The Indian   – the stories behind these two novels plus as the challenges of writing historical fiction.  

Non-Fiction Writing Memoirs – Available Soon on Zoom Into Books YouTube Channel

Heart of a Lion – the story of Willie Burton, the high school wrestler who suffered with cerebral palsy and how his story has motivated others to overcome their own obstacles. Watch HERE