Chaucer’s Books will host journalist Scott Howard-Cooper and former UCLA basketball coach and UCSB athletic director Gary Cunningham for a virtual book talk of Howard-Cooper’s “Kingdom on Fire: Kareem, Wooden, Walton, and the Turbulent Days of the UCLA Basketball Dynasty,” 4-7 p.m. Monday, March 4 on Zoom and YouTube Live.

To access the video discussion, click here.

In the tradition of “Blood in the Garden” and “Three-Ring Circus” “Kingdom on Fire” is a narrative history of the iconic UCLA Bruins championship teams led by legendary coach John Wooden — an incredible true story about the messy, never-easy pursuit of perfection set against the turmoil of American culture in the 1960s and ’70s.

Few basketball dynasties have reigned supreme like the UCLA Bruins did over college basketball from 1965-75 (seven consecutive titles, three perfect records, an 88-game winning streak that remains unmatched).

At the center of the legendary franchise were the now-iconic players Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bill Walton, naturally reserved personalities who became outspoken giants when it came to race and the Vietnam War.

These generational talents were led by John Wooden, a conservative counterweight to his star players whose leadership skills would transcend the game after his retirement. But before the three of them became history, they would have to make it — together.

Los Angeles native and longtime sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times, Howard Cooper draws on more than 100 interviews and extensive access to many of the principal figures, including Wooden’s family to deliver a narrative that reveals the turmoil at the heart of this storied college basketball program.

Howard-Cooper has covered professional and college sports since the 1980s for major outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His work has earned multiple national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Professional Basketball Writers Association.

Cunningham was a 1960-61-62 basketball forward, and ’62 co-captain of the UCLA team that came within seconds of a chance at the NCAA championship.

Cunningham was the coach of Lew Alcindor’s freshman team that defeated Wooden’s defending NCAA championship team in the opening scrimmage of the 1965-66 season.

Cunningham then served as an assistant coach to Coach Wooden from 1969-75 and was a part of six National Championship teams. In 1976 and ‘77, Cunningham served as executive director of the UCLA Alumni Association before returning to the hardwood.

Cunningham followed Gene Bartow as head coach during the 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons when the Bruins went 50-8, won two Pac-10 championships and two NCAA berths before resigning to enter the field of athletic administration. Basketball