Book Description
By the author of the bestselling Moneyball: in football, as in life, the value we place on people changes with the rules of the games they play.
The young man at the center of this extraordinary and moving story will one day be among the most highly paid athletes in the National Football League. When we first meet him, he is one of thirteen children by a mother addicted to crack; he does not know his real name, his father, his birthday, or any of the things a child might learn in school—such as, say, how to read or write. Nor has he ever touched a football.
What changes? He takes up football, and school, after a rich, Evangelical, Republican family plucks him from the mean streets. Their love is the first great force that alters the world's perception of the boy, whom they adopt. The second force is the evolution of professional football itself into a game where the quarterback must be protected at any cost. Our protagonist turns out to be the priceless combination of size, speed, and agility necessary to guard the quarterback's greatest vulnerability: his blind side.
Customer Reviews:
A remarkable story of sport and life.......2007-10-17
This is the most unusual sports book. Michael Lewis, the author of books like Moneyball, has written two stories, intertwined with each other to illustrate his point about how football has radically changed since the rise of what is known as the "West Coast Offense" and its secondary reaction, the rise of fast, large defensive players, and the final reaction, the rise of particularly the Left Tackle position, now the second highest paid position in the NFL.
Lewis begins by telling the story of Bill Walsh and the rise of the West Coast offense in the NFL in the early 80's, and how it was almost rejected out of hand by the powers that be. The success of the San Francisco 49er's and it's role in changing the financial resources of the sport from a TV football viewing audience, led to the need for fast defensive lineman, like Lawrence Taylor, which led in turn to the development of the left tackle position, which is now the second highest paid position in the League, due to a demand for specific physical skills which are almost impossible to find for that role.
Then Lewis telescopes to a most remarkable story: the young, troubled life of Michael Oher, from Memphis, TN. Lewis does show how the colleges have developed NFL tendencies, and how the demand for information about specific talent has been met by people like Tom Lemming and his ground breaking recruiting services of the past 30 years. Oher is a most unlikely story. He was given up by his family, the state welfare agencies, schools, foster agencies, etc., until one day, an older friend took him to an evangelical school in a wealthy, mostly white, suburb of Memphis in hopes of giving him a Christian education.
Oher has no academic skills and has been beat down by life so much, he has no social skills, and does not fit in at all with the other students, until one day, out of kindness and mercy, he is given the opportunity to try out for the school's football team, where runs one drill and stuns the team. Soon at practice, the school field is lined with representatives of nearly major college football in the southeast, and the first drill is interrupted by Clemson assistant Brad Scott telling the staff, in Oher's presence on the field, that Oher has a full scholarship waiting for him at Clemson. Oher is eventually adopted by the Tuohy family, a millionaire family, well connected in sports and business, and the culture clash, between a wealthy, devout family and a social reclusive, poor, giant of a kid takes up the remainder of the book, until Oher eventually enrolls at the Tuohy's alma mater, Mississippi.
Lewis's story is satisfying from many perspectives. He goes deep into the modern cultural and financial behemoth of American football to show why it is working the way it is today. He illustrates well, the lingering tensions in America today between white and black, poor and wealthy, urban and suburb, family breakdown, and college admissions. This reviewer, a graduate of a southern Christian high school, sees where Lewis gets right many things about that movement: a deep sense of piety, a dedicated work ethic, and at many times an oblivious nature to how the rest of the world works, and an inability to deal with many problems endemic to modern children in a deep way: poverty, family breakdown, etc. Though Lewis does get right the sense of mercy that exists among many, motivated by their faith, to help someone in need, whether they understand the costs or not.
Lewis, unfortunately, does not reveal his longstanding personal relationship with the Tuohy family, going back to their undergraduate years until the end of the book. It would have been helpful for a journalist to reveal that early on. And, Lewis is a bit too sympathetic in explaining a fight Oher got into over a personal insult in his freshman year at Ole Miss, that led to a small child being hurt accidentally.
The Blind Side is a remarkable tale of sport, money, class, culture, family and how faith interacts with real individuals dealing with impossible situations.
Book of the Year.......2007-10-11
I've enjoyed all of Lewis' work, but this is his best yet. It's a wonderfully complex story of football history and social commentary. It's one of those books that you shouldn't pick up late at night, because you won't be able to put it down.
Real, inspirational, and alarming.......2007-09-23
The storyline of this book is well known, so I won't review it.
I was highly entertained - the writing is excellent, the story compelling and true.
At the same time, the clear inequities in rescuing just one person from the millions in similar situations was laid bare. Even more troubling to me was the apparently delusional notions of the good Samaritan that he was driven to help the poor rather than the basketball and football teams of his high school and college. Ethical lapses were rampant - The father lied to the NCAA investigation about ignorance of details, he inflated grades with questionable correspondence courses, and generally compromised the academic standards of the high school. The mother lobbied teachers for special treatment, and they intervened with the Ole Miss administration to mitigate the potential criminal charges when Michael nearly badly injured someone just for some insulting comments, which resulted in injuries to a small child. The parent had a friend of Michael's offered scholarships so he could attend the same school, and were proud of their younger son for asking for his own personal favors from the visiting coaches during recruiting season.
The author was not immune, recounting the way the likable giant Michael dominated his high school games as though it was Hercules saving the day, when my impression was more of subverting into a cult of personality for the future pro an amateur contest in which many kids might otherwise get some recreation.
The saving grace is the author includes all the facts (so far as I can tell), and I wound up liking all the people involved despite their flaws, as well as being impressed by their accomplishments.
An enlightening and engaging book, which I highly recommend for people with at least a moderate interest in and knowledge of football.
A good story, but not very insightful.......2007-08-23
First and foremost: The Blind Side is not Moneyball for football, so if that is what you are hoping for look elsewhere.
There are two primary storylines. First, the inner-workings of modern professional football as told through the evolution of the left tackle (aka the "blind side"). Second, the lives of top high school football recruits, as told through the story of one impoverished high school student who happens to be a "freak of nature" football prospect.
I would have liked to have seen more of the first, Moneyball-esque, "inside look" storyline, and less of the second. Unfortunately for me, Lewis focuses on the second.
Great story & read!.......2007-08-11
Buy this book! I enjoyed it so much that, after reading it, I immediately went online and searched for more information about the main character and his current team. The author, Michael Lewis, also does a wonderful of job of weaving in pertinent background information about the history of the NFL passing game, and the importance of the left tackle position in football. If you're looking for a great read, look no further! Michael Oher's story is as inspiring as it gets!
Amazon.com
Secular religions are fascinating in the devotion and zealousness they breed, and in Texas, high school football has its own rabid hold over the faithful. H.G. Bissinger, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, enters into the spirit of one of its most fervent shrines: Odessa, a city in decline in the desert of West Texas, where the Permian High School Panthers have managed to compile the winningest record in state annals. Indeed, as this breathtaking examination of the town, the team, its coaches, and its young players chronicles, the team, for better and for worse, is the town; the communal health and self-image of the latter is directly linked to the on-field success of the former. The 1988 season, the one Friday Night Lights recounts, was not one of the Panthers' best. The game's effect on the community--and the players--was explosive. Written with great style and passion, Friday Night Lights offers an American snapshot in deep focus; the picture is not always pretty, but the image is hard to forget.
Book Description
The classic, best-selling story of life in the football-driven town of Odessa, Texas, with a new afterword that looks at the players and the town ten years later.
Return once again to the timeless account of the Permian Panthers of Odessa--the winningest high-school football team in Texas history. Odessa is not known to be a town big on dreams, but the Panthers help keep the hopes and dreams of this small, dusty town going. Socially and racially divided, its fragile economy follows the treacherous boom-bust path of the oil business. In bad times, the unemployment rate barrels out of control; in good times, its murder rate skyrockets. But every Friday night from September to December, when the Permian High School Panthers play football, this West Texas town becomes a place where dreams can come true. With frankness and compassion, H.G. Bissinger chronicles a season in the life of Odessa and shows how single-minded devotion to the team shapes the community and inspires--and sometimes shatters--the teenagers who wear the Panthers' uniforms.
Customer Reviews:
FRIDAY NIGHT LETDOWN.......2007-09-26
I came into this one with high expectations, especially since I lived in Odessa for a short time in 1986 on a job assignment. Talk about a bleak and desolate place...But I was truly amazed at the hubub around the Panthers. I think that was Gary Gaines first year. I remember the dead-red build up before the Lee game. Saw it all firsthand as a very temporary transplant.
The book was a dissapointment. Okay, but not great. Maybe he should have just written a book about Boobie. He didn't talk nearly enough about the games, for instance. Probably half the book is devoted to off the field issues. Racism, favortism, school system, ect. The rest is Boobie, Boobie, Boobie. Could have been so much better. A letdown beacause it came off as some kind of expose piece.
Ok quick read but it's more tabloid than it is journalism.......2007-06-22
Ok book nothing outstanding. The writing I'd give about a 3. Pretty much college sophomore level. Negatively biased against almost everything generally considered good. A real hatchet job on just about everyone. The author bashes teachers, schools, colleges, parents, parenting, fans, churches, the school board, the coaches, he even spends a chapter bashing Bush #1 and the Republicans. He throws in some gratuitous scatalogical jokes about Bush. He goes out of his way to paint everyone in as poor a moral light as possible. In one case he beats up on a character but to obtain contrast later needs to paint that character in a good light so that he can paint someone else in a poor light.
I read the whole book in a few days at the beach. It's just an average book - not so bad that you put it down but nothing special. I can see the appeal especially to liberal boomer white America. It's the other white American that's bad in this book. You know the one that's not you or me. I figure the author must have won the Pulitzer by sullying some other sacred cow because honestly his writing just isn't that good. The metaphors he uses were unoriginal and were strangely forced in several cases. Read it if you got nothing better to do but I would think you should find better books on the subject of high school football.
Fantasictlickious Book.......2007-06-06
Drew Oliver
Friday Night Lights
H.G. Bissinger
Da Capo Press
©2003
416 Pages
"You saying I can't play football, all I know how to do is play football!" One of the famous quotes from Boobie Miles when he finds out that he can't be the star halfback he wanted. Back in Texas the Permian Panthers was in for a good football season, maybe even take state. With the star running back Boobie hurt, can they still pull it together? The answer to that and all the others is in the text of H.G. Bissinger's book Friday Night Lights. Friday Night Lights is a story about a football team playing their way to the state championship. My favorite part of the book would have to be the last game at state where they were getting completely pounded on but at the very end the Panthers were making an amazing come back. I think this is my favorite part because it is just so glorious and suspenseful and I just know exactly what that feels like. It seems that one big message just keeps coming up. It seems that the book is trying to tell you that you should never give up. To never let anyone hold you back, never let them stop you in believe what you strongly believe, just always try, just never give up. Friday Night Lights was pretty much an all around good book. Every part was exciting and really made you not want to atop reading. The only part that was kind of bad, but more of just a bummer, was the ending but only because I didn't wand it to end that way. But I guess it had more of meaning ending that way. I think all of you out there that like a good sports book that you should definitely go and pick Friday Night Lights up.
friday night lights.......2007-06-04
i thought that this book was just ok. it was just a meteocre book for me. yes, it is a good representation of big town fame and spotlight in a small town. it just did not hit the spot for me thats it.
heartbeat of America.........2007-05-30
a fabulous book about the Permian Panthers of Odessa, TX and the MOJO magic that permeates thoughout the city. H.G. Bissinger has found the heartbeat of America in high school football as he writes in fascinating detail the story of the 1988 Permian Panthers. It could be any high school across American as the tradition, passion and politics of local high school football reign over a city that would seemingly have no identity without it's high scool football team. A wonderful book.
Book Description
The most comprehensive reference book ever assembled on the history of college football From South Bend, Indiana, to Lincoln, Nebraska, Palo Alto, California, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Tallahassee, Florida, college football attracts the most dedicated fans in all of sports. This book is their Biblea rich and exhaustive reference guide to the games history, tradition, and lore. Based on three years of research by the nations foremost college football experts, the book features: lCapsule histories for each of the Division 1-A programs, the Ivy League schools, and the historically black colleges lYear-by-year schedules and scores for each school lStatistical leaders from each school lFight-song lyrics lBox scores for every bowl game ever played lWeekly AP and UPI polls dating back to 1936 lA four-color insert illustrating the evolution of each schools helmet design lEssays by the games top wordsmiths, including Dan Jenkins, Beano Cook, Chris Fowler, and more. lAnd a lively round-table discussion on the state of the game with ESPNs popular GameDay team (Fowler, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstreit). Packed with tables and charts and designed in an easy-to-read style, the ESPN College Football Encyclopedia is sure to dazzle even the most knowledgeable fan.
Customer Reviews:
Football Fanatic.......2007-05-07
My daughter is an absolute football fanatic!! She LOVES this book.
I decided to purchase it for my nephew who is also a big time football enthusiast. I Highly recommend it to anyone interested in football.
The college football Bible.......2007-02-19
This is a great coffee table book. The history of every 1-A college is in it. Up & downs, fight songs, all the coaches even how the mascot became. Only thing missing is where each of their star players went in the NFL. This book was a long time coming.
espn college football encyclopedia.......2007-02-08
This book has the entire win-loss records of all the major college football teams-include a brif history on each team. This is a handy book to have especially if you're one of those online posters
An indispensable encyclopedia for any college football fans.......2007-02-03
It's a total must-have... I'm shock with each college info (traditions, rivalries, stats, scores, historical leaders...) about I-A Division, Ivy League, Black College... Besides, There're interesting articles for some of ESPN crew... An authentical college football bible, indispensable in any college football library...
ESPN College Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Game .......2007-02-02
Excellent resource to find the most acurate scores, names, and dates on College Football. I only hope the updates to this encyclopedia will be available on an ongoing annual addition.
Don Lyons
Columbia, SC
Book Description
On the heels of the successful Sports Illustrated 50th Anniversary Book comes a spectacular celebration of professional football that will be treasured by fans of Americas Game. With the same kind of unforgettable photographs and award-winning writing that made the SIs 50th Anniversary Book a best-seller, this lavish coffee-table volume brings to life the bone-rattling action of NFL football and the extraordinary athletes who have made it Americas true national pastime. In 256 oversized pages, The Football Book commemorates the dynasties and the dominating players, the crucial plays and classic games, the personalities and performances that propelled the NFL during SIs first 50 years of publication, from a marginal, ragtag league to the biggest game in town.
Customer Reviews:
great gift.......2007-05-12
I gave this as a gift to my brother and he loved it. I never got to see the book myself because I shipped it off to him, but he said the pictures and information in the book was pretty cool. I think I may order one for myself.
Greatest Book Ever Written.......2007-04-12
Hard to tell, in my opinion its excellent with great photography and the stories are wonderful.
smashing good time with football history.......2007-01-24
if you are a fan of the game, this is for you.
I'm a fan and always will be. I got this book, mostly for myself, but also for my son, who someday I hope will be as big a fan as I am. I wanted to get something that will help to give him a visual history of the game and I think SI captured it perfectly here. Kudos to SI on this book as well as the baseball book.
Compared in price to other books of this quality, you can't help but feel you've beaten the house in this deal.
Touchdown!.......2007-01-18
I gave this book to my son for Christmas. It was a hit. The celebration was forgoten and all we did from then on was look and wow at this book. If you want a book that will really blow a football fan away, this is it.
Great Pix, Great Articles.......2007-01-18
I'm not a football person, but my teenage nephews are, and they couldn't put this book down on Christmas day after opening it. They were intrigued by the articles as well as the pictures - this hefty book had every football fan waiting for a turn to look at it. My son is mad that I didn't get one for our family.
Amazon.com
You don't win three Super Bowls with luck. Bill Walsh, head coach of the San Francisco 49ers during the great Montana years, provides an inside look at his tenure with a team that will be remembered as one of the era's most dominating professional sports organizations. It's all here: the West Coast Offense made famous by the 'Niners; the incredible attention to detail in the locker room and on the field; the clutch play-calling that resulted in timeless sporting moments such as "The Drive" that defeated Cincinnati in the final seconds of Super Bowl XXIII. Walsh took over a team in trouble and transformed it into a force to be reckoned with. In Finding the Winning Edge he reveals the methods behind this transformation, including his program for hiring and developing a staff; evaluating and acquiring key players; building a game plan; and overcoming the mental barriers that frequently plague talented teams; Walsh spares no details. Serious football fans and coaches will find this to be an invaluable resource for understanding the highest levels of the game.
Book Description
When those who chronicle the history of the game list the individuals who had the greatest impact on the National Football League, Bill Walsh will clearly be among the names of Halas, Lombardi, Brown, Landry, Noll and Shula. In Finding the Winning Edge, the coach of three Super Bowl Championships illustrates and outlines the basic organizational, coaching and system philosophies that he used throughout his career.
Customer Reviews:
Non Fiction.......2007-09-03
The famous NFL coach explains how to go about recruiting, building and administering a winning team. It took me a while to be able to get a copy of this from Melbourne Sports Books, as the AFL coaches kept buying them.
A master who has built more than one team, and come up with new systems and adaptations of playing styles to suit changing conditions, or to give him, as he says, the Winning Edge.
This is a must read!.......2002-02-21
Simply put, everyone should own this book. Bill Walsh's book is insightful, inspiring, comprehensive, and can easily be applied to any business or sport.
A bible for football coaches everywhere!.......2000-09-06
In his book, Bill Walsh goes through football from A to Z. Everything, and I mean everything that you would ever want to know about football, from offensive and defensive philosophy to the role of the "head of football relations" to what to tell a team after a disappointing season is covered. Every serious coach has heard of Bill Walsh and understands the role his innovative offensive philosophy plays in modern football. Now read his exact ideas for yourself.
Great for NFL people, good for everyone else.......2000-05-29
Coach Walsh gives great details on every aspect it takes to run an NFL team, from ownership to the coaches secretary. Most of the football details (90%) focus on offense, with very little left over for defense. Some of the details of executive positions for NFL teams do not apply to anything but the NFL (dealing with the salary cap etc.) but are very wordy.
The bible of football is available for a low price.......1999-12-28
When football is thought of, no doubt Bill Walsh is among the first to come to mind just as Jesus is to the Holy Bible. If you want to know how the mastermind himself engineered all of those big wins and the plays that helped him execute the west coast offense to perfection, then no doubt you have found the holy grail in books.
Book Description
An oral history of the fifty-year struggle to level football's playing fieldsLong after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier, after Texas Western beat Kentucky to shake up the basketball world, America's black quarterbacks found themselves trapped on football's sidelines unable to play the game they loved unless they moved to wide receiver -- or to Canada. A collection of voices young and old, William C. Rhoden's Third and a Mile chronicles for the first time the heroic struggle to topple the sports world's staunchest racial barrier. Filled with personal anecdotes and firsthand recollections, the book includes testimony from NFL greats such as Warren Moon, Doug Williams, Vince Evans, James Harris, Marlin Briscoe, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair, Daunte Culpepper, and Michael Vick.The NFL's first five black quarterbacks -- Marlin Briscoe, James Harris, Vince Evans, Warren Moon, and Doug Williams -- have come together to form The Field Generals -- a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching and preserving the history of the African-American quarterback. These men have agreed to participate on all levels in the development and promotion of the book.
Customer Reviews:
No good reason why blacks can't be quarterbacks........2007-08-16
Black athletes have been denied the position of quarterback long after other positions in football, as well as other major sports had opened up to them. And all the excuses, such as "The owners don't want a black quarterback", "The coaches don't want a black quarterback", "The players don't want a black quarterback", "The fans don't want a black quarterback". It all boiled down to one thing: racism.
_Third and A Mile_ is a history of the black quarterback. We hear about prospective quarterbacks being shunted into other positions, of excellent quarterbacks in college not being allowed to have the position in the NFL, and of black players going to Canada in order to play quarterback. Things have improved only in the last 10 years or so....
The format is a little different than I expected; instead of a straight biography of each player, each chapter consists of various contributors (current and former players/coaches/sportscasters/etc) making statements about a particular subject; one gets the feeling that you're watching an ESPN sports talk show, but in book form.
(RAW Rating: 4.5) - On top of their game.......2007-05-02
I'm hardly a football connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination, however THIRD AND A MILE is written in such a manner that captivates the reader from start to finish. As a passerby of sports, just having heard the great names such as Warren Moon and Doug Williams, my interest was initially peaked to see what this book was about. Challenged by an avid sports fan to try it because I might like it, I opened the book with a bit of hesitation. Lo and behold, not only did I like THIRD AND A MILE, I can actually say I enjoyed it. This book is written in an easy, conversant manner that flows. Various sports personalities, both African-American and Caucasian and everyone in between from back in the day to the present moment, were interviewed regarding their personal perspective on the challenges faced by Black Quarterbacks in the NFL.
This book initiated by a group of football greats known as the `Field Generals'. These legendary men are Marlin Briscoe, Doug Williams, James Harris and Warren Moon. Not only does the book highlight the struggles of the Field General's rise to prestigious ranks, it also reaches through the annals of time back to when Frederick "Fritz" Pollard led the Akron Pros to a national championship in 1921. Later, he was the league's first African-American coach.
THIRD AND A MILE is an enjoyable, enlightening read because it is a historical piece that is knowledge-filled and chronicles important moments in history, and not just African-American history. Just because Doug Williams was named Super Bowl XXII's MVP in 1988, his extraordinary accomplishments on the field combined with his overall sense of poise regardless of his situation, led him to be admired and recognized as premier athlete of his time. Let's not forget as recently as 2006, when Warren Moon was the first African-American quarterback inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. THIRD AND A MILE is loaded with information that these comments only capture a few of the highlights the book provides. Overall, the book is a reminder of the seemingly insurmountable odds these men had to endure by mere consequence of their skin color. Regardless if you're a sports fan, a history buff or just looking for a good read, this book offers a historical perspective that is interesting and well-written.
Reviewed by Nedine
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
Sports is the new Civil War.......2007-04-29
A nice compilation of stories & comments illustrating the challenges of becoming a black QB in the NFL over the last several decades.
The Civil War may have earned blacks their "freedom" in the US, but it didn't seem to earn them any respect. 100 years later (5 generations!!!) they were still viewed as 2nd class citizens by many. As black athletes have been able to prove their worth on the athletic field, they demonstrate that they "have what it takes" to succeed elsewhere in life. Sports have helped blacks gain the respect they deserve, however slowly.
I grew up during the period covered by this book. Typically, I found myself cheering for black QBs who were obviously the superior players, but often weren't getting the chance to prove it. But coaches want to keep their jobs, which means they have to WIN. This leads ultimately to more playing time for talented black QBs. Call it evolution if you will.
A very ambitious project, but misses quite a bit in several respects..........2007-03-29
Either the author, the respected W. Rhoden is
completely ignorant of the Canadian Football
League (which has black QBs since the 1940's)
and the Arena Football League or he's just
plain lazy with his research. [...]the NFL pages to see what
he missed. I have always considered the black
QBs that I have seen, as well in many other
non-NFL leagues to be every bit the equal of
the much more hyped NFL ones. Example: Rhoden
completly missed that Willie Thrower of the
Chicago Bears played in the CFL first. The
only thing that Rhoden mentions,or his'guest'
authors, RE: the older CFL (it predates the
the NFL by 11 years!), is of course Warren
Moon, though Chuck Ealey, who helped Hamilton
win the 1972 Grey Cup, thus becoming the 1st
black QB to win a Pro Football League Champ-
ionship, gets to chirp in on several spots
of commentary, which I was glad to see. Joe
Gilliam, Sr., plain and simply a black racist
(note his idiotic remarks v. Terry Bradshaw,
one of the greatest QBs of alltime - 4-0 in
Super Bowls), is the low point. Hey Joe, Sr.,
your son Joe,Jr. was lousy and a drugee,that's
why he croaked at age 50! Rhoden missed a bunch
of fine black QBs like Johnny Walton, Eagles,
Rams, USFL and WFL was a star that deserved a
lot more than just being on the list for his
Eagles days. Rhoden is emblimatic of the brain-
washed "The NFL is God" among the Pro Football
Leagues mindset which is why he doesn't get into
the other Pro Leagues that never thought black
QBs were only just 'athletic' and had no other
good QBing traits. I would rate the book, des-
pite the fine vintage pics of even Fritz Pollard
[half black / half german], as a B-/C+ book. It
could have been better with CFL/Ar.FL coverage
but this ambitious project is still timely and
overdue. Kudos to Rhoden, though I could have
done better. I was about to undertake such a
project once also, despite the fact that I
am not black, but I don't look at QBs as 'black-
QBs' or other-type-QBs.
Should be Assigned Reading .......2007-03-13
My son sent me an autographed copy of this. Warren Moon was at the Army P/X in Fort Lewis, WA. The place was standing room only. We used to watch Moon when he was with the Edmonton Eskimoes. When he went to the NFL, all of Canada was pulling for him, he had SO MUCH to overcome.
Years later I used to tell my son, "Watch this young QB at Syracuse, he'll makle a great CFL Quarterback. Donovan McNabb sure made ME look bad!
Book Description
The Oakland Raiders of the late 1960s-1970s were a colorful team built by the myth of the antihero, a group defined by misfits, outlaws, and castoffs. But talent and hard work were also part of their success, and they became the only team in NFL history to have 16 consecutive winning seasons. This is a tribute to those Raiders and their inimitable style, when John Madden prowled the sidelines, Ken Stabler threw the touchdowns, and owner Al Davis helped fuel the team's mystique.
Customer Reviews:
GREAT.......2003-12-26
Loved reading about the old Raider Days and the great players from that era. The book profiles all the big name players like Stabler and shows what made them great.
Big deception.......2003-07-24
RAIDERS FOREVER was a big deception for me cause I buy the book to read about the greats moments of one of the greatest team of the NFL story,the Raiders of the 70's.I have a big surprise when I realise the book was a kind of short biography of each of the great players of that time.They talk about their years at high school,college,how they feel when they we're draft and a lot about their life after they retired from football.But I want to read about the games vs the Steelers,Chiefs or the Superbowl.I'm looking for Raiders memories not for the private life of the players.Mr.Lombardo talk about some highlights of the great moments of the team but talk too much about the players life off the field and not enough about what they did during the games.
Great insights.......2001-02-22
This is a book that truly captures the spirit of The Oakland Raiders of the 1970's. Best of all you come away with a deeper sense of the personalities and what made the team so unique. It is not just a "remember when" book, but rather a behind the scenes look at why the Raiders where the most compelling team of the 70's. It's well written, full of detail and should be interesting to any football fan.
Great Book.......2001-02-09
Raiders Forever is a must read for any Raiders fan. I'll never forget the glory days of the 60's and 70's - guys like Stabler, Madden, Van Egan, etc. After you read this book, you realize they never will either. The author finds all our old favorites, spread out all over the country now, and they reminisce about what it was like to be a Raider back in the good old days. It's fun to hear them as they look back, tell a story or two, and fill us in on what they're doing now. This is a great book about a great team. Highly recommended!
NOT ENOUGH.......2001-02-04
RAIDERS FOREVER IS SKIMPY. IT IS GREAT TO READ ABOUT ALL THESE GREAT PLAYERS. BUT HALF THE INTERVIEW IS WASTED ON THERE BACK GROUND AND SCHOOLING. LETS HEAR MORE ABOUT HOW IT WAS IN THE TRENCHES AGAINST THE STEELERS. THE BATTLES WITH RIVAL CHIEFS. I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THIS BOOK. I THINK THE AUTHOR SHOULD HAVE SPENT MORE TIME TALKING ABOUT THE GOOD OLD DAYS. A TEN PAGE OR LESS INTERVIEW JUST DOESN'T HACK IT. NOT WORTH THE MONEY. NOT RECOMMENDED. GLOSSY GARBAGE.
Average customer rating:
- Great recaps & retrospectives of the first XXIV games!
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The Super Bowl: Celebrating a Quarter-Century of America's Greatest Game
Pete Rozelle
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
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Customer Reviews:
Great recaps & retrospectives of the first XXIV games!.......2001-11-12
Although 11 games out of date as of my writing this, THE SUPER BOWL is one of the best publications about "The Great American Time-Out" I've ever flipped through. Featuring a foreword by the late NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle discussing his great and not-so-great Super Bowl memories, this heavy hardcover coffee-table monster gives the reader some pretty good views (both in pictures and text) of the country's biggest sporting event.
Each contest includes a foldout page featuring all of the players' names in the starting lineups & substitutions, all of the offensive, defensive & special teams stats, and every single play that was made. On the reverse side of each foldout is a painting or other illustration relating to its respective game. The article for each game, about ten pages in length, goes into the backstory of the teams that competed and some of the more colorful moments leading up to the big dance, as well as the highlights (and lowlights) of the game itself.
Although I'm a 49ers & Redskins follower, I found the two Steeler-Cowboys contests, X & XIII, to be the most interesting write-ups. They were two teams that apparently were polar opposites (at least from the text I read here), and couldn't stand each other. Plenty of trash-talking and genuine disgust abound. This enmity made for a couple of the most hard-fought championships in pro football. They were full of great moments like Thomas 'Hollywood' Henderson's shocking game-opening reverse/ kickoff return & Lynn Swann's amazing catch in X, and not-so-great moments like Dallas TE Jackie Smith's drop of a "sure-thing" Cowboys touchdown and a controversial pass-interference call in XIII.
But, there's also plenty of other notable moments in this book. Vince Lombardi's legend, Joe Namath's guarantee, Garo's gaffe capping the only undefeated season in league history, the Niners' drive to victory, the rise of the Steeler & 49er dynasties, the sad performances of four-time losers Minnesota & Denver, and more are mentioned and recapped in good detail.
The appendix features Super Bowl team & individual records, and composite standings. Of course, due this publication being over a decade old, many of the records no longer stand. Also included is the all-time Super Bowl roster of every player that set foot on the field or warmed the bench in each of the first XXIV contests. All in all, a wonderful compendium of Super Bowl stats and information-well, at least for the time it was published, anyway.
Sadly, although I found this volume to be very enjoyable, the dust jacket isn't very durable. I had to tape the corners and edges of the jacket a few months after I bought it to curtail further disintegration. Other than that, I'm hoping the publishers will see fit to produce an new, updated edition one of these years. Unfortunately, I doubt it'll happen any time soon. More than likely, they'll wait until the 50th anniversary (that's Super Bowl L to the Roman-numerically-declined out there) to put out a new one. Guess I'll just have to sit tight 'til then...
'Late
Book Description
SPORTS, POLITICS, AND SEX COLLIDE IN HUNTER S. THOMPSON'S WILDLY POPULAR ESPN.COM COLUMNS, PROVING THAT THE GOOD DOCTOR IS IN -- AND AS INSIGHTFUL AND INCENDIARY AS EVER.
For decades, Hunter S. Thompson has galvanized American journalism with his acerbic wit, radical ideas, and gonzo tactics. He continues his reign as "The Unabomber of contemporary letters" (Time) with Hey Rube. Fear, greed, and action abound in this hilarious, thought-provoking compilation as Thompson doles out searing indictments and uproarious rants while providing brilliant commentary on politics, sex, and sports -- at times all in the same column.
Filled with critics' favorites, as well as never before published columns, Hey Rube follows Thompson through the beginning of the new century, revealing his queasiness over the 2000 election ("rigged and fixed from the start"); his take on professional sports (to improve Major League Baseball "eliminate the pitcher"); and his myriad controversial opinions and brutally honest observations on issues plaguing America -- including the Bush administration and the inequities within the American judicial system.
Hey Rube gives us a look at the gonzo journalist in his most organic form -- unbridled, astute, and irreverent.
Customer Reviews:
Buy "Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century" instead.......2007-03-18
This book (2004) and "Kingdom of Fear" (2003) appear to be the last of HST's books. While "Hey Rube" contains lengthy discussions of gambling on professional football and basketball (including "March Madness"), "Kingdom of Fear" is more far-ranging, containing everything from Thompson's reminiscences of his youth to his (highly negative) thoughts on George W. Bush.
The quality of the writing of the recent pieces in both books is not quite up to that of his best from the past, but is still infinitely better than the mindless slop produced by other contemporary "writers." The man was an artist.
As always, one of the disturbing things about Thompson is his ability to assess politics correctly in real time. Reading back, you think "Why didn't people take this man seriously at the time?"
"Indeed," as Doc would say.
Ouch.......2007-02-06
I'm heartbroken. I admit it. I'm not a year around sports nut. I don't watch games all the time. I don't even get ESPN. And I've never allowed myself to get sucked into the uber-geeky world of fantasy leagues. But the Bears are special for me. And if you let yourself care enough, you'll get hurt. It's unavoidable. You can't experience the thrills without being vulnerable to the pain. Especially the way it happened. With the Bears jumping to a lead within the first 14 seconds, and having a nice action-packed first quarter, I couldn't help but believe. But the Colts managed to dominate. And what hurts the most, what's got me down, is that the Colts won by out Bearing the Bears. They played good hard-nosed defense and then wore down the Bears defense with a relentless running attack. Oh well. I still think Peyton's a bit of a goober but the Indiana coach seems to be a real class act, so I'll try and be happy for them. And I know it's just a game. There are bigger crises in the world. There are bigger crises in my life for that matter. Still, it hurts. This goes down in my top five for losses that hurt, along with the Bears of the late 80's being eliminated in the playoffs by the Redskins and then the Niners, and maybe along with some of those Nebraska victories over Colorado. Particularly those real close ones in that painful, smarmy Neuheisal era.
So when the soul is truly in pain, where else would I go for comfort but Hunter S? I didn't even know about this book until recently. I didn't know he was writing a regular column for ESPN's web site. But he was and these columns are among the last writings we'll have for him. And what better a topic for Mr. Thomson than gambling? Hunter was at his best when writing about those little vices, those things that can be wonderful, even enlightening, in the right doses, but much more entertaining to read about when they are pushed to and beyond the limits of self-destruction. Great stuff.
By the chance of timing, almost a twisted kind of serendipity, this collection contains a generous allotment of Mr. Thomson's political writings as well. The collection spans a period of time containing the Presidential coup in which Bush stole the election from Al Gore and then 9-11 and its aftermath as well. There is an essay written by Thomson dated September 11th, 2001, written that evening following the attack, with classic Thomson vitriol, filled with his trademark fear and loathing, as well as some paranoia that history reveals to be more prescient than delusional, warning that the power that be would use the tragedy of the terrorist attacks to justify further tragedy of an even grander scale. That may be near universal sentiment in hindsight but remember back to that time to realize how deranged and treacherous that would have sounded to the average citizen. Certainly to the chattering hens in the mainstream news media, who couldn't give the American public credit for anything more sophisticated than black and white thinking.
A great voice is gone. I suspect he may have been trying to commit suicide by lifestyle for decades, but when that repeatedly failed, he finally had to take more direct action. And the Chicago Bears are not the world champions. Maybe I should admit that the NFC really is a weak division this year. Or maybe the Bears got what they deserve for playing the entire game with their safeties twenty yards back, trying to win by being the more conservative team. With that mentality, not even the point spread could help Bears benefactors. What would Hunter have said?
Thompson's Swan Song - Fans Decide for Yourself.......2006-12-08
"Hey Rube" is Thompson's least interesting book. About 95% of it involves sports and gambling, mainly on football, and a lot of typical name dropping (Ed Bradley, Douglas Brinkley, Johnny Depp, ad nauseum). Jack Kerouac. The book is boring as all get-out, but hey, see for yourself. Thompson brought us many fine works, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", "The Rum Diary", "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail," you name it. His meglomania knew no bounds; his persona was largely one of his own mythological making. It remains indelible fact that he was an important founder of the so-called "New Journalism" which surfaced in the mid-sixties, though in a recent conversation with Gay Talese, this other dignified writer refused to even mention his name in connection with the "New Journalism" when questioned at an appearance at Faulkner Books in New Orleans. If you like stupid football predictions and wreckless sports gambling as your two primary intersts, this is the book for you -- don't miss it. Otherwise, it is the last sad blatherings of a brain-dead paranoiac determined to follow in the footsteps of Hemingway, whose macho at an early age he emulated with a visit to Papa's gravesite in Ketchum, Idaho. Rest in peace, Hunter. Your great works far exceed this piece of worthless trash.
This was my first..........2006-04-11
Hunter S. Thompson book. I loved every word of it, sports and politics alike, I just wish it would have had a bit more of an even balance between sports and politics. His thoughts make me feel okay about my own views - blended and difficult to define. I'm sure we would have disagreed on some things but agreed on many more.
Since reading the book, I find myself wondering what he would have had to say about certain things: Boston winning the World Series, the new immigration laws, the second Bush presidency/what happened to Kerry, Johnny Damon leaving the Sox and the Dick Cheney hunting mishap!!! The list goes on....
I feel as though I'm only now getting to know him. I look forward to reading more very soon...
A good, but not great read.......2006-01-21
I loved "Fear and Loathing in America." And while I think there is some decent stuff in here, it is just too sports oriented. I mean the book is based on columns from ESPN, so don't be surprised. And I like sports as much as anyone. But the crazy energy of Thompson and blinding insights are diluted by information about betting against the spread. Still there is enough in here to like. He wrote this before and after 9/11/2001. Some of his earliest thoughts on the fascist tendencies of some of the early post-9/11 policies. A good, but not great read.
Book Description
Manchester United—the world’s most popular soccer club—traces its colorful story back to 1878, when it was founded by a group of English railway workers. This official history follows United’s amazing journey from that humble beginning through the golden Edwardian era, the Munich Air Disaster of 1958, the 1968 European Cup triumph, and the team’s recent successes, including eight League titles and a unique Treble in 1999, when the team won the League, the FA Cup, and the Champions League. There are hundreds of superb photographs, interviews with leading players, and results and scorers for every game.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent History of Manchester United.......2007-02-20
Bought this for my nephew's birthday and he just loved it. He is seventeen and found this to be a wonderful guide. He said he learned an awful lot about his favorite soccer team and really enjoyed the high quality pictures. It's very hard to impress a teenager but this did the trick!
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- The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co.
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