Book Description
Today, no one is, nor can be, an expert in everything. In every challenge, it is easy to feel that you don't know enough to keep up with the accelerating pace of change inside our organisations, let alone the world outside. Start with the assumption that somebody somewhere has already done what you are trying to do. How can you find out whom, and learn from them? Learning to Fly shows exactly how to put knowledge management theory into practice, sharing the tools used and the experience and insights gained by two leading practitioners.
Completely updated for the second edition, Learning to Fly shares the authors’ experiences from BP and other leading knowledge organisations.and incorporates new material on implementation and best practice, including a CD-ROM with KM tools and exercises.
“Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell show how new ideas and tools are making working and learning inseparable.” Peter Senge.
Customer Reviews:
Definitely not a masterpiece.......2006-03-31
Learning to Fly is fairly useful as a general overview of knowledge management principles, but it is far from great.
First, it doesn't quite live up to the promise made in the blurb: 'Learning to Fly shows exactly how to put theory into practice'. For one thing, there's very little theory in the book, which is not necessarily a bad thing -- just don't expect to gain a deeper understanding of the discipline by reading this book. But even the practical guidelines are a bit shallow and don't always give the reader a very clear idea of how things can be implemented.
Take, for instance, the crucial point of how to get started, presented in chapter 12 ('Embedding it in the organization', the second-to-last chapter). Here's all the authors have to say about the 'starting' stage (pp. 170-171):
"Starting with something simple. Applying one of the tools and techniques in this book to address a simple part of the issue is a good start. Demonstrating a 'quick win' is important to gain the interest and commitment of the team. If they see that these techniques can be applied, without spending too much time on them, to deliver some tangible results, then they are likely to come back for more. We have found it best to introduce some formality after this stage into the planning. What specifically will be done, what are the costs and the benefits and will the team commit some resources to it?"
That's it. They don't suggest, or give an example of, what might constitute a 'simple part of an issue' that could be used for a quick, low-cost demonstration. Since all the useful tools and techniques mentioned in the book have to do with changing the way a whole team, if not the whole organization, works, I would very much like to be given an example of how a 'quick win' can be accomplished. Surely not by suggesting a peer assist that will mobilize a bunch of people for a whole day -- management will never agree to that if they can't see the value of KM to start with.
Second, the book is written in an informal style that is probably supposed to give it a down-to-earth, let's-get-our-hands-dirty feel. But it's actually just not very well written and even more poorly edited (as evidenced by numerous ungrammatical bits like 'at the time when it most useful' and 'who are the people are involved') which, together with the shoddy typography, reveal overall carelessness and subpar organization.
Last, there's a lot of white space surrounding each paragraph, so the 220 pages could probably easily fit into 120 or so well laid-out pages.
The bottom line: U$25 is a steep price to pay for just okay contents packaged in a poorly designed paperback.
The Best Yet.......2004-01-16
Very down-to-earth, applicable guidelines for building a learning environment within an organization. Focuses on tools and techniques and difficult issues of embedding habits of sharing/learning.
I've read a lot of knowledge management books and this is the one our organization is using as a "starting point" for our efforts.
Don't hesitate..........2002-09-05
...trust me and the other reviewers. you will have to wait for a long time to come across another book equally informative, full of sound practical advice, and entertaining. proceed to check-out now.
Insightful!.......2002-02-18
The knowledge management craze may be passing right before our eyes, but Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell do a good job explaining what's behind all the hype. Although a bit dry in tone, the authors manage to capture the critical elements of KM and explain the whys and hows as they relate to individual businesses. Despite a somewhat sterile presentation, we from getAbstract recommend this book as a thorough introduction to knowledge management theory and practice.
A MUST read for all KMer.......2002-01-22
A uniquely entertaining book, Learning to Fly is written with the right blend of theory and practice. From the start, Collison & Parcell build an honest and caring relationship with the reader that takes you on a journey of understanding the why and the how of knowledge management (KM).
The Chris & Geoff hit on many key issues imperative to a successful knowledge management implementation -
·KM should be focused on business results for business objectives. Emphasizing the importance that organizations don't loose sight of why they are doing KM.
·The explanation of KM as an unconscious competence is an excellent model for organization to use for a self-assessment and then strive to achieve.
·Applying KM holistically through the model of learning before, during and after. Proving that building a learning organization is at the heart of KM.
Learning to Fly does it right! I particularly enjoyed the book's creative layout and the way the lessons learned and proven ways to institutionalize KM in any organization are related through thought provoking stories and reflective exercises.
Book Description
What would legendary Boston Celtics coach and 16-time NBA champion Red Auerbach say is the most critical quality for a person to be successful? Would his advice differ from 10-time NCAA championship coach John Wooden's? What would each say to a young person just starting out in pursuit of their dreams? What is the best advice they were ever given?
It took author Christian Klemash more than two years of research, persistence, and original interviews, but now he's ready to pass on the best advice you'll ever get. Only the rare individual has had the opportunity to pick the brain of just one legendary sports coach—let alone thirty-four of the best sports coaches of all time. Klemash gives sports fans a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn valuable life lessons from the most famous, intelligent, and victorious coaches ever. The legends span the sports world, from gold medal-winning gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi and three-time college football championship coach Tom Osborne to four-time World Series-winning baseball manager Joe Torre and hall-of-fame boxing trainer Angelo Dundee.
These coaches know how to teach top athletes about character and winning, how to manage pressure at crunch time, and how to bring out the best in their players when it matters most. How to Succeed in the Game of Life shares their insights into sports, life, and the most vital keys to sustain success.Featuring Exclusive Interviews with:
Red Auerbach, 16-time NBA World Champion
Bobby Bowden, College Football's All-Time Winningest Coach, 2-time National Champion
Scotty Bowman, 9-time Stanley Cup Champion
Bill Cowher, Super Bowl Champion
Tony Dungy, Super Bowl Champion
Dan Gable, 15-time NCCA Champion
April Heinrichs, Gold Medal Winning Coach of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team
Bela Karolyi, The World’s Greatest Gymnastics Coach
Bill Parcells, 2-time Super Bowl Champion
Emanuel Steward, Boxing Trainer of 30 World Champions
Joe Torre, 4-time World Series Champion
Bill Walsh, 3-time Super Bowl Champion
Lenny Wilkens, NBA’s All-Time Winningest Coach, NBA Champion
John Wooden, 10-time NCAA Champion
And More!
Customer Reviews:
A Great Read.......2007-08-26
Wow!Could not put it down.An extraordinay self help book.Gave it to my kids they loved it.Don't miss this one
What a great read!.......2007-07-25
I took it on vacation with me and I couldn't put it down. A great book for aspiring athletes and coaches as well as your average Joe who works 9-5. The coaches discuss a variety of topics from their childhood to how they motivate their players. Any easy read for all ages.
Game of life.......2007-07-24
I've read through Game of Life and I enjoyed it very much. There are so many things to take from this book, not just into sports, but also some reflections on life. I would recommend this book to everybody.
Coaching advise from athletic coaches.......2007-06-27
A fun read, especially if yoiu're a sports fan. I read it in search of things that would help my own ability as a coach in my company. Much of it is light stuff but the easy read makes it fun nonetheless and there are few golden nuggets laced throughout the book.
Overcome Adversity.......2007-04-12
Anyone looking for inspiration, either for their own life or to share with others, will find a gold mine of quotes here. This book isn't just for sports fans.
Customer Reviews:
Parcells Knows Football.......2007-03-22
This is a fantastic book if you want to know how to manage a football team, or even motivate a business team. Bill Parcells has obviously never worked in the business world, though, because his examples relating football to business were very weak and not helpful for use in the office. It is an enjoyable read, however.
finding a way to win.......2000-12-05
i would like to read this book, but it is currently out of print/stock, and i cannot locate it anywhere. Can someone email me at bruciatir@remington-products.com and tell me where i can locate a copy
Business and not football.......2000-05-19
This was more of a business and preparing for the battle type of book than a book about football. It was an alright book to read, but unless you are looking for some direction or you really like Bill Parcells, then I would not purchase this book.
A Great Book For Business Using Football as a Metaphor.......1999-12-04
I have read many motivational books by coaches and athletes, and I found this to be one of the best. This is not an "ego stroking vehicle" like I find many books by athletes/coaches to be. It has fundamentally sound career and personal advice using football situations to illustrate all of his points. It is a quick read that you will enjoy and benefit from.
Football and business, domination thru common goals/values........1999-05-06
"Because it feels so good when you win," Coach Bill Parcells answered his wife, when she asked why he put up with the BS of pro football, and the demands to constantly top himself.
Parcells, accompanied by journalist Jeff Coplon, has written an interesting book telling us what it is like to win, and about all the painful preparation and organization, that comes first. The book is appropriate for a football fan, or even a non fan who wants to know more about the psychology of a successful and wily coach/director. The writing is a bit dry, even didactic, not fast food reading, but worth the time.
Parcells analogizes football and business, though there is far more football than business. No surprise there. The approach is both traditonal and modern, values and extremity, side by side. He comes across as a bit of an enlightened dictator with a sense of humor and also a skilled psychologist.
Parcells seems to understand his players, underlings and bosses. There are interesting examples of different players, each with their different quirks. Parcells talks tough to the tough, soft to the soft, and throws and catches barbs with Phil Simms, a Giant quarterback, who could take it and dish out, as Parcells can dish it out and take it.
The book is organized like an old fashioned Dale Carnegie primer. Various virtues are listed as chapter headings, integrity, flexibility, loyalty, and so on. Parcells with succinct vignettes, applies the ideas of "virtue" or "confidence" to day to day stress filled coaching (management) situations. The virtues are listed seperately, but Parcells argues that they are interdependent; all the virtues are needed to some degree, for a successful organization.
Parcells argues that if there is consistency of purpose, top to bottom, in an organization, then the individuals can do something together that they cannot achieve individually, dominate another team, or a particular business.
On a more personal level, the book reveals Parcell's all or nothing personality. He wants everyone on his team, including non players, intent on the same thing. But what is that thing? What ever Parcells says it is!
In some fascinating asides, Parcells, like Sun Tzu, describes getting to where he wants to go (individual victories and ultimately championships), by apparently going the opposite direction. On one occasion he purposely gave his over confident Giant squad a poor game plan and they struggled, in an exhibition game. He wanted that particular win, but more importantly he wanted his teams attention and re committment. These little tales demonstrate Parcells's intelligence. Like Vince Lombardi, another stone face with the mind of a sculptor, Parcells knows how to go softly, when hard doesn't work.
A reader fond of military histories might see a bit of Sherman or Jackson or Patton, in Parcells, who keeps track of every nuance but looks and talks like an ordinary working class guy.
Parcells is successful, as few are. He guided three seperate teams to a conference Championship game; two of these, the Giants and Patriots went to the Super Bowl, the Giants twice. He is still going strong with the New York Jets. But has success spoiled Parcells, with big money and big publicity? You decide.
Parcells writes: "I detest that mentality, because it's not about money. It's about achievement and winning and championships. It's about proving that you can do something better than the other guy."
Book Description
News consumers made cynical by sensationalist banners—"AMERICA STRIKES BACK," "THE TERROR OF ANTHRAX"—and lurid leads might be surprised to learn that in 1690, the newspaper Publick Occurrences gossiped about the sexual indiscretions of French royalty or seasoned the story of missing children by adding that "barbarous Indians were lurking about" before the disappearance. Surprising, too, might be the media's steady adherence to, if continual tugging at, its philosophical and ethical moorings.d
These 39 essays, written and edited by the nation's leading professors of journalism, cover the theory and practice of print, radio, and TV news reporting. Politics and partisanship, press and the government, gender and the press corps, presidential coverage, war reportage, technology and news gathering, sensationalism: each subject is treated individually. Appropriate for interested lay persons, students, professors and reporters.
Amazon.com
Doctors gave Hazel Parcells up for dead when she was diagnosed with tuberculosis in the 1930s. She went on to live 106 years, until 1996, and she did it by manipulating the healing powers of nature. This book details various fasts, therapeutic baths, food-cleaning methods, food combinations, and much more. Most of it isn't scientifically quantifiable--you have to take Parcells's word for it--but her ideas are provocative and make for interesting reading. The section on washing food with Clorox bleach is a real stunner.
Book Description
Simple steps for getting well, staying well and gaining vitality for a long and healthy life based on the teachings of legendary holistic healer and pioneering nutritionist Hazel Parcells.
Dr. Hazel Parcells, the revered “grand dame of alternative medicine,” who healed herself of “terminal” tuberculosis when she was 42 years old, inspired several generations of nutritionists, and lived to the age of 106 by following a dramatically effective set of straightforward nutritional practices.
In this practical and motivating guide, Dr. Parcells’s longtime student Joseph Dispenza distills more than sixty-five years of her groundbreaking research on natural health and the chemistry of foods into seven practices that are remarkably easy to integrate into daily routines.
Customer Reviews:
Hocus pocus?.......2006-05-17
I'm not sure how putting water contaminated with chemicals under the light would get rid of its chemicals. I appreciate the fact that clorox can clean the outside of fruites and vegetables, but I don't think it can draw out the pesticides. One thing that I thought sounded wrong (or different from what people say today) is that Dr. Parcells said it's unhealthy to have acidic body, which is contrary to the majority of articles saying acidic body produces cancer. I like that Dr. Parcells had a natural approach to healing, but some of the things the book says, I don't really belive in.
A Healer's Healer .......2005-06-26
Dr. Hazel Parcells was a total original with an astonishing ability to cut through nutritional dogma. She had little patience iwth most health experts, saying that they were unteachable because their cups were already full. She broke all the rules of establishment nutrition by recommending red meat, raw milk, butter, no soy and no margarine. And she understood body/mind/spirit medicine long before it became popular. Most importantly, Dr. Parcells was a living, breathing success story -- a woman who had been terminally ill at 39, who healed herself and went on to 65 vigorous years of pioneering discoveries in nutrition before her death at 106 years young in 1996. Dr. Parcells liked to say that "If you want to be healthy, you need to trade your wishbone for a backbone and get to work." I took her advice and became healthy. I noted that she earned four advanced degrees after the age of 50 and went for my own PhD. I was so intrigued by her findings about the health problems caused by soy protein and soy margarine that I researched and wrote "The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food." It confirms what she -- in her brilliance -- knew back in the 1950s! Joseph Dispenza's beautifully written book is a tribute to the life, love, laughter and wise teachings of this extraordinary woman. I recommend it highly to everyone who wants to remain joyous, vital and productive into great old age.
Great advice for keeping (or recovering) your health.......2000-06-30
When I first heard about Hazel Parcell's work on a Gary Null radio broadcast, I was intrigued enough to order the book the next day. I've been studying health and nutrition on my own for the last 12 years, and during that time have found a lot of the information presented by the "experts" contradictory and often confusing. With so many different theories regarding diet and lifestyle changes circulating it became difficult to know who to believe. This book is a refeshing change from all that. In the book, Hazel explains that one diet does not fit all, and that you have to experiment a bit and see what works for you, something I myself have been doing for many years. In addition, she gives lots of valuable information on water purification (her recommendation came as a bit of a surprize to me-it was the first time I had ever heard that theory), special baths for detoxification, the harmful effects of pollution in our enviornment, and cleaning your fruits, veggies, and even meats of toxins and pesticides. She even gives you a detox protocol if you've been exposed to X-rays. I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking to either improve or maintain their health, especially the beginner. It is filled with some of the most sensible health advice I've ever read. Thanks Hazel and Joseph.
A beautiful book that shares Dr. Parcell's knowledge.......1999-08-09
A beautifully written book that captures the knowledge and magic of Dr. Parcells and shares it openly with readers. An imperative reading for all people wanting to live better longer.
An intriguing alternative to better health........1999-08-03
Dispenza has tapped a fabulous resource, in Dr. Parcells, to bring to light an alternative to healthy living. The pages map out an intriguing alternative down the path of alternative health and healing, while also providing a good read.
Book Description
Bill Parcells was living in self-imposed exile from the National Football League sidelines. The Tuna had earned living-legend status after coaching the Giants, Patriots, and Jets from the skid-row district of the NFL and transforming those teams into champions. The final weeks of the 2002 season found Parcells working as an analyst at the ESPN studios. His heart aching, Parcells was like a televangelist with no cripples to heal. The Tuna urgently yearned for another lost cause.
In Dallas, Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones -- described by author Mike Shropshire as "a man involved in a heroic struggle to overcome what had been diagnosed as a terminal face-lift" -- was suffering through sleepless nights. Although his once-proud pro football powerhouse traveled beneath a banner that read "America's Team," it had suffered three straight 5#150;11 seasons. This team was so sick, it had bedsores.
After a clandestine meeting aboard Jones's private jet, parked at a New Jersey airport, Parcells agreed to abandon his East Coast roots and travel south to restore life to the Cowboys. The Tuna and Jones needed each other in the worst kind of way, so a shotgun wedding was performed. The pundits of the national media joined hands and shouted, "Parcells and Jones can't stand each other! They're too set in their ways! It'll never work!"
As usual, the pundits were wrong. With Parcells the ultimate motivator and so-called Jock Whisperer applying his craft, Dallas rolled to a 10#150;6 regular-season record and shocked the NFL by making the playoffs. When the Tuna Went Down to Texas details the saga of how this unlikely partnership of men "too brittle for tango lessons, but not yet blind enough for assisted living" amazed the sports world and serves as absolute proof that while the truth is not always stranger than fiction, it's usually a lot funnier.
Download Description
"E-Book Extra: Parcells in a Nutshell
Bill Parcells was living in self-imposed exile from the National Football League sidelines. The Tuna had earned living-legend status after coaching the Giants, Patriots, and Jets from the skid-row district of the NFL and transforming those teams into champions. The final weeks of the 2002 season found Parcells working as an analyst at the ESPN studios. His heart aching, Parcells was like a televangelist with no cripples to heal. The Tuna urgently yearned for another lost cause.
In Dallas, Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones -- described by author Mike Shropshire as ""a man involved in a heroic struggle to overcome what had been diagnosed as a terminal face-lift"" -- was suffering through sleepless nights. Although his once-proud pro football powerhouse traveled beneath a banner that read ""America's Team,"" it had suffered three straight 5-11 seasons. This team was so sick, it had bedsores.
After a clandestine meeting aboard Jones's private jet, parked at a New Jersey airport, Parcells agreed to abandon his East Coast roots and travel south to restore life to the Cowboys. The Tuna and Jones needed each other in the worst kind of way, so a shotgun wedding was performed. The pundits of the national media joined hands and shouted, ""Parcells and Jones can't stand each other! They're too set in their ways! It'll never work!""
As usual, the pundits were wrong. With Parcells the ultimate motivator and so-called Jock Whisperer applying his craft, Dallas rolled to a 10-6 regular-season record and shocked the NFL by making the playoffs.
When the Tuna Went Down to Texas details the saga of how this unlikely partnership of men ""too brittle for tango lessons, but not yet blind enough for assisted living"" amazed the sports world and serves as absolute proof that while the truth is not always stranger than fiction, it's usually a lot funnier.
"
Customer Reviews:
A fumble.......2005-06-25
This book has too many problems to be inducted into the Ring of Honor. Here are just a few. First, this book has unacceptable factual errors(see A. Keller's review). Second the author believes the season opener will make or break the season. The 1993 Dallas Cowboys(one of the top three teams of all time) lost their first two games of the season. Equally as great, the 1981 San Francisco 49ers lost their opener. The author must believe that Jerry Jones died at the Alamo. I don't see what he had to gain by criticizing Randy Galloway's(a frequent Jones critic) choice in the 1972 presidential election. Horrible foul.
Very Entertaining.......2005-01-15
Being from New York and now living in Dallas I was glad when the Cowboys hired Bill Parcells. I knew he was a good coach and it made following the Cowboys, after three 5-11 seasons, a little bit more compelling. I had read and enjoyed Shropshire's Seasons in Hell (about the original Texas Rangers) and when this book came out I decided to give it a try. I hoped this book would be as good and I wasn't disappointed.
I think it is possibly the most entertaining sports book I have read. Parts of it are laugh out load hilarious. It is not "ground breaking" as Moneyball or Ball Four but it makes no pretensions to be. If you are a purist looking for an in depth scholarly study of the nuances of football coaching strategy, or a play by play recap of the 2003-2004 season there are probably better, more boring, books out there.
Read this book if you are a fan of football, Bill Parcells, the Cowboys or you want to have a good laugh. There are a lot of good behind the scenes stories about players, coaches, and owners here that you didn't read in the newspaper. The writing style is unique and if you read Seasons in Hell you know what I mean. I think it's a better read than Seasons because the subject matter is more topical.
Interesting Subject, Horrible Writing.......2004-11-19
Let me preface this review by stating that I'm as die-hard a Dallas Cowboys fan as you'll ever meet on this Earth. I have read just about everything ever written about the Cowboys and their various coaches over the years. So naturally, I was very excited when I saw this book in the bookstore and immediately bought it. By the time I finished reading it three days later, I was very disappointed.
The author seems to be trying way too hard to sound like a good writer. His sentences are way too flowery, and he always goes for the 38-word description rather than the 3-word description. For example, in the chapter discussing the Cowboys' exciting overtime win against the Giants on Monday Night Football, rather than giving us a one-paragraph introduction briefly describing the emergence of MNF and then immediately segueing into a description of this particular MNF game, the author rambles on for 8 pages giving us way more detail on the early days of MNF than we could ever want. I was reading the book because I wanted to read about the 2003 Dallas Cowboys and Bill Parcells, not because I wanted a history lesson regarding how MNF came to be.
The author also makes a great deal of factual mistakes in the book that any die-hard fan (or maybe just one as obsessive about the Cowboys as I am) would pick up. For example, the writer informs his readers that the Cowboys of the 1990s won Super Bowls 29, 30, and 32, when in fact they won Super Bowls 27, 28, and 30. Also, he describes how Terrell Owens danced on the star at Texas Stadium, then came back the very next year to torch Dwayne Goodrich for the game-winning touchdown, when in fact Dallas got revenge on Owens the year after he danced on the star, beating the 49ers handily and holding Owens scoreless. The now-infamous "Campo-Coslet decide to punt, Dwayne Goodrich and Tony Dixon get torched" game was TWO year after the star incident, NOT the very next year. The Dallas Cowboys and all their fans took great pride in getting their revenge on Terrell Owens the year after the star incident, and this author denies that it even happened.
In general, the book is a collection of some "behind-the-scenes" stories that anyone who closely follows the Cowboys would already know, excerpts lifted from a MUCH better Bill Parcells book ("The Final Season"), and some all-too-brief recaps of the games played last year buried amongst pages and pages of trivial crap that the author threw in to make his writing sound more flowery.
Overall, this book is about two things that interest me greatly (the Dallas Cowboys and Bill Parcells), but this author manages to sap all the life out of it and write a book that is tedious for even the most die-hard fan. Where is the insider information? The information in this book could be obtained simply by going to the Cowboys' website. Where are all the witty Parcells coach-speak quips? Parcells is FAMOUS for hilarious remarks. Where are they? The only thing saving this book from a one-star or ZERO-star rating is that it's about the Dallas Cowboys. A better author would have produced a MUCH better book. I got the feeling that this author wrote this book without ever having an actual conversation with Bill Parcells. If you're a Bill Parcells fan, you'll prefer to read "The Final Season." It is actually written BY Bill Parcells and contains more of his wit and his wealth of football knowledge than this book does.
This book deserved a better author.
Humorous look at the building and rebuilding of a franchise.......2004-09-17
Reading is often a solitary and silent pastime. Occasionally the solitude may be interrupted by a desire to share a humorous line with someone within earshot. Sometimes, the reader laughing out loud can break the silence generally present when reading. While reading WHEN THE TUNA WENT DOWN TO TEXAS: How Bill Parcells Led the Cowboys Back to the Promised Land, by Mike Shropshire, this reader had numerous moments of laughing out loud and savoring classic comments by the author in hopes of remembering those lines for future use.
In the mid-90s the Dallas Cowboys were a football juggernaut, destroying opponents on a weekly basis. Dynasties end for many reasons. To some degree the Cowboys' reign ended because new rules were put in place that limited the ability of franchises to string championship seasons together. Salary caps and free agency, now an essential part of the NFL player agreement, make it far more difficult for a team to build and maintain the foundation of players that allow a team to continually repeat winning seasons. But free agency and salary caps were not the only reasons for the downfall of the Cowboys. Several cracks in the foundation of the empire were self-inflicted. The story of the Cowboys' road to mediocrity began with a star player and two precious little hookers.
The star player was wide receiver Michael Irvin, whose liaison with working girls led to a felony drug possession charge. Even a celebrity such as Irvin faced danger in the Texas criminal justice system. As a former prosecutor in Dallas observed to Shropshire, "I don't really know the facts of this particular case, but if the prosecution can get a couple of Lutherans on the jury, then Irvin will get a maximum sentence." The criminal prosecution destroyed the franchise. Former Green Bay Packer star Jerry Kramer observed, "Whenever I see the Cowboys on TV, I don't know who to root for --- the defense or the prosecution. No, this will never be America's Team, if it is then woe for America."
The man in charge of the Cowboys during their trip from the top of the heap to the bottom was Jerry Jones, an Arkansas businessman described by many as coming across "like the banjo picker in Deliverance." Shropshire interviewed Jones for Sports Illustrated immediately after the purchase of the franchise and the two men shared grudging respect. Jones was actively involved in every aspect of running the Cowboys. If allowed by the NFL he would have considered coaching the team, but that wish was not to be approved. Instead, he hired coaches that he could control. As long as the Cowboys had great talent, total control was successful. But as the talent level of America's team declined, the need for an outstanding coach grew. Before the Parcells era would commence, Jones hired Dave Campo. As Shropshire observes, "the Dave Campo regime shortly became a living-color illustration of what happens when the Peter Principle collides head-on with Murphy's Law. Since Campo was universally hailed as a 'nice guy,' he could also serve as exhibit A to the Leo Durocher doctrine --- the one that mandates where nice guys will inevitably finish." After a losing season in 2002, Dave Campo was fired.
Enter Bill Parcells. Football fans were stunned. Sports Illustrated voiced the opinion of the country: "Are You Kidding Me?" But it was no joke. Jones gave Parcells full and free reign to run the team, and the future Hall of Fame inductee did not disappoint his owner. WHEN THE TUNA WENT DOWN TO TEXAS gives the football fanatic an outline for building or rebuilding a franchise. Start with a head coach who remembers every crucial play that cost him a game during his coaching career as well as the assistant coach who designed and called the play. When the opportunity presents itself, hire that innovative assistant coach for your new team. Next, find a few quality players as a foundation for the team. Parcells believed strongly in the "80-20" theory that goes with any successful organization. Under that rule, the 20 percent of the workforce that's the most talented always generates 80 percent of the positive results. For the woeful Cowboys, even that 20 percent was a difficult task.
Parcells persevered. Somehow he led the Cowboys to the playoffs in that first year. Shropshire chronicles the season, some games in detail, others in passing. Fanatical fans may find WHEN THE TUNA WENT DOWN TO TEXAS light on statistics and fantasy football minutiae. Most fans will enjoy this book for what it is: an irreverent and humorous look at the game of football and three of its icons --- a franchise, an owner and the Tuna.
--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
Funny and Revealing--"The Jock Whisperer" and the Cowboys.......2004-09-10
I live in Dallas, and I've followed the Cowboys for many, many years. I'm a big fan--and I loved reading this book. Why? Because it tells the truth, and even though the truth sometimes hurts, in this book it only hurts when your sides are aching from laughing so much. Shropshire, who is just about the funniest sports writer around--Don Imus called his earlier book Seasons in Hell "the single funniest sports book I have ever read"--doesn't pull any punches here. He lives in Dallas too, and he knows these guys. He gives us juicy behind-the-scenes anecdotes (how he got these I'll never know--must have had a mole in the Cowboys' locker room) as well as all the standard stuff, and Shropshire's style makes it a great read. AND FUNNY--if you can read the last sentence in this book (it's X-rated) and not smile and want to read the rest, you're a stronger man than I.
Book Description
Both intimidating and disarming, at once a regular-Joe Jersey kind of guy and the hard-nosed, hard-driving NFL winner of a coach with a tongue like a whip and the temperament of a tyrant, Bill Parcells has already made football history. And he's done it three times. Taking the reins of the desperately failing New York Giants in 1983, Parcells not only turned the team around but took it to the Super Bowl -- twice (in 1986 and 1990), and twice the Giants won. Then, with the downtrodden New England Patriots he again managed to work some of the same gridiron magic by propelling them to the Super Bowl in his fourth season at the helm. Returning to New York in 1997, this time to rally the Jets, he faced perhaps his greatest coaching challenge yet, but in two seasons the team with a lamentable 1-15 record had won a division title at 12-4 and missed the Super Bowl by only a game. While this no-holds-barred biography of Parcells examines and assesses the career of this consummate coach, it also explores the force that defines the public personality and drives the private man. Call that force ambition, a dream, bulldog spirit, or perfectionism, it took hold of Bill Parcells early and never let him go, as he strives still to achieve his vision of the perfect game.
Customer Reviews:
I enjoyed the book.......2007-02-26
Unlike the previous reviewer who wrote his opinion twice, I enjoyed the book (I read the hardcover edition 2000). I've read 2 or 3 books on Parcells and this is the best. Yes, there's too much review of games, but I skipped over that.
The book tells a lot of interesting things about Parcells that I didn't know, and I've followed his career very closely the last 16 years because I lived in the NE when he coached the Pats & Jets. The books tells how he got his nickname the "Tuna" and his name Bill (not his birthname). It tells a lot about his early years in HS, college, and as a vagabond assistant coach. I never knew that he took a year off from coaching at 38 to sell real estate for a land development company and actually made more money that being the head coach at the Air Force Academy the previous year. The book tells how BP never liked college coaching.
Gutman's doesn't land "Tuna"-- a major disappointment!.......2001-05-15
The same for the paperback edition of "Parcells"...This book, by and large, is nothing more then a rehash of old football games coached by Parcells. Gutman should be ashamed of himself for delivering yesterday's cup of coffee to football fans. Giving ad nasuem blow-by-blow accounts of games that took place 5-10 years ago is not my idea of a biography. About 25% represents Parcels' philosophies on life, football, family, and friends, etc., and I would rate that at best a C-. Overall the book is a major flop. Don't waste your money on this one. Of course, I shouldn't complain, I picked it up for a buck at a used bookstore...I paid 99 cents too much!
Gutman Rip Off.......2001-05-14
This book, by and large, is nothing more then a rehash of old football games coached by Parcells. Gutman should be ashamed of himself for delivering yesterday's cup of coffee--especially so to knowledgeable football fans. Giving ad nauseam blow-by-blow accounts of games that took place 5-10 years ago is not my idea of biography. About 25% represents Parcels' philosophies on life, football, family, and friends, etc., and I would rate that at best a C-. Overall the book is a major flop. Don't waste your money on this one. Of course, I shouldn't complain, I picked it up for a buck at a used bookstore...I paid 99 cents too much!
Amazon.com
Football genius Bill Parcells isn't one to mince words. "I'm 56 years old," he says at the beginning of The Final Season, "and I don't intend to be coaching when I'm 60." Unless something changes radically, he's already honored that intention with three years to spare.
The coach who led the Giants to two Super Bowl victories and turned the New England Patriots into AFC champions came back to New York in 1997 to tackle the rebuilding of the woeful 1-15 Jets. Within a year they were legitimate contenders, playing for the AFC Championship. When the 1999-2000 season kicked off, hopes were soaring at the Meadowlands. But there was new ownership to contend with. Keyshawn Johnson demanded a renegotiation. Injuries sidelined Wayne Chrebet, and quarterback Vinnie Testaverde went down in the season opener, lost for the year. Suddenly, the Jets were 1-6. Then came the turnaround. Sparked by the inspired--and unexpected--play of third-string QB Ray Lucas, the Jets wound up winning seven of their last nine, and then, equally unexpected, Parcells retired as head coach. In perhaps the season's most bizarre fiasco, his designated heir, Bill Belichick, resigned immediately.
The Final Season is Parcells's week-by-week account of the campaign. If you love football, the chronicle is good inside football. Parcells provides detailed analysis of every win and loss and uncensored assessments of his players, himself--"Our general manager (that would be me) didn't have a great year," he admits--and the flap-turned-farce that attended his exit. But it's more than that, too. Final Season is a story of ups and downs, of strong emotions, of coping with frustration and disappointment, and of unifying a team when the chips are down. Parcells is savvy, complex, never shy, and never boring. With The Final Season, he cannily marches readers down the field just as he did his teams. --Jeff Silverman
Book Description
As unflinching, candid, and tough as the man himself, The Final Season is Bill Parcell's swan song as head coach in the NFL. During 1999, a grueling, difficult season, Parcell's found his resolve and coaching ability tested at every turn.
It wasn't supposed to be like that, though.
The two-time champion coach who had guided two different teams to the Super Bowl was expected by fans and pundits to drive the New York jets all the way. After all, they had reached the AFC Championship the year before. But fate would not allow it. In the preseason, respected and longtime owner Leon Hess died, casting a season-long pall of uncertainty over the organization. During training camp, two players were arrested after a bar fight. In the final game of the preseason, Wayne Chrebet one of their top receivers, was injured. Then a huge blow-in the season opener Vinny Testaverde, the Pro Bowl quarterback, ruptured his Achilles tendon and was out for the year. Things grew progressively worse-at one point Parcells had lost nine starters. He also endured personal suffering when his dear friend and agent Robert Fraley died in the same plane crash that killed Payne Stewart.
Parcells struggled to keep his team on track, trying to maintain their confidence in the face of enormous odds. "When you're losing, you coach better. You're on top of every detail. You scrutinize yourself, your coaches, your players, and the system you're using." He became his own fiercest critic: "No matter how long you have coached, no matter how many games you have won, no matter how many playoff games, conference championships, Super Bowls you've won, it's all irrelevant. You are not winning now and that's what counts. You think you suck. You are a loser as a coach."
Things hit rock bottom when the team went 1-6. But
Parcells the coaches, and the players would not lie down. "If you don't play to win, then you shouldn't play at all." Parcells called up every strategic and motivational ploy he could dream up, and through sheer force of will and a great amount of pride, the jets won seven of their last nine games.
In The Final Season, readers will not only get an unsparing look inside one of football's greatest minds and a champion's philosophy but also Parcells frank take on good owners; his battles with "owner-operators"; the greatest "warriors" he's coached for and against; the players who are "dogs"; the game's most challenging coaches; and his seasons with the Giants and the Patriots. Parcells also provides the reasons for retiring from coaching as well as his perspective on Bill Belichick's controversial resignation and eventual departure for New England.
A rare, behind-the-scenes football memoir, The Final Season brims with insights and revelations, a testament to a great competitor and future Hall of Famer.
Customer Reviews:
Wanna be an NFL Coach?.......2003-02-23
For those of you who fantasized about what it would be like coaching an NFL team, Bill Parcells aided by Will McDonough offer the opportunity to find out what it is like.
Parcells takes readers through his entire final season with the New York Jets in 1999, when he ultimately concluded that this would be his final coaching responsibility. Jerry Jones has since hastened Parcells out of retirement at a hefty salary to jumpstart the formerly mighty Dallas Cowboys as he had earlier altered the fortunes of the New York Giants, New England Patriots and Jets respectively.
You cannot help coming away with an admiration for Parcells due to his rock-ribbed honesty. Here is a man who will criticize his players if he believes they are giving less than 100% or playing less than intelligent football. He blames himself for losing a game in the closing stages by "getting cute" and calling for a pass which was intercepted and ultimately cost his team the game when it would have been wiser retrospectively to keep the ball on the ground. When assistant coach Dan Henning tells him that his insistence on keeping Rick Mirer in the lineup as starting quarterback in the face of less than awesome performances stemmed from a stubbornness to face the facts since Parcells made the trade in his general manager's capacity, the coach, rather than blowing up over having his ego assaulted in the manner that a smaller man would, ends up agreeing with Henning. Accepting genuinely felt constructive criticism in a positive manner is the hallmark of a mature and honest man.
In addition to telling us plenty about strategy, how games were won and lost, and providing his opinions on players he reveres, such as his own sterling running back Curtis Martin and respected opposing quarterback Dan Marino of the Dolphins, Parcells tells about the deeply rooted pressures in NFL coaching. He reveals about his bypass operation and expresses dismay over his inability to sleep and nervous eating anxieties when the season is in full swing, leading to weight gain. He also weighs in on his view of the poor performance of certain NFL officials, especially in key situations, a problem which has magnified since this book appeared. Parcells expresses his concern as well over the rise of fan hooliganism, fearing that perhaps America may follow the example ultimately of the European soccer rioters.
If you love pro football, this is a can't miss read. The coach is an intelligent man of candor with plenty of interesting things to say.
Final season?.......2002-02-05
i doubt Parcells is DONE with football as a coach.. I'm sure there will be PART 2 because this guy will coach somewhere sOON.
As for the story it was easy ready and it was pretty cheesy. Nothing really BIG or personal described in the book. For a man as criticial as he is, I expected more DEEP thoughts in this book, but it never happen.
The Football Czar spekas.......2001-12-07
A perfect illustartion of the greatest football coach ever !! Yes, even better than Me Lombardi himself. First of all, it was a wonder Bill continued to write this book when his team was 1-8. Almost every story has a happy ending right ?? Well not exactly. Being a Parcells fan (followed him fron NY, to NE and back to NY) I followed this season closely. For a team to go 1-8 and win ther next 7 in a row with nothing to play for, is amazing. Parcells is the greatest motivator ever. The book talks about his relatrionship with the players. Yes, he actually got along with his players, well some of them. But the one relationship he'll never forget will be the one with The Boy Wonder. You'll have to read the book to understand.
A half-hearted effort.......2001-07-13
I looked forward to this book with great anticipation. Bill Parcells and his legacy here in New England and how he left the team were front page news here. His personality is larger than life. His press conferences were must-see TV.
That said, this book was disappointing. It started out well, the first portion of this book is riveting, and gives you real insight into his thoughts, and how he puts a team together. Where it goes downhill is after the Jets very first game of the '99 season where they lose multiple starters for the season, including the starting QB. Going into the season the Jets were considered by many people a favorite for the SuperBowl. If it were to follow the team through a season like that, it would've been a great read throughout. Instead, after those injuries, Parcells basically mails it in for the rest of the book, in my opinion. What could've been a great book instead becomes a mediocre effort.
Egomaniac, phony, and nasty person.......2001-02-13
As to be expected of Bill Parcells, this book is carelessly written. It provides no insights, nothing new, and is basically just a place for him to pound his chest. Parcells is an egomanica and a very nasty person. How may franchises has he left hanging. He will coach again, his ego will not let him not. Do not waste your money on this "egogrophy", its not worth the paper its printed on. I'g give it zero starts if i could.
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