The cover tells the story - his name is in bigger and bolder font because it is only about him and not the NFL
583746
Self righteous and self important. It is a journey to the self-loving center of Rich's life in the NFL. There are much better books out there which outline a life in the NFL without being self congratulatory, navel gazing and self promoting.
1625065
Basically a good account of the seasons of the Packers and the Cowboys leading up to the 1967 NFL Championship Game. However the author throws in a lot of unrelated information that appears to filler material. It was if the author decided that the 1967 season and the "Ice Bowl" would not be enough material for a book. That is not the case because the author focuses on the recollections of a few key players. There were many other players, fans, coaches, sportcasters that the author did not consult, or referenced with little detail. For example, he notes that Don Meredith complained about the game not being a fair test of football because of the weather. He could have noted that Meredith also stated that the icy field took away ninety percent of the Cowboys offense (Dallas Times Herald) You hear a lot from Pete Gent, but nothing from other more notable figures. He also uses stereotypes to describe the cities of Dallas and Green Bay. In his description, Dallas was a place full of ultra right-wing millionaires rolling in their own money and Green Bay was a place where people live wretched lives only brightened by their beloved Packers. The author often uses awkward references to events like the Vietnam War to start his chapters. It was like he was couldn't decide whether to write a football book or a David Halberstam-like account of the era. He should have stuck to football.
2699655
As a fan of A.O. Spare it's interesting to read his bio.
3824881
I always thought that the professional sports I watched on television were legitimate athletic contests.  After reading this book I really have to wonder if sports are more athletic exhibitions like professional wrestling than competition.

This book covers different topics connected to sports.  The players, fans, owners, gambling and drug use.  However, one thing really struck me as a fan.  Author Brian Tuohy presents an enormous amount of circumstantial evidence indicating that the baseball, basketball, football and hockey games we watch may not always be honest competitions.  The outcomes are sometimes manipulated in order to generate revenue for the sports leagues.  One of the examples that stood out to me was Super Bowl III.  The Baltimore Colts of the NFL were expected to win the game over the weaker New York Jets of the AFL.  Joe Namath was said to have guaranteed a Jets victory.  That drew more attention to the game.  The media hyped up the drama.  People tuned in to see if Namath could make good on his prediction.  The Jets beat what many people at that time considered to be a far superior Baltimore team whose wheels fell off that day.  It was a miraculous win for the underdog Jets.  Tuohy says it may have been a set up.  Why would the outcome of the game be decided ahead of time?  A Jets victory was supposed to be better for the merger of the two leagues in the eyes of the people running the leagues.  Fans would see the AFL teams as being as good as the NFL teams and stay interested in football.  If fan interest stayed high, the league could demand  a lot of money for broadcasting rights.  The author alleges that the Colts were rewarded for taking that loss with a victory in Super bowl V.

Also, consider this.  Joe Namath talked about having lunch with Jets owner Sonny Werblin, who managed Tonight Show host Johnny Carson, and his wife before the Super Bowl.  Namath was angry about something that had been written about him and his team.  Mrs. Werblin, in an effort to calm him down, said it was just show business.  Joe responded by saying it was not show business.  It was football.  Mrs. Werblin repeated that it was just show business.  Namath said what she told him then always stuck with him.

This book makes it clear that sports teams are businesses used by the owners to make money.  The owners don't seem to really care about civic pride, the fans or the cities where the teams play unless they can extort taxpayer money from the local and state governments for new stadiums by threatening to move.  Players have used drugs.  Players and team owners have been gamblers.  As far as all games always being honest and fair athletic competition, this book will give you plenty of evidence to create a reasonable doubt.  What's the difference if the outcomes of some games are decided ahead of time for the purpose of improving the bottom line of the team owners? After all, it's just show business.
4586723
The title can be deceiving if you expect more details about Mr. Big Stuff, stuff, but it is a good read.
3769065
OK.  I get it.  Football is a tough, cutthroat sport.  People get injured.  Careers are short.  If any of this is a surprise to you, buy the book.  If you want to have those truths reiterated for 200-something pages, buy the book. Boring and not at all enlightening.
842286
This book is obviously the story of Craig McCaw and how he made his fortune in the cellular phone market.  The book does a good job of summarizing Craig's life from a family tragedy that shaped his business life, to his strong belief in cellular communication and how that made him a millionaire.
The good news/bad news is that he eschews the fame and glory of a typical egomaniac like Donald Trump.  It's great from a role model standpoint but since McCaw is so protective of his privacy and is around so few people, it was difficult to write a glamorous tale of an unglamorous life.  Particularly since there is no mention of McCaw ever being interviewed by the author.  Therefore, you are left with the history of cellular phone development in America coupled with mention of McCaw's unique management style.
That was enough for me as I had no knowledge of the business and it was interesting to see how a conservative man leveraged himself to great wealth.  But don't buy this book if you want stories of drugs, models or other scandals.  This story is nothing more than a successful business tale and that is enough.
698056
Michael Bennett is a defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL and is a thoughtful and conscious guy, fully woke. He has some thoughts he would like to share with the general public and this book is the result of his missions. Written with the very capable Dave Zirin. Dave has written other books with athletes, his book with Craig Hodges, Long Shot comes to mind. It was really his effort with that work, that led me to this one.

He employs the same zippy smooth prose here in what is essentially Michael Bennetts memoir. Michael gives the reader an inside look at an NFL locker room, a peek at big time college athletics-he played football at Texas A&M University-, and the life of a professional athlete including the journey to becoming that prominent professional in the big bad NFL.

I am curious about the books title, because there is very little discussion about what he believes makes white people uncomfortable. Of course there is his full-throated support of Colin Kaepernick and Black Lives Matter movement. And he alludes to how these situations might cause discomfort for some, but he is never explicit in his writing about the discomforts.

Perhaps the title is meant to convey that generally a Black athlete that has something to say, has more on his mind than just the game is what makes white people uncomfortable. Cant be sure, but he certainly hasn't said or done anything outlandish enough to be labeled as one who causes discomfort.

Though Micheal surmises that coming out of Texas A&M he was saddled with the moniker of difficult leading to him being undrafted. That however actually proved to be a blessing in disguise, allowing him to choose from among several franchises where he should tryout.

Michael talks about growing up in Texas, being very close to his younger brother, who is also a NFL player and partly his inspiration for being outspoken. He talks plenty about his outspokenness and how he developed his voice and the risks and consequences of having a voice that stands out from the crowd.

He shares enough of his life and himself that makes this a very good read especially for sports fans and anyone wanting to know what its like to be a NFL professional. Thanks to Edelweiss and Haymarket Books for an advanced DRC. Book is on sale now.
1661853
This book simply tells the life of Tony Dungy. There is so much to be learned of his character. I wouldn't label it has a personal development book that gives you step by step instructions . You will simply learn from his example and the life he has life. He is AMAZING and has become somebody that I look up to and have a great appreciation for his character. Not a life changing book but i am super glad I read it and it added value into my life.
4390353
I know that Lombardi is one of those subjects that has been covered to death.  I know that everyone and their mother has written a book about him, as well as 75% of the people who played for him.  But Eisenberg takes an interesting approach--rather than attempting to do just another biography, he focuses on the first year of Lombardi's love affair with Green Bay.  This provides several new wrinkles to the story that aren't often made clear.  For instance, how does such a strong, uncompromising personality walk into an atmosphere that isn't already conformed to it?  How do you convince a team of losers that they're better than that?

Eisenberg shows this side of Lombardi with loads of details, personal anecdotes, and recreations of conversations.  The only thing I can say against the book is that the actual descriptions of the games themselves are not nearly as engaging as the events surrounding them.  However, it is just a minor flaw in a good book that adds depth to a field that had previously felt already-plowed.
3849082
Finding Frank is more than a typical sports story.  As a matter of fact, there isn't that much football in Buzz Ponces' book about, ironically, a football player.  And that's the beauty.  This is a story of an accomplished man to be sure, but it is also a story about a relationship formed many years ago and a promise made by the author.  Sure you learn a little about the 65-69 Chargers --Sid Gilman as the team's executive, primarily.  But what you really learn is about the man, Frank Buncmon and you are reminded about the time in which he grew up and excelled.  As a nation, we should not be allowed to forget the sixties and the civil rights movement and the incredible bigotry that existed (and still exists?) in many parts of the country.  Buzz reminds us while framing the life of the All Star linebacker.  If you're a football fan of any generation --not just the sixties-- this book should appeal to you.  If you're a person who likes a good book on friendship and positive mentoring, this book should appeal to you.  If you're the type of person who 'worships' his or her idols, this book should convince you that worshiping an athlete is not as important as respecting what that person has accomplished and how that person has lived their lives.  And finally, the younger generation may find some inspiration for establishing a family legacy by leading by example.  Maybe?  There's hope.  Frank did it.
1478133
Mr. Cussler, please don't lend your revered name to such poorly written stuff as "The Oregon File" series.  Your name on the cover, and your pic on the back may sell books to your loyal fans, but will quickly destroy our faith.
862309
This is a rather short read and something that is a bit different for this author which was fine with me because I have never been a big fan of his `thrillers.'  Overall this was a quick and mellow read and I must say that I enjoyed it.

The basic story is of a NFL Quarterback; a very, very poor quarterback who has completely disgraced himself by loosing his teams one and only shot at a super bowl slot.  No one will hire him.  Finally an obscure Italian team who is shooting for the Italian Super Bowl hires him...very little money but plenty of beer and pizza.  At the end of his line (he is only 28) he takes the job.  The book is about his adventures playing American football in Italy; a nation not all that interested in this American passion.

There were amusing scenes in the book and I found myself smiling several times.  Rick, the main character in the book is rather a shallow fellow with several major character flaws. The story movies quite well but the plot is actually secondary.  I more or less treated this work as a travel book and food book about Italy and therefore was not all that disappointed as apparently some readers were.  Yes, there were episodes of romance in the book but as far as I was concerned they were rather lukewarm and never really went anywhere which is I suspect, what the author was shooting for.

While this work is most certainly not at the top of any of my `best ever' lists, neither is at the top of my `worse ever' lists either.  I enjoyed it.  It was better than anything on T.V. for two evenings (which is not saying much, I know) and I did not feel cheated after reading it.  Will I give this one a reread down the road?  No, most certainly not but then again I am not sorry I read it.  On the other hand I am somewhat grateful that I did not buy it either.

This was a library find.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
3015250
Unless you're REALLY into college football, this isn't all that compelling a story...but if you are it'll keep your attention.
2180562
Jimmy: The fact that you put your face on the cover shows it's really all about your egomania. You can't make that the idealist's claim that the issue is "bigger than you".
982618
Plimpton was a practitioner of the new jounralism of the 1960s and 1970s, using literary techniques instead of straight, factual reporting. Their interest in perspectives on their subject sometimes led Plimpton, Tom Wolfe, and many others to participate in whatever they were writing on.  In this book, Plimpton joined the Detroit Lions football team as a quarterback in training camp and a preseason scrimmage.

He doesnt really fit in. Plimpton grew up as part of the Manhattan elite that summers on Long Island. His grandfather founded a publishing company, and his father was a successful corporate lawyer whom Kennedy appointed as Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations. Young George was expelled from Exeter just shy of graduation but nonetheless ended up at Harvard, where he wrote for the Lampoon.  After a year of military service, he got his Harvard degree and then spent two years at Cambridge. He then cofounded the Paris Review, a literary magazine with covert support from the State Department and the CIA.

That background matters.  He has the connections and skills to fast-talk his way onto the Lions team, where he ends up in the heart of classic Midwest football - hard hitting teams like the Packers, Bears, Browns and Lions. He comes across as arrogant in the book, and presumably did so in person.  Not surprisingly, these tough guys tease him. He interprets the jokes as good-natured ribbing, but I suspect there was a harder edge to the humor that he didn't notice - or didn't report.  Plimpton did seem to win his teammates over in the end, though its telling that he plays cards with the coaches and not the players.

Plimpton clearly wants to demonstrate his manhood in this environment, but he doesnt reflect on his own motives the way a twenty-first-century journalist would. He admits to incompetence or being afraid of getting hit, but those references only add up to a few pages. It would be more interesting to take his own attitudes about football violence and reflect on the role of football in American culture  a question that would have aged well, since hes with the Lions at a moment when baseball is still Americas sport, and college football is more important than the pros.

Another area where his lack of reflection serves Plimpton poorly is his inattention to race. In the 1950s, the tough kids from white ethnic neighborhoods were joined by African-Americans; the NFL integrated one year before Jackie Robinson played major league baseball. This puts Plimpton is with the Lions during the Civil Rights Era, just a few years before Detroit explodes in violence.  Since professional sports (outside hockey) are one of Americas most-integrated workplaces, its striking that race appears only once, in a benign way, when a black player says that everyone gets along just fine. A writer from a less privileged background probably would have been pushed a bit further  things might indeed have been fine, but it would be good to dig deeper.

Instead Plimpton focuses on the mundane. Training camp is physically demanding. Players play cards in the evening, haze rookies, and break curfew.  Football playbooks are complicated. Its emotionally difficult to get cut from the team.  With such insights, the book proved to be disappointing.
2528653
A nice book but I almost passed it by because the cover photo is completely unrelated to the book.  The photo on the dust jacket cover shows Lt Grant Turley of the 78th FG 8th AF who was killed in action before the 365th FG went into action.  He's also subject of a fine biography.  It's a glaring error that should be corrected in any future editions.