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Can anyone recommend a good football-related book? (1 Viewer)

Raider Nation

Devil's Advocate
Summer is coming up. I'll have a lot of down time, so I want to get some reading done. Why not read about my favorite subject -- football. I checked out Amazon, but it's too overwhelming. There are literally over 300 pages of books involving football stories. I'd like to buy one which somebody can personally recommend.

To narrow it down even further, I'd love to read about life in the trenches by players from the 60s, 70s or 80s.

Football books I've read which I can recommend are:

Next Man Up

Final Confessions of NFL Assassin Jack Tatum

A Civil War: Army vs. Navy a Year Inside College Football's Purest Rivalry

Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty

Stuff like that...

Thanks! :banned:

 
Look up those books you mentioned on Amazon, then look for the "customer's also purchased" area. Keep an eye out for the books with higher ratings and more customer reviews. I haven't gotten around to reading any but I've been eyeing some of the Bill Parcells and Rex Ryan books.

 
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Try Paper Lion by George Plimpton- possibly the biggest classic in the field of NFL non-fiction. Journalist joins the '63 Lions during camps and reports about the experience. Steven Fatsis did something similar with the 2006 Broncos in A Few Seconds of Panic, too. Sort of an outsider's insider's view of football.

 
From one Raider fan to another... You should read Bad###es- The Legend of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death and John Madden's Oakland Raiders, by Peter Richmond.

 
From one Raider fan to another... You should read Bad###es- The Legend of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death and John Madden's Oakland Raiders, by Peter Richmond.
My favorite player ever. It's in my checkout cart now. :thumbup: Thanks to the two previous posters as well.

Synesthesia, I read Paper Lion a million years ago. And the movie was awful, as I recall. (Or it just didn't age well)...

 
Check out Paul Zimmerman's Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football. Also Ron Jaworski has a good X's and O's book out. You're a gambler, no? Get The Smart Money. Great read.

 
Check out Paul Zimmerman's Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football. Also Ron Jaworski has a good X's and O's book out. You're a gambler, no? Get The Smart Money. Great read.
Yeah, Jaws' book was with Cosell and SalPal I believe. About the most important NFL games.The Smart Money is a must-read, agreed. I recommended it to everyone several times in the gambling thread.
 
I found The Smart Money on bookcloseouts.com a few years ago for like $3.

It's been on my shelf for years without me actually turning to it but I've heard Halberstam's "The Education of a Coach" on Belichick is great.

 
When Pride Still Mattered: A Life Of Vince Lombardi by David Maraniss

A Few Seconds of Panic: A 5-Foot-8, 170-Pound, 43-Year-Old Sportswriter Plays in the NFL by Stefan Fatsis

Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won by Tobias Moskowitz

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

The Draft: A Year Inside the NFL's Search for Talent by Pete Williams

Take Your Eye Off the Ball: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look by Pat Kirwan

 
I remember as a teen reading Rocky Blier's(sp) biography? How he got shot in Nam and returned to the Steelers. Very good read, I might have to find it myself and read it again.

 
You've probably read it already, but as it's obvious and hasn't been mentioned yet, Friday Night Lights by HG Bissinger. Great book. (movie and tv show also excellent)

 
I've heard that Tony Dungy's book on leadership is really good, but have not read it.

When Pride Still Mattered was a good biography of Lombardi, warts and all.

 
My friend wrote this book On Being Brown. It is essays and interviews and really is a fun book on what it is like to be a fan. He is a good writer, so it flows well.

I am reading Sean Payton's book, and it looks like it was written by a 9th grader...just terrible.

 
Sweetness is great. I really recommend it and think Jeff Pearlman should be proud of that story. It's a fascinating read.

I actually never read Maraniss' book, but John Eisenberg's That First Season is a great book on Lombardi. I did a book review of it here: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=8927

You probably won't enjoy it as much, but I liked Don Maynard's autobiography.

I also think Jon Rand is a good writer. His book "Run It! And Let's Get the Hell Out of Here!" is a listing of the 100 greatest plays in history. Perfect leisure reading for a trip down memory lane. I did a podcast with him about it here: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=2108

 
I'm about to start Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, which I've heard is absolutely excellent. I'd also second the recommendations for Blind Side and Friday Night Lights. Both are excellent books.

I've also heard Few Seconds of Panic (about the sportswriter who goes through training camp as a kicker for the Broncos), and Scorecasting (about economics and probability of sports) are also very good. But I have not read those yet.

 
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Really enjoyed this one...

Romo: My Life on the Edge: Living Dreams and Slaying Dragons by Bill Romanowski

 
It's away from the biography types you're seeking but Chip Brown's "The Essential Smart Football" just came out and it's getting tremendous reviews. I was first exposed to him through his work on Grantland where he would break down key plays in NFL games from an Xs and Os perspective, complete with diagrams but doing it in an easy to understand way. Believe the paperback is $10 and the Kindle version is $6.

 
It's away from the biography types you're seeking but Chip Brown's "The Essential Smart Football" just came out and it's getting tremendous reviews. I was first exposed to him through his work on Grantland where he would break down key plays in NFL games from an Xs and Os perspective, complete with diagrams but doing it in an easy to understand way. Believe the paperback is $10 and the Kindle version is $6.
Strongly recommend the book along with the website, smartfootball.com. I should know, I write there from time to time. Chris Brown is an excellent writer in a space (football Xs and Os) where there are very few good authors.
 
I really enjoyed Under the Tarnished Dome. Maybe a not so balanced look at ND football during the Holtz era, but a very entertaining read. Goes into Holtz's coaching tactics, questionable ethics, steriods, etc.

If you are a big ND football fan, probably stay clear.

I have read the majority of When Pride Still Mattered. It is good, the last 100 pages really drag though, my opinion.

 
Stabler's autobiography (IIRC, it was called Snake) was one of my great teenage influences. One of the PG stories I tried to replicate was the part about Belitnikoff falling asleep in team meetings with his eyes open (among many great stories). Spent several years trying to perferct this in classes, finally finding the right formula my junior year during Biology. Unfortunately, Stabler didn't mention how to control snoring.

 
Run to Daylight by Vince Lombardi. Easy read with lots of great player stories that are told so anecdotally you feel like you were in the room when these events unfolded. It's hard not to enjoy this book.

I was very young when I read Paper Lion. I didn't like it as much as it's reputation, although it is well written. I thought it kinda dragged. Although the stories and quotes from Night Train Layne are outstanding.

 
'Chase Stuart said:
Sweetness is great. I really recommend it and think Jeff Pearlman should be proud of that story. It's a fascinating read.
:goodposting:Pearlman is a great writer. If you liked Boys Will Be Boys, get Sweetness.Much was made about it exposing the bad side of Payton, but that's a tiny part of the whole story and Pearlman was actually pissed that the publisher went that angle in marketing the book.
 
Patriot Reign by Michael Holley. Really fun behind the scenes read of the 2001-2004 seasons for the New England Patriots with lots of access to situations that most fans never hear about. It's touched/recapped on again briefly in his newer book War Room.

The Education of a Coach by David Halberstram. As much flack as Bill Belichick gets, this is pretty much the biography of him as a coach and person. Insightful and Halberstram is a great writer of various subjects.

 
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To narrow it down even further, I'd love to read about life in the trenches by players from the 60s, 70s or 80s.
Then it is a no-brainer. You should read "Instant Replay" by Jerry Kramer (and **** Schaap). http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Replay-Green-Diary-Kramer/dp/0385517459It's an absolute classic and many think it is the best football book ever. It's the ultimate book from the player's perspective and covers a single NFL season in great depth. It has sold millions of copies and was a sensation when it came out.

 
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To narrow it down even further, I'd love to read about life in the trenches by players from the 60s, 70s or 80s.
Then it is a no-brainer. You should read "Instant Replay" by Jerry Kramer (and **** Schaap). http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Replay-Green-Diary-Kramer/dp/0385517459It's an absolute classic and many think it is the best football book ever. It's the ultimate book from the player's perspective and covers a single NFL season in great depth. It has sold millions of copies and was a sensation when it came out.
Just ordered. Thanks. :thumbup:
 
To narrow it down even further, I'd love to read about life in the trenches by players from the 60s, 70s or 80s.
Then it is a no-brainer. You should read "Instant Replay" by Jerry Kramer (and **** Schaap). http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Replay-Green-Diary-Kramer/dp/0385517459It's an absolute classic and many think it is the best football book ever. It's the ultimate book from the player's perspective and covers a single NFL season in great depth. It has sold millions of copies and was a sensation when it came out.
I was going to suggest this exact same book. One of the first football books I ever read and hooked me on the game. It fits the description of what you are looking for perfectly.

 
This is a bit off the board but i thought it was pretty good and it was an easy read.

Rough and Tumble by Mark Bavaro

 
Also, you definitely can't miss out on Monday Night Jihad.

On second thought, yeah, you probably could.

Edit to add description:

He thought his deadliest enemy knelt across the line of scrimmage. He was wrong! After a tour of duty in Afghanistan, Riley Covington is living his dream as a professional linebacker when he comes face to face with a radical terrorist group on his own home turf. Drawn into the nightmare around him, Riley returns to his former life as a member of a special ops team that crosses oceans in an attempt to stop the escalating attacks. But time is running out, and it soon becomes apparent that the terrorists are on the verge of achieving their goal—to strike at the very heart of America. This softcover edition also includes a teaser chapter of the next Riley Covington thriller.

Written by a member of the NFL; gives readers an insider look at the world of professional athletes and military intelligence. Examines the challenges of homeland security in large-venue events. Explores the tension between the desire for revenge and the constraints of the Christian faith, especially as it relates to Islam. Jason Elam has recently returned from Iraq, where he visited and supported the troops. You can read his journal at mondaynightjihad.blogspot.com.

Gold!

 
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Didn't read through the whole topic, so it might have been mentioned already, but "Next Man Up" by John Fenstein is my favorite of all time. He follows the Ravens for 2 seasons and you learn more stuff about how a team is run than you would have ever known.

 
Didn't read through the whole topic, so it might have been mentioned already, but "Next Man Up" by John Fenstein is my favorite of all time. He follows the Ravens for 2 seasons and you learn more stuff about how a team is run than you would have ever known.
You could have at least read the original post. ;)
 
Snake, by Ken Stabler, is a fascinating read.

North Dallas Forty is a classic; and if you don't want to read the book, the movie is also very good (but slightly tamed down).

Turning the Thing Around, by Jimmy Johnson, is interesting.

 
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To narrow it down even further, I'd love to read about life in the trenches by players from the 60s, 70s or 80s.
Then it is a no-brainer. You should read "Instant Replay" by Jerry Kramer (and **** Schaap). http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Replay-Green-Diary-Kramer/dp/0385517459It's an absolute classic and many think it is the best football book ever. It's the ultimate book from the player's perspective and covers a single NFL season in great depth. It has sold millions of copies and was a sensation when it came out.
I was going to suggest this exact same book. One of the first football books I ever read and hooked me on the game. It fits the description of what you are looking for perfectly.
Just wanted to say thanks to both of you for this recommendation.I am only three chapters in (they are still in training camp) and I already love it. It's like I'm reading Hard Knocks. Fantastic.

 

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