Book Description

Ray Eloit spent 18 years as head coach of the fighting Illini. Eloit led Illinois to three Big Ten titles and two Rose Bowl championships in eight years. He was voted Nation- al Coach of the Year by the Los Angeles Times in 1951. Eliot's devotion to young men and old fashioned loyalty tothe University of Illinois set him apart and created thelegendary mystique of "Mr. Illini" ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Most inspirational coach ever: Ray Eliot
I cannot think of wanting to do anything more than watching a University of Illinois f-ball game at Memorial Stadium. Ever since I was young I have never missed a game if it were possible for me to go. My Junior year in high school I picked up this book on Ray Eliot. The book instantly caught my attention because I love the illini and the forward was written by Ray Nitchzke (former u of i and packer great). In Nitchzke's message he said how Ray Eliot was very compassionate, caring and inspirational. He talked about how he believed Ray was the most inspirational coach he had experienced (this coming from the man who was coached by the great Vince Lombardi). I now play college football and I can truthfully say I wish I too could be inspired by Coach Eliot. This book does that and I constantly look to it for guidance. I believe this is the best book I have ever read (despite the Bible). It teaches its readers about more important aspects in football: sportsmanship, desire, courage, love, etc. These values that Ray Eliot instilled in his players were more important than championships. In his 18 years, Eliot's Illini teams won three big ten titles and two Rose Bowls. They also upset the #1 team in america 3 years in a row at one time in the early 1940s. I'll leave this review with a quote from the first page of his book. --"The boy is more important than the game."-- --Ray Eliot-- ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Indispensable for any Irish football fan!!!
As an unabashed Notre dame football fan, I can't imagine NOT owning this terrific book. Rockne was a masterful motivator and quote machine, and this book has hundreds of Rockne's best quotes. Any coach would love having his or her hands on this book to come up with ideas on how to inspire their players. ... Read more

Book Description

The Last Fast White Boy, A Memoir, does an excellent job relating to the challenges and emotions involved in growing up in Huntington, West Virginia, USA, of the 1950?s era. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Flashy Name, Boring Book
The main reason I purchase this book is because I am the HUGEST college football fan. I thought the name sounded pretty catchy and was interested to check it out.

When I finally got around to reading it, I found out that it was basically some guy telling stories about his growing up and going to Marshall to play football. He wasn't even a very good football player and the book got it's title from a conversation with one of his coaches after they crossed paths years after he graduated form Marshall. He tells so many boring stories about him and his friends growing up together. If this book can get published, then so could any book by anyone who ever played college football.

Praise for The Last Fast White Boy
The author has done an excellent job taking the reader back into the time of his youth in Huntington and Marshall College. The reader will be drawn to the past and the memories of their own youth. Unfortunately, not only are the fonder memories brought to mind, but also the social injustices of segreation and the unsettling years of the Vietnam War. Most will find this book very enjoyable to read, and the trip back to their youth entertaining and mind opening. ... Read more

Book Description

In 1989, three years after retiring from the NFL, Hall of Fame running back Earl Campbell was diagnosed with panic and anxiety disorder. From that point on, his life would never be the same. In his autobiography, Campbell reveals himself as a powerful young man who, with his parents and ten siblings, struggled to make ends meet working the famous rose fields of Tyler, Texas. He accepted a scholarship to the University of Texas, won the Heisman Trophy, and eventually became a three-time winner of the NFL's MVP award. Earl Campbell has been invited to speak to physician and patient groups across the country about his experience with panic and anxiety, and in speaking out, he has saved lives by inspiring and motivating others to seek help for this disorder. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Inspiration to Me!
I thought the book gave good detail on Panic Disorder and how it can affect anybody. The first couple of chapters went on to long about how he grew up and gave no information on his disorder until later in the book. I believe the book should have began when he started to develope Panic Disorder.

disappointing
Be forewarned that panic does not come into this book until page 83 (of 208). Also be forewarned that it's written at maybe a sixth-grade reading level. (Neither of these is necessarily a bad thing.)

It's a simplistic and lengthy testimonial. There are some reconstructed dialogues that feel artificial, some of the chronology is hard to follow, and people appear out of nowhere or disappear after being identified in detail.

The first 82 pages are mainly football, with lots of numbers and stats. There's an entire chapter on his sausage business that reads like a promotional pamphlet: "All of our meals are precooked and specially sealed with a newly developed technology to keep them fresh. Customers only have to pop them into a microwave oven for three minutes before serving. These meals have become big sellers for us because they are convenient and taste great" etc. (p. 153). And not only that, but "Today I feel as confident about my ability to make a great-tasting meat product as I used to feel about my ability to run with the football. I think both are God-given talents" (p. 153). There's nothing to tie this to the supposed theme of the book.

We get glimpses of Campbell's "pride" (anger at a doctor's suggestion that he try Prozac, sudden disgust with one who asks him to ingest caffeine as an experiment, lashing out at doctors who, attempting to arrive at a diagnosis, inquire whether he uses drugs), glimpses of his warm feelings, and mere hints at "fear of failure" and an "emotional man". Just when he starts to tell us something interesting, he quits and moves on.

You get the feeling this guy wants to talk about it but he doesn't want to talk about it.

This is also hinted at by some contradictions. In one chapter he can't attend banquets because crowds bother him, but a few pages later he says "My panic disorder has no effect on my ability to function in the business world" (p. 149). If these are both true, some discussion would help.

Many panic sufferers would like to wave this book around as evidence that panic does not equate with general wimpiness. It's just disappointing that more substance isn't given here. ... Read more

Book Description

The 300-page hardcover book features hundreds of black and white and color photos from Journal Star photographers, including many previously unpublished pictures. The book relives each of Osborne's 25 Cornhuskers seasons as the head coach, including Nebraska's back-to-back National Championships in future plans are also included. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Awesome!
I loved this book! It talks about all the great stuff the community, and about how great a football player was. Get this book! ... Read more

Book Description

Kurt Warner:The Quarterback is more than just a biographical snapshot of the talented quarterback of the St. Louis Rams.It is a story of Christian faith, family, and perseverance.In a unique combination of stunning, full-color photographs along with words by Howard Balzer, a national columnist for Pro Football Weekly and senior editor of Lindy's Pro Football magazine, football fans will come to know Kurt Warner from his childhood through the incredible 1999-2000 football season.

More than just a glimpse of Kurt Warner, this book contains action-packed football photos; football tips for young players; quotes about Kurt from players and coaches; Kurt's strong Christian testimony; the day Kurt will never forget; a biographical look at Kurt's career; a question-and-answer section; a profile of Kurt; and statistics and records. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A look at an intense coach
Earle Bruce had the difficult task of following a legend, Woody Hayes. His first season resulted in 11 wins and everyone thought the Buckeyes would become the dynasty of the 1980s. However, parity in college football became more and more of a factor and OSU didn't achieve the heights that many people thought. Still, Bruce was a very successful coach and proved he could at least beat Michigan more often than not. The only disappointment with the book was the fact that it couldn't go more into depth about Bruce's firing. I realize that must be because of legal ramifications but I think Buckeye fans would still love to know the complete story.

Buckeye and Football fans----take note
Fantastic writing with great stories and an insite into college football. Buckeye stories as well as player stories provide perspective to a coaches life.

Great read... can't put it down. ... Read more

Book Description

Knute Rockne:A Portrait of a Notre Dame Legend presents the fruits of Steele's interest in and research about the life and times of Knute Rockne.Based on research and writing conducted over the last twenty years, the book includes: game by game accounts of Rockne's playing and coaching careers, interviews with former players, family and professional photographs--including new material found in Norway, photos of artifacts and memorabilia, team and season records, player personnel, and a full consideration of the relationship of Rockne with George Gipp--one of the most fascinating stories in the annals of American sports. For readers who love sports, college football, and Notre Dame, this book will provide keen insights into the man and the myth, and detail a pictorial history unsurpasses by any other book. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A PLEASANT JOURNEY THROUGH ROCKNE'S LIFE
Michael Steele has been doing books on Notre Dame football for many years. Some, like Rockne: A Bio-Bibliography (1983) are very detailed, but most, especially this book, are more in the coffee table genre. But that's o.k. because Steele is modest about his books, and makes no special claims for them.

The photos in this book are excellent and not only include many of Rockne at various stages of his life, but also of his famous players. Steele also includes pictures of many important sites in Rockne's life, and even some diagrams of plays.

The text moves swiftly through the famous coach's life and career. On occasion, Steele repeats an old and questionable chestnut, but for the most part, he gives straight-forward game-by-game details. The final section of the book contains long interviews with a number of men who played for Rockne and/or were students at Notre Dame in the 1920s. Since all of these men have since died, the interviews are often poignant, even if they are more nostalgic than truly informative.

If you are looking for a deeply researched and footnoted biography of Knute Rockne, this is not the book for you. However, if you want a pleasant journey through the coach's life, take this trip with Michael Steele.

Professor Murray Sperber, Author of Shake Down the Thunder (1993), and Onward to Victory (1998). ... Read more

Book Description

At six-foot-five and 247 aggressive pounds, all-star defensive lineman Bryce Paup looks like a man pursuing only one goal-to devastate his opponents. But under the mud-stained Buffalo Bills uniform is a man who knows what's important to God, what's important now-on the field and off. What's Important Now is the riveting story of an Iowa farm boy's mistakes and triumphs, all the way to the top of the NFL. It's also the story of how God-and not money, fame, or pleasure-can be the most important thing in our lives. When we put him first, He offers us a life more adventurous and more satisfying than we ever dreamed of. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A very recommended book.
Bryce Paup is great human being. His book makes you appreciate important things in life. It makes you feel good. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In 1996, when Adam Schefter was asked to cowrite Terrell Davis's book, Shefter thought it was a bit premature. After all, Davis had just finished his first year in the NFL. But after Terrell rushed for three touchdowns and 157 yards in the Denver Broncos' Super Bowl XXXII upset victory over the Green Bay Packers, Shefter and Terrell started their work. After spending hundreds of hours with Terrell in an effort to better understand him as a person rather than a player, Shefter wonders why the book wasn't written sooner.

Dreams in Motion certainly captures Davis's gridiron heroics, but more importantly, it focuses on the incredible amount of off-field challenges he's overcome to reach this high level of success. Thanks to his mother's lessons of love, hard work, and high standards, he survives a tough San Diego upbringing, a hard-nosed father, and a football path that derails at almost every level. And despite seemingly less-than-adequate football skills, Davis rises up through the NFL ranks with unwavering resolve, proving the importance of a mother's work. --Ben Tiffany ... Read more

Reviews (13)

enjoyable to all
Terrell Davis could be one of the greatest running backs to play the game of football. An inside look is taken at the sports world and TD's life. The main goal TD has in writting this book is to inform the reader of growing up, his family and the sports world. Throughout the book TD shows his appreciation of his family and God. Sometimes the reader can sense some of TD's biases toward some of the things he has endured, but it can be expected in any autobiography. TD did an excellent job in writing this book. He is able to tell his story in a fashion which keeps the reader interested. When TD voices an opinion, he does a good job in backing it up. Because of TD's down to earth nature that is displayed in the book, any person can read this book and enjoy it. TD's book is enlightening and enjoyable. The reader will be drawn in by TD's touching personal stories and entertaining sports highlights. Overall the book is well written and portrays TD in a good light.

great sprots autobiography
In TD Dreames in Motion, Terrell Davis writes and enlightening book about his life. Terrell uses his new fame as star running back of the Dever Broncos and Super Bowl MVP to launch the story of his terbulant life. The chapters about his father, mother, and brothers help the reader understand the driving force behind Terrel Davis. Terrell shows his strong values throughout the book. He has a strong sense of family and a firm beliefe in God. Through his succes, Terrell has been able to help his mother and brothers. He bought his mother a house and helps his family finacially and emotionally. Although much of the book concentrates on family, a great deal of it shows the things that go on in the world of sports. The book follows Terrell from his childhood football team, where he gained the nickname "Boss Hogg," to his productive NFL career. Overall the book is well written and keeps the reader interested. Terrell argues his points well and shows his strength of character in his writing. All people can enjoy this book because of the interesting subject matter and the simplicity of the work. By transfering his experiences in life and in football, Terrell gives the reader a clear perspective on the subjects discussed.

Review of TD: Dreams in Motion
After reading this book I felt like I wanted to become a professional football player. Just reading about Terrell Davis's life, I didn't want to stop; it was so interesting. It seemed like this book just couldn't be long enough.
This is an autobiography that Terrell Davis, a superstar running back, told in the first person. This book starts out by Terrell explaining how he was feeling during the Super Bowl XXXII. During this game he got a migraine that took him out of the game for the second half. This is a game he would never forget.
Terrell Davis is the youngest of six; all children are boys, Terry, Terrell, Bobby, James, Reggie, and Joe. Terrell was born in San Diego in 1972. His father, Joe Earl Davis, was a very violent man, one night he came home drunk about 2 A.M., and he pulled each of his brothers out of bed, lined them up against the wall, pulled out his .38 Special with black electric tape around the grip, and just started shooting right above their heads. On April 17, 1987, his father died of Lupus, an immune-deficiency disease in which the body doesn't recognize itself and starts to attack itself.
Terrell played baseball but wasn't much good at it. But football was different for him. He started out playing Pop Warner as the Velencia Park Saints, in Velencia, he played high school ball at Lincoln High School, and went to the University of Georgia and played College ball their. He wasn't the best football player in college, but his senior year he stepped it up to get into the NFL, especially his last two games in college. He was chosen along with fifteen other running backs to go to an annual NFL's scouting combine, it's another chance to make an impression on a team. For the physical he was stripped down naked, walked out on a stage, while the Teams' trainers took a closer look.
Terrell Davis was drafted to the Denver Broncos, a team he thought would never take him, during the sixth round of the draft. While on the Broncos he was a sixth-string running back and only went in a little bit during the pre-season his rookie year, but when he was in he did good enough to start at running back during the regular season. After his rookie year was over, he rushed for 1,117 yards, caught passes for 367 yard, for a total of 1,484 yards. During his next two seasons, the Broncos won the Super Bowl, for two years straight.
Terrell Davis still plays for the Broncos, and still continues to break records. He is one of my favorite players and I had the opportunity to meet him in 1999. I really admire his determination to the sport.
If you have ever read one of those books where they stay on the same subject forever, then don't read this book; he talks about the same thing forever. But this book is great for football fans, and even better for Broncos fans. I really liked this book since I could relate to Denver, since I used to live there, and it was really fun to understand where and what he was talking about.

Dreams In Slow Motion
In today's football world, Terrell Davis is known as a superstar, but not in the literature world. He was trying to accomplish this literature superstar role when he co-wrote his own memoir with Adam Schefter. An all pro athlete and a sports writer, a very thoughtless combination in the literature circuit. Throughout this novel, we hear some about the struggle of growing up in a bad neighborhood for Terrell Davis, but not nearly enough. This is mostly a story about football and migraines.

Terrell Davis had a troubled past and had to overcome it all to be a Super Bowl M.V.P. He wrote this book to let people all over the country know that they can overcome their troubled lives and turn a negative view of life into a positive one.

This book had its ups and downs, but for the most part it was down. It seemed, for the first half of the book, that every chapter went back to migraines and the repetition was incredibly boring. In the second half it was football and also came across as mostly uninteresting. I don't think that Terrell Davis was ready to write a book. He does not have the concept of grabbing the readers attention. Also, only having played two years in
the NFL, he wrote this book way to early in his career and could have made it much more interesting if he had let more of his career in it.

One thing that was good about this memoir was hearing his passion for football. If there was any sort of true writing in this book, it was when he was going deep into how he feels for the game. This is probably the one thing that keeps this book from being bought and then placed in the garbage.

So as a memoir, I believe this would be a poor choice for a well written piece of literature. Overall, this book ultimately shouldn't have been published for anything other than having Terrell Davis' signature put on it. But for sports fans, a Terrell Davis memoir with his signature on it would be a definite must have.

Terell is fine
Terell looks good and I bought the book for the pictures. I hope his future books have lots more pictures! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Unpleasantly surprised
I can not begin to describe my disappointment in this book. I am a huge Penn State fan because of Joe Paterno and his adherence to goals, discipline and education. I wanted to read about the man, his ideals as a child, as a father, a friend and a brother. What I got was a brother who used his brother's name to complain about his life and the unfortunate treatment he felt he received from his parents. I could care less about George Paterno. In addition, everyone has problems growing up. Most of us get on with life and make our own things happen. I still respect and admire JoePa. I can't wait for him to have a book written by someone who is mentally stable.

A insiders view of a great college coach
JoePa's little brother gives you the inside story of one ,if not the best, college football coaches in America. Tells of there early years in NY, the family ties, and who or what influenced them both.It's a good book that gives you a look into the human side of Joe and the way it affected his family and in paticular his little brother George. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A great book, but written a little early
As a Cowboys fan for over 20 years, I really loved this book. It's a great portrait of a great running back and a role model we should all emulate. My only criticism is that it was written a bit early in his career - the book doesn't cover a great deal of events that readers are sure to want to hear about, such as Super Bowl XXX, Michael Irvin's retirement, Troy Aikman's retirement, the rushing title, etc. But, I still recommend the book highly for Cowboy fans who want to smile and remember the early 1990s, when Dallas established itself as one of the most dominant football teams ever.

Sweetness Jr.
Emmitt Smith has gone through many ups and downs in his career. Some of include three Super Bowl titles and a rushing record. Some of the downs include living in the projects and having a semi-rough childhood. Emmitt grew up in Pensacola, Florida. He lived in the projects for a few years. Emmitt had a very large immediate family; all of them were very close and helped Emmitt through a lot. Emmitt attended the University of Florida for college, where he broke numerous rushing records. Emmitt was the Dallas Cowboys' first round Draft pick in 1990. In the NFL Emmitt Smith is one of the premier players.
This autobiography gives a great insight to life. Emmitt Smith really did a great job writing this novel. This book gives you a good look at the NFL - from the top. I recommended this book to anyone who wants to read a warming story about someone who worked hard to get where he is today.

Wow!
What an excellent book! from start to finish, this is great for every one, a look into the life, and career of the greatest running back the game has ever seen! this book (like emmitt himself) is classy, respectful, and he's overall, and so is this book a Great role model! You must buy it!

An Easy Read
Probably the most memorable part of this book is the emotions that Emmitt was feeling during critical plays and games during his career. Anyone reading this can feel as if he were a part of the action. The book is an easy read however it does not distinguish itself as compared to other sports biographies.

Great Book By A Great Player!!!
The entire book is intersting. I loved the book! I could not put it down. It details his life from birth till when the book was written. A must read for all Emmitt and football fans! ... Read more

Book Description

Whatever a person may think about Bill Parcells, there is no argument about one thing–the man got results.He took three different NFL franchises from the scrap heap to championship games. After winning a pair of Super Bowls as the boss of the Giants, Parcells further demonstrated his skill as a coach by taking the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl and getting the New York Jets to first place and the AFC championship game.This just two years after the Jets finished the 1996 season with a 1-15 record.

Parcells chronicles Bill Parcells’ career, from his New Jersey roots to his vagabond life as an assistant coach for hire and on to his first stint in the NFL– which he walked away from. Parcells’ story will be told from the archives of the New York Daily News. ... Read more