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davenash's review against another edition
3.0
I learned to enjoy west Texas football despite the political agenda of a typical northeast liberal. The author puts away his mouthpiece just long enough for Mike Winchell's dad give the best advice ever. The author concludes the program is done. The next year they won state, again. Mojo Magic baby! Permian Black - it ain't a TV show!
This is the best sports book I've read.
This is the best sports book I've read.
crystalbristol's review against another edition
3.0
I'm just not sure how I felt about this book. I picked it up after my summer obsession with the television show, so I felt fairly familiar with the culture of high school football in West Texas.
I really liked the parts of the book that focused on the lackluster academics in the high schools in contrast to the incredibly well-funded athletics program. I loved being able to recognize who the characters in the television show were loosely based upon (Boobie being a combo of Jason Street and Smash Williams, Mike definitely an inspiration for Matt Saracen). The overt racism was horrific and sad.
On the other hand, some parts were fairly dry and tough to get through. I found myself glazing over a little with the talk of the oil fields and rich Texans losing their money.
I would recommend this to adults, not teenagers, just because of how dry the book gets in some places.
I really liked the parts of the book that focused on the lackluster academics in the high schools in contrast to the incredibly well-funded athletics program. I loved being able to recognize who the characters in the television show were loosely based upon (Boobie being a combo of Jason Street and Smash Williams, Mike definitely an inspiration for Matt Saracen). The overt racism was horrific and sad.
On the other hand, some parts were fairly dry and tough to get through. I found myself glazing over a little with the talk of the oil fields and rich Texans losing their money.
I would recommend this to adults, not teenagers, just because of how dry the book gets in some places.
ehays84's review against another edition
4.0
30 years on, this book felt very strangely timely to today. Let's see, oil prices fluctuating causing domestic concern and global uncertainty, racism against African Americans and Latinos, sports dominating the public psyche allowing for the money of sports to take away all morality surrounding the sport--what year are we in again?
I had known about this book for some time, but never had watched the show or gotten around to the book until now. It was very well researched, written, and informed me about life in a part of the country I had known really only as a stereotype--West Texas. It turns out apparently some of the stereotypes are probably true.
As others have said, it's really a sociology book about a place in America more than a football book. I think it would have been a lot better if one of his main characters was one of the lineman rather than the "glamor" positions he mostly covered. The access he was given overall was pretty incredible though, and from reading what he wrote on the 10th anniversary, it seems there was a lot of controversy about that.
Very glad I read it, but not for everyone. Very gritty and hard-hitting, even apart from football, and overall pretty sad that a city lives and dies with a high school football team. Mostly only bad comes of that.
I had known about this book for some time, but never had watched the show or gotten around to the book until now. It was very well researched, written, and informed me about life in a part of the country I had known really only as a stereotype--West Texas. It turns out apparently some of the stereotypes are probably true.
As others have said, it's really a sociology book about a place in America more than a football book. I think it would have been a lot better if one of his main characters was one of the lineman rather than the "glamor" positions he mostly covered. The access he was given overall was pretty incredible though, and from reading what he wrote on the 10th anniversary, it seems there was a lot of controversy about that.
Very glad I read it, but not for everyone. Very gritty and hard-hitting, even apart from football, and overall pretty sad that a city lives and dies with a high school football team. Mostly only bad comes of that.
magicpotatohead's review against another edition
4.0
I was expecting a lot more football in Friday Night Lights. It turned out it was almost more about the socioeconomic situation in Texas during the 80's. This took me some time to get through. In the end, Bissinger ties it together beautifully and I do not regret struggling through the non-football parts.
wanderlustlover's review against another edition
1.0
PAP II Summer Reading:
As with Into the Wild, I did put this one off, too, for nearly three months, and it was the one I finished within twelve hours of the first day of school. Unlike Into the Wild, I find very little redeemable about this book, which I continued to look for a thread of light in (even as a mismanaged sports metaphor for the urban superhero), but I found myself in a depressing dirge that told tack by tack exactly why high school football should be removed from ruining children's lives.
I can easily piece together how we'll use it to discuss identity, conformity, and individualism, but just as much I'm counting down to returning it to Amazon in exchange for a completely different book, and thanking my stars that Audible does that.
As with Into the Wild, I did put this one off, too, for nearly three months, and it was the one I finished within twelve hours of the first day of school. Unlike Into the Wild, I find very little redeemable about this book, which I continued to look for a thread of light in (even as a mismanaged sports metaphor for the urban superhero), but I found myself in a depressing dirge that told tack by tack exactly why high school football should be removed from ruining children's lives.
I can easily piece together how we'll use it to discuss identity, conformity, and individualism, but just as much I'm counting down to returning it to Amazon in exchange for a completely different book, and thanking my stars that Audible does that.
danchibnall's review against another edition
3.0
My friends Matt & Cassie introduced us to the television show "Friday Night Lights" this past winter. I had only heard of it on blogs before then and never really paid any attention to it.
Wow, was I late to the party. The television show is excellent and I highly recommend it, even if you don't like football.
Being the bookworm that I am, I had to find the inspiration for the television show. I actually bought a copy of the book for my friend Matt for Christmas and the four of us eventually decided to read the book and have a little book discussion afterwards.
The book is a fast read and is mostly enjoyable. The parts that are not enjoyable are mainly because of the subject matter and now the writing. Reading about the town of Odessa, TX is very difficult because the society there is completely foreign to me. There are times when you want to shake the book and say, "What is WRONG with you?" Many of those moments happened, for me, when there were detailed descriptions of academics being flushed down the tubes in favor of football.
Overall, though, the writing is good. Bissinger can be a bit over the top at times, though. He uses hyperbole and metaphor a bit too much, but he creates a solid image in your mind of what this town, this school, this team is really like. The hard part is accepting the fact that there really is a place like Odessa that has all these problems.
Wow, was I late to the party. The television show is excellent and I highly recommend it, even if you don't like football.
Being the bookworm that I am, I had to find the inspiration for the television show. I actually bought a copy of the book for my friend Matt for Christmas and the four of us eventually decided to read the book and have a little book discussion afterwards.
The book is a fast read and is mostly enjoyable. The parts that are not enjoyable are mainly because of the subject matter and now the writing. Reading about the town of Odessa, TX is very difficult because the society there is completely foreign to me. There are times when you want to shake the book and say, "What is WRONG with you?" Many of those moments happened, for me, when there were detailed descriptions of academics being flushed down the tubes in favor of football.
Overall, though, the writing is good. Bissinger can be a bit over the top at times, though. He uses hyperbole and metaphor a bit too much, but he creates a solid image in your mind of what this town, this school, this team is really like. The hard part is accepting the fact that there really is a place like Odessa that has all these problems.
tylerruddhall's review against another edition
1.0
I normally do not like nonfiction but I thought I would like this because I love the TV show. I was wrong.
ckfoster's review against another edition
5.0
What amazing journalism! The stories of this town and the boys were so compelling. I appreciate how unapologetic the author was in describing life in Odessa and keeping it real.