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heremireadz's review against another edition
4.0
This is a fascinating book about the man who exposed the fact that football players were dying from CTE. I appreciate how Laskas helps us understand Omalu as a person; he was not trying to do anything noble or trying to be famous- he simply was in the right place at the right time. He let his passion and curiosity lead him to discovering the truth, and ultimately fought for that truth to the extent that he could without sacrificing family or culture. While the movie focuses on the issue of science vs. the sport, business, and cult of football, the book reads more as a biography. It would have been more aptly named with this in mind, rather than catering to Hollywood's choice of title.
lauuwz's review against another edition
3.0
Concussion is a good book, but it wasn't the book I wanted it to be.
It doesn't touch what I think is the defining cultural question its story presents: what has to happen to reform or eliminate football as we know it? I realized near the end of the book that what I wanted most was both more prescriptive and predictive than Laskas meant it to be. I wanted to hear more from the NCAA, whose feet, rather than being held to, should probably just be engulfed by the fire re: their treatment of so-called "student athletes". I wanted a history of the decline and fall of boxing as a mainstream sport. Basically, I wanted Concussion to be a story about institutional struggles rather than the biography of a forensic pathologist. It isn't that book. It's a good book, but it isn't that book.
More than a minor quibble: Laskas is an evocative storyteller, and this biography of Bennet Omalu paints a beautiful (if well-trodden) picture of the complicated realities of the American Dream. In my opinion, Omalu's story suffers in juxtaposition to that of his erstwhile boss, Cyril Wecht, whose outsized personality (and mingling of a lucrative private practice with his public duties as Allegheny County Coroner) made him a political target. Laskas' thesis--that only an outsider like Omalu, oblivious to the consequences of his actions, would have the nerve to stand up to the NFL--is undermined by Wecht's spotlight-seeking behavior (dude is straight up being a contrarian all over the news all of the time, and he's not an outsider). Why make the Wecht trial the dramatic lynchpin of this story? Narratively, it makes very little sense to me.
All of that said, I think everyone should read it.
It doesn't touch what I think is the defining cultural question its story presents: what has to happen to reform or eliminate football as we know it? I realized near the end of the book that what I wanted most was both more prescriptive and predictive than Laskas meant it to be. I wanted to hear more from the NCAA, whose feet, rather than being held to, should probably just be engulfed by the fire re: their treatment of so-called "student athletes". I wanted a history of the decline and fall of boxing as a mainstream sport. Basically, I wanted Concussion to be a story about institutional struggles rather than the biography of a forensic pathologist. It isn't that book. It's a good book, but it isn't that book.
More than a minor quibble: Laskas is an evocative storyteller, and this biography of Bennet Omalu paints a beautiful (if well-trodden) picture of the complicated realities of the American Dream. In my opinion, Omalu's story suffers in juxtaposition to that of his erstwhile boss, Cyril Wecht, whose outsized personality (and mingling of a lucrative private practice with his public duties as Allegheny County Coroner) made him a political target. Laskas' thesis--that only an outsider like Omalu, oblivious to the consequences of his actions, would have the nerve to stand up to the NFL--is undermined by Wecht's spotlight-seeking behavior (dude is straight up being a contrarian all over the news all of the time, and he's not an outsider). Why make the Wecht trial the dramatic lynchpin of this story? Narratively, it makes very little sense to me.
All of that said, I think everyone should read it.
marilynmalloy's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting look at the NFL and concussions.
Not normally something I would read. Picked it up by accident, but was still a good read.
Not normally something I would read. Picked it up by accident, but was still a good read.
we_are_all_mad_here26's review against another edition
5.0
After reading Concussion - well, for one thing, I think the NFL is pretty damn criminal. And I like football. And I live in Pittsburgh, where people REALLY like football.
Jeanne Marie Laskas made me feel extremely attached to Mike Webster, and to all the other players who have suffered like he suffered. Not to mention the families of those players, the friends, the people who tried to help them and couldn't. This was an amazing book, non-fiction that read like fiction, and I couldn't put it down.
And now I don't know if I can watch football without worrying about who will be next. The 'concussion protocol' is nice, but it doesn't come close to addressing the repeated non-concussive hits those players take, game after game, practice after practice. There aren't many football fans who are in favor of making the game safer. They all need to read this book.
Oh, and my kids? NEVER EVER.
Jeanne Marie Laskas made me feel extremely attached to Mike Webster, and to all the other players who have suffered like he suffered. Not to mention the families of those players, the friends, the people who tried to help them and couldn't. This was an amazing book, non-fiction that read like fiction, and I couldn't put it down.
And now I don't know if I can watch football without worrying about who will be next. The 'concussion protocol' is nice, but it doesn't come close to addressing the repeated non-concussive hits those players take, game after game, practice after practice. There aren't many football fans who are in favor of making the game safer. They all need to read this book.
Oh, and my kids? NEVER EVER.
kaygray78's review against another edition
4.0
As a mom to two athletic kids, neither of which play football (and after reading this book, neither of which will play football ever), I was drawn to this book because of the title. Head injuries and the cumulative effect they have on health has been in the news a lot, and after watching a child taken off the field during a lacrosse game on a backboard because he hit his (helmeted) head on the ground last spring, I was interested in reading more.
As other reviewers have pointed out, this book is not really about what happens to your brain when you get a concussion. The author assumes readers already know what a concussion is, and doesn't expound on that beyond the barest terms: a traumatic brain injury caused by a blow to the head. Like you would receive if you slipped and fell on a floor, or if you were in a car accident. Or if you were a football player.
Instead, this book is about a Nigerian boy born in the midst of genocide, a boy from a deeply religious family, a boy who grew up watching shiny American movies and comparing America to his own country, with its pugilistic leaders and its poverty and dirt and "do not urinate here" signs. This is the story of a high educated man, an oddball, who made studying brains his life's work and in doing so, unearthed something surprising, shocking and sickening. This is the story of that naive boy discovering that America has its own warts and that the almighty dollar is, to huge corporations like the NFL, more valuable than human lives.
The NFL does not come off well in this story. In my opinion, the NFL shouldn't come off well. Bennet Omalu's work raises a lot of questions. At what point does informed consent apply to athletes? What responsibility does the NFL, or college football, or even pee wee leagues have to protect and educate their players? Is the domestic violence problem in the NFL less to do with steroids and competitive men and more to do with brain damage caused by repeated on field hits to the head? Will research on preventing and treating CFE in football players eventually lead to help for people suffering from other forms of dementia?
Highly recommend this book. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
As other reviewers have pointed out, this book is not really about what happens to your brain when you get a concussion. The author assumes readers already know what a concussion is, and doesn't expound on that beyond the barest terms: a traumatic brain injury caused by a blow to the head. Like you would receive if you slipped and fell on a floor, or if you were in a car accident. Or if you were a football player.
Instead, this book is about a Nigerian boy born in the midst of genocide, a boy from a deeply religious family, a boy who grew up watching shiny American movies and comparing America to his own country, with its pugilistic leaders and its poverty and dirt and "do not urinate here" signs. This is the story of a high educated man, an oddball, who made studying brains his life's work and in doing so, unearthed something surprising, shocking and sickening. This is the story of that naive boy discovering that America has its own warts and that the almighty dollar is, to huge corporations like the NFL, more valuable than human lives.
The NFL does not come off well in this story. In my opinion, the NFL shouldn't come off well. Bennet Omalu's work raises a lot of questions. At what point does informed consent apply to athletes? What responsibility does the NFL, or college football, or even pee wee leagues have to protect and educate their players? Is the domestic violence problem in the NFL less to do with steroids and competitive men and more to do with brain damage caused by repeated on field hits to the head? Will research on preventing and treating CFE in football players eventually lead to help for people suffering from other forms of dementia?
Highly recommend this book. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
taralpittman's review against another edition
5.0
What you need to know:
Definitely one of the best books I've read this year; Laskas does a fantastic job of detailing this story with the precision of a seasoned journalist while also providing readers with the emotion and suspense of a bestselling novel. I love Will Smith, but don't wait for the film!
My thoughts:
I've already mentioned that this is not a book about football; I have to admit, however, that I love football and the involvement of the NFL is certainly something that interested me about this story. What I quickly discovered is that I became much more interested in Dr. Omalu's journey from Nigeria to the United States, his subsequent experience with racism (a previously foreign concept) in America, and the way in which these experiences would influence and drive his research and contribution to the medical community.
Read more at Running'n'Reading here: my link text
Definitely one of the best books I've read this year; Laskas does a fantastic job of detailing this story with the precision of a seasoned journalist while also providing readers with the emotion and suspense of a bestselling novel. I love Will Smith, but don't wait for the film!
My thoughts:
I've already mentioned that this is not a book about football; I have to admit, however, that I love football and the involvement of the NFL is certainly something that interested me about this story. What I quickly discovered is that I became much more interested in Dr. Omalu's journey from Nigeria to the United States, his subsequent experience with racism (a previously foreign concept) in America, and the way in which these experiences would influence and drive his research and contribution to the medical community.
Read more at Running'n'Reading here: my link text
whatsheread's review
4.0
I still love football, but after listening to this book, I would have no problems if no one ever played the game again, given the dangers and terrifying effects of CTE.