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graemeh's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
maa_pix's review against another edition
3.0
A good read about high school football, it covers the season of the Permian Panthers of Odessa Texas in 1988. But more than that, the author goes into great detail about the history of the community and it's relationship--it's obsession--with the game.
For those who have seen the movie, the book is very much more in-depth, and focuses a lot less on the coach and much more on the players. Plus it was interesting to see how the movie changed the real story to make things more dramatic, the story of Boobie Miles in particular. I found his real story more compelling.
For those who have seen the movie, the book is very much more in-depth, and focuses a lot less on the coach and much more on the players. Plus it was interesting to see how the movie changed the real story to make things more dramatic, the story of Boobie Miles in particular. I found his real story more compelling.
shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
3.0
We recently started watching, through netflix, the Friday Night Light television series based on this book. I figured I should check out the original story. I didn't realize it was a non-fiction account of a small town in Texas and its ridiculous (in my opinion) emphasis on high school football. It made for a good story but the racism and corruption were very upsetting even if football did provide a 'way out' for young men living in a severely economically depressed area. The good, the bad and the ugly are all very visible here.
grace1994's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliantly written and such a fascinating topic. I've loved the show for years but hadn't read the book or seen the film (which it turns out are very different from the show). The book really drives home just how heartbreaking this life can be for almost everyone involved and just how unfairly these boys are treated - either cast aside if they get injured or made to feel invincible until they graduate when real life hits them and they're entirely unprepared. The racism was also shocking but shouldn't be too surprising since this is Texas in the late 80s. Overall, I was really captivated by this book and feel that H.G. Bissinger is an amazing writer who clearly cares deeply about these boys and (to a lesser extent) this town. He writes with a lot of heart but is still willing to write about what he saw with all its ugly truth.
5/5
5/5
rafimatchen's review against another edition
5.0
Of all the books that are “about X, but really about America” (here, X is Texas high-school football) this is the best one that I have read.
erikakiana's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a great way to see how we treat athletes in the US. They don't get the experience of growing up as normal kids so when they become adults they don't know how to handle themselves and they are neither prepared for the real world nor the athletic world. It's incredible to see 20,000 people coming to a high school game. My college stadium held 25,000 and it wasn't always easy to fill it. It really highlights how we as sports watchers put all of our hopes and dreams on these athletes and then blame them and don't forgive them when they are wrong. It brought back memories from my own high school team. We didn't draw in 20,000 fans, but we were one of the best teams in the state. I could see parallels to my own school.
I was absorbed in this book. I read a lot of it on the train to work and I had to keep making sure I hadn't reached my train stop yet. I also loved the shock of seeing Odell Beckham Jr.'s dad mentioned in the book! The events of this book happened 30 years ago, but the issues are still relevant to this day.
I was absorbed in this book. I read a lot of it on the train to work and I had to keep making sure I hadn't reached my train stop yet. I also loved the shock of seeing Odell Beckham Jr.'s dad mentioned in the book! The events of this book happened 30 years ago, but the issues are still relevant to this day.
henskm's review against another edition
3.0
I have not seen the movie, but am a big fan of the TV series inspired by this book. The historical background, analysis of social issues, descriptions of the struggles of individual players, and story of the team's season included in this book were all interesting to me. However, the book gets bogged down in the details of the major plays of important games of the season. Having only a basic understanding of football and no visual to accompany the nitty gritty, all of this went over my head. You can be a big fan of the TV show without being a big football fan, but the same can not be said of the book.
annepw's review against another edition
3.0
Leans a little hard on clichés, but this book accomplished what I never thought possible: it made me care (at least a little) about football.