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Title: When Pride Still Mattered : A Life Of Vince Lombardi by David Maraniss ISBN: 0-684-87018-5 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 03 September, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.79 (120 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Behind The Legend There Was A Man
Comment: No one quote defines the life of Vince Lombardi more than "God, family and the Green Bay Packers!" We all know of the man who lead the Packers to several championships, his great players, and the dedication and effort he drew out of his teams and fans alike. Maraniss looks behind this persona into what shaped the man, and what in turn shaped the people around him. The joy in this book lies in the account of his years prior to Green Bay, and the result.
From Brooklyn to Fordham to St Cecilia's High School to West Point to the New York Giants, "When Pride Still Mattered" masterfully weaves together the man. Religion, the influence of one of the legendary Four Horseman (his college coach, Sleepy Jim Crowley), another legendary coach (Army's Red Blaik) - all were the building blocks to what became Vince Lombardi.
Also in this account are several interesting facts - a direct line can be traced from famous coaches - Knute Rockne up through Bill Parcells; Lombardi started the Redskins on their road to respectability and beyond; the advent of the NFL players union; etc. If you want to know the man behind the legend, you're in for a great read.
Rating: 5
Summary: The best sports book I've ever read!
Comment: I've always admired Vince Lombardi ever since his name was instilled in my conscious. When you think of the greatest coaches of all time, of any era, of any sport, Lombardi comes to mind. No coach ever gave so much of his blood, heart and dedication to win than Vince Lombardi; and all those traits are exhibited in this great biography of a man who transformed football, who brought football to the forefront. Maraniss has written a heartwarming, accurate account of a man who still lives in the public's conscious after his death almost 30 years ago. If you want a book about pure sports and strategy, then this isn't exactly your book. It's also about family and the desire to win. It's about determination. I've read King of the World by David Reminick which was also an excellent book, but this book tops it. When you finish this book you'll appreciate who Lombardi is and the sacrafice he gave to win. Most men wouldn't dare sacrafice so much of their time to do what Lombardi did, but after you finish this book you appreciate his love and why he did it. If there is one sports book you are ever going to get, this is it.
Rating: 5
Summary: fantastic!
Comment: First, a few low points... While not written in the jargon of the field, Maraniss clearly approaches the subject of Vince Lombardi from a post-modern point of view. He opens with a contrived and somewhat galling introduction, in which he explains that he has borrowed the title from another author and uses it (of course!) "ironically." At various points throughout the book, Maraniss attempts to "de-construct" Lombardi, which is to some extent the mark of any good biography, but the author takes it too far at times, especially in his frequent references to the "fallacy of the innocent past." Moreover, this is not a political book, but because Lombardi was mildly politically active, politics enters the picture. And a subtle bias pervades Maraniss's discussion of politics. When lifelong Democrat (but always pretty conservative) Lombardi begins drifting toward Nixon and Republicans in the turbulent sixties, Maraniss attributes Lombardi's conservatism not to a heartfelt belief in those principles but to an inability to cope with rapidly changing times. The 60s is a favorite topic for Maraniss, as his latest book indicates, but his digressions into the protests, while tangentially important to Lombardi's story (particularly his philosophy of freedom), are overdone.
Nevertheless, despite those faults, I still give this book a five. Immediately after that disappointing introduction, Maraniss redeems himself with probably the most stunning first line I have read in any book of nonfiction (and perhaps in fiction, too): "Everything begins with the body of the father." It is a starting point for a discussion of Lombardi's immigrant father, but it brings together elements that appear throughout the book: family (especially Lombardi's relationship with his son); Catholicism; the physical violence of football. From his youthful desire to be a priest and his high school and college football career, Maraniss follows Lombardi to Fordham and beyond to his first coaching job at a small Catholic high school in New Jersey and to an assistant's job at West Point, under Red Blaik. It was then to the Giants, where he was an assistant with Tom Landry, and finally across the country to Green Bay, where the legend was born.
The book is not just a biography of Vince Lombardi; it is a look at American life and culture and at the history of professional football. It is amazingly written, and the descriptions of football games are wonderful--particularly the Ice Bowl, which another reviewer has mentioned. Flaws and all, this is a fantastic read.
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Title: What It Takes To Be Number #1: Vince Lombardi on Leadership by Vince, Jr. Lombardi ISBN: 0071370609 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Trade Pub. Date: 13 December, 2000 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: They Marched Into Sunlight: War and Peace Vietnam and America October 1967 by David Maraniss ISBN: 0743217802 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: The Essential Vince Lombardi : Words & Wisdom to Motivate, Inspire, and Win by Vince, Jr Lombardi ISBN: 0071390960 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Trade Pub. Date: 09 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Strive To Excel : The Will and Wisdom of Vince Lombardi by Jennifer Briggs ISBN: 1558535500 Publisher: Rutledge Hill Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1997 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
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Title: The Junction Boys: How Ten Days in Hell with Bear Bryant Forged a Championship Team by Jim Dent ISBN: 031226755X Publisher: Griffin Trade Paperback Pub. Date: 09 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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