Football: Great Writing About the National Sport by John Schulian

Football: Great Writing About the National Sport Reviews

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  Chris Hays

  This was an interesting collection of stories that span the entire sport. I enjoyed most of the details which reflect on history and some big games or players. I even enjoyed some of the write ups regarding the authors of individual pieces. The articles toward the end were challenging as there are not may answers to CTE. There was also a human side story about cheer leaders who live a different life than I would want. The article was well done, but does not make it easier reading. All in all a well done collection of articles about football for those who love the games.
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  Erik

  Great collection on football. It’s both a love letter to the beauty of the game and a warning of its brutality, with entries covering the game from the perspective of players and coaches to cheerleaders and fans across all levels of play.
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  Liam Power

  A fun way to learn about the history of the game and get short, sharp bursts from legendary writers. As a relative newbie to the short from the UK this was a cracking read, particularly the early stuff.
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  arterialturns

  For whatever reason I usually gravitate towards baseball-related books if I read any sports books, but my wife picked this one up from the library and I gave it a crack. Contrary to a decent amount of negative reviews on here and elsewhere, I liked it quite a bit. It's a wide-ranging collection of essays and stories from football's past and present. There were tales covering football's early days when even the "stars" were essentially hitching rides to games, a whole story derived from close examination of a photo of a college team prior to a big game, a story from the daughter of an NFL coach, as well as a piece about the lives of cheerleaders on a particular team. I particularly like that they included ones about the brutal impact the sport has on the players, and the ways it affects their post-professional career lives. Lots of good, varied writing, worth a look.
  
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  Richard Lister

  I love great writing. Great sports writing, to me, is a special treat. So when I find a work that has collected the best, it's hard to lay off.
  
  John Schulian's book did not disappoint. He prefaces the work with the dissonance he feels toward the game's dangers, which now have moved into the public consciousness, against his love for the game and those who have described it so well. The collective of these pieces are a trove of some of the game's finest observers. Anyone who loves football should reads this book.
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  A. Mark Thomas

  One of the great collections of writing about American football ... I have bought several books that have excerpts in this Schulian mini-omnibus ... so much clever and insightful prose about this sport ... legends like Red Smith and Roy Blount Jr ... and modern "pens" like Michael Lewis ... I just dip and out of it, re-reading often
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  Neil

  Absolutely stellar collection of "great writing about the national sport". Reading it sent me to YouTube to watch grainy videos of Jim Brown, YA Tittle, Gale Sayers and many others. Kudos to editor John Schulian for his top-shelf choices. The Library of America does it again.
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  Patrick Macke

  fine collection of stories about the game that makes the world go 'round ...as many of us have long known - you can learn a lot from a "game" ... Gary Smith's article originally in SI "Moment Of Truth" is a good enough reason in itself to buy and read this book
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  Sara

  The best anthology of sports writing I have ever read! Great collection of stories that will entertain anyone even remotely interested in football.