Books about Football from Amazon.com

They were America's Team—the high-priced, high-glamour, high-flying Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s, who won three Super Bowls and made as many headlines off the field as on it. Led by Emmitt Smith, the charismatic Deion "Prime Time" Sanders, and Hall of Famers Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin, the Cowboys rank among the greatest of all NFL dynasties.

In similar fashion to his New York Times bestseller The Bad Guys Won!, about the 1986 New York Mets, in Boys Will Be Boys, award-winning writer Jeff Pearlman chronicles the outrageous antics and dazzling talent of a team fueled by ego, sex, drugs—and unrivaled greatness. Rising from the ashes of a 1–15 season in 1989 to capture three Super Bowl trophies in four years, the Dallas Cowboys were guided by a swashbuckling, skirt-chasing, power-hungry owner, Jerry Jones, and his two eccentric, hard-living coaches, Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Together the three built a juggernaut that America loved and loathed.

But for a team that was so dominant on Sundays, the Cowboys were often a dysfunctional circus the rest of the week. Irvin, nicknamed "The Playmaker," battled dual addictions to drugs and women. Charles Haley, the defensive colossus, presided over the team's infamous "White House," where the parties lasted late into the night and a steady stream of long-legged groupies came and went. And then there were Smith and Sanders, whose Texas-sized egos were eclipsed only by their record-breaking on-field perfomances.

With an unforgettable cast of characters and a narrative as hard-hitting and fast-paced as the team itself, Boys Will Be Boys immortalizes the most beloved—and despised—dynasty in NFL history.

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Rick Dockery was the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the AFC Championship game, to the surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually got into the game. With a 17-point lead and just minutes to go, Rick provided what was arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL. Overnight, he became a national laughingstock—and was immediately cut by the Browns and shunned by all other teams. But all Rick knows is football, and he insists that his agent find a team that needs him. Against enormous odds, Rick finally gets a job—as the starting quarterback for the Mighty Panthers . . . of Parma, Italy. The Parma Panthers desperately want a former NFL player—any former NFL player—at their helm. And now they’ve got Rick, who knows nothing about Parma (not even where it is) and doesn’t speak a word of Italian. To say that Italy—the land of fine wines, extremely small cars, and football americano—holds a few surprises for Rick Dockery would be something of an understatement. . . ..
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The Winners Manual: For the Game of Life shares Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel's "Big Ten" fundamentals for success: Attitude, Discipline, Faith, Handling Adversity & Success, Excellence, Love, Toughness, Responsibility, Team, and Hope. Peppered with personal stories from Tressel's storied coaching career, the book shares the fundamental lessons that he has been imparting to his players for the past 20 years. A perfect blend of football stories, spiritual insights, motivational reading, and practical application, The Winners Manual provides an inside look at the core philosophy that has served as the foundation for one of the most successful college football programs of all time. Includes 8 pages of color photos and a foreword from NYT best-selling author John Maxwell..
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For many, the late 1960s and early 1970s meant a country in total turmoil Campus sit-ins Vietnam War protests Kent State. Don't trust anyone over 30. Nixon was "not a crook" - or so he claimed At the other end of the spectrum was the intense rivalry between Woody Hayes, the legendary Ohio State football coach, and his nemesis, Bo Schembechler from Michigan. To them, the American heartland was still "pure and sacred," and they were totally in command of their football troops. Hayes idolized General Patton, the great American war hero. Schembechler idolized President Ford, a former All-American football player from Michigan. Michael Rosenberg sets the stage brilliantly for this coming clash of cultural differences, as Hayes and Schembechler try desperately to win a national football championship while coping with a shifting political landscape. It all leads to a climatic, and in part tragic, downfall of an important era gone by. This is far more than a sports story. This is an American coming of age story, as experienced by two of the most successful coaches of our time. Rosenberg's extensive research and interviews perfectly captures what life was truly like on two major college campuses during this remarkable time..
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Here at last is the first book to fully explain how and why the game of football became America's most powerful and financially successful entertainment phenomenon--and how this country's pioneers of sports, games, industry, and politics helped transform a sleepy game inherited from Europe into one that would explain what America wanted to become and who we are as a people.

In How Football Explains America, Sal Paolantonio, ESPN football reporter and a former national political reporter, takes you all the way back to 1876, when the United States was celebrating its 100th birthday, and explains how and why the stodgy and low-scoring games of soccer and rugby were rejected for a game that reflected America's lust to control--Manifest Destiny!--an entire continent.

How Football Explains America takes you through how and why President Teddy Roosevelt saved football, how and why Jim Thorpe and Bill Walsh changed the game, and how and why it was influenced by Hollywood and West Point.

How Football Explains America explains how football was influenced by Davy Crockett, John Coltrane, Jackie Robinson, and Douglas MacArthur.

How Football Explains America shows how at the heart of this country's real pastime is an insatiable need for storytelling and mythmaking, how Johnny Unitas is like John Wayne and Joe Montana is like Luke Skywalker, how the game grew up when pioneers and cowboys set out to write America's story across the West, and how football was a game that perfectly explained that march across the continent.

"Football explains America," says NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, "because the game is about teamwork and camaraderie, competition and passion, strategy and energy, strength and emotion. You can look at football and see the heart of America."

How Football Explains America takes you through a fascinating historical and cultural journey, using the intrigue, skullduggery, and drama of the 2007 NFL season--the quest for perfection and triumph of an underdog against all odds--to tell the story of a game and a nation that have been sewn together and explain how we live, work, and play..
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2008 Retailer's Choice Award winner!
Tony Dungy's words and example have intrigued millions of people, particularly following his victory in Super Bowl XLI, the first for an African American coach. How is it possible for a coach--especially a football coach--to win the respect of his players and lead them to the Super Bowl without the screaming histrionics, the profanities, and the demand that the sport come before anything else? How is it possible for anyone to be successful without compromising faith and family? In this inspiring and reflective memoir, now updated with a new chapter, Coach Dungy tells the story of a life lived for God and family--and challenges us all to redefine our ideas of what it means to succeed.

The softcover edition of this #1 New York Times best-seller includes a new chapter! In it, Coach reflects on the 2007 football season and last year's successful hardcover release of Quiet Strength. Also features a foreword by Denzel Washington and a 16-page color-photo insert. Over 1 million in print!.
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Completely authorized by NBC Sports, The Sunday Night Football Cookbook marries two great American institutions--food and football. With more than 150 delicious recipes from America's top chefs, NFL players and alumni, and NBC Sports' all-star on-air team, the book is an easy-to-use playbook for making the ultimate football meal.

Team by team and city by city, The Sunday Night Football Cookbook celebrates the special dishes, unique flavors, and most famous chefs of the NFL's 31 cities (and Honolulu, where the Pro Bowl is held). Recipes range from local favorites like Seared Tequila Chicken from Eddie Matney's Restaurant in Phoenix to decadent desserts like Chef Tobin McAfee's Double Warm Chocolate Hazelnut Pudding served at Sir Edmond Halley's in Charlotte, NC.

Among the all-star chefs contributing recipes are Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, Jean-Robert de Cavel, Christopher Wilson, Susan Goss, and others. Also adding their favorite recipes are former NFL players--including Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward, Kansas City Chief Tony Gonzalez, and Indianapolis Colt Dwight Freeney--and stars from the NBC's Football Night in America team, including John Madden, Tiki Barber, and Jerome Bettis.

These aren't your run-of-the-mill tailgating recipes, though: The Sunday Night Football Cookbook redefines football food, transforming traditional dishes into super-tasty recipes and adding the nation's regional tastes to the game-day table..
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The ultimate fan's guide to America's most popular sport

Since the last edition of Football For Dummies, new stadiums have been built, new stars have ascended, and records have been broken. This new edition has been revised to reflect today's game, giving football fans up-to-the-minute information on all the rules and regulations, positions, plays, and penalties. Featuring coverage of the newest stadium technologies, revised greatest players and legends, and pro-football must-do experiences, it also includes expert advice on training and gearing up for those who play the game. Fans will discover the best ways to enjoy football-at home or at the stadium..
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A thrilling, inspiring account of one of the greatest charm offensives in history—Nelson Mandela’s decade-long campaign to unite his country, beginning in his jail cell and ending with a rugby tournament

In 1985, Nelson Mandela, then in prison for twenty-three years, set about winning over the fiercest proponents of apartheid, from his jailers to the head of South Africa’s military. First he earned his freedom and then he won the presidency in the nation’s first free election in 1994. But he knew that South Africa was still dangerously divided by almost fifty years of apartheid. If he couldn’t unite his country in a visceral, emotional way—and fast—it would collapse into chaos. He would need all the charisma and strategic acumen he had honed during half a century of activism, and he’d need a cause all South Africans could share. Mandela picked one of the more farfetched causes imaginable—the national rugby team, the Springboks, who would host the sport’s World Cup in 1995.

Against the giants of the sport, the Springboks’ chances of victory were remote. But their chances of capturing the hearts of most South Africans seemed remoter still, as they had long been the embodiment of white supremacist rule. During apartheid, the all-white Springboks and their fans had belted out racist fight songs, and blacks would come to Springbok matches to cheer for whatever team was playing against them. Yet Mandela believed that the Springboks could embody—and engage—the new South Africa. And the Springboks themselves embraced the scheme. Soon South African TV would carry images of the team singing “Nkosi Sikelele Afrika,” the longtime anthem of black resistance to apartheid.

As their surprising string of victories lengthened, their home-field advantage grew exponentially. South Africans of every color and political stripe found themselves falling for the team. When the Springboks took to the field for the championship match against New Zealand’s heavily favored squad, Mandela sat in his presidential box wearing a Springbok jersey while sixty-two-thousand fans, mostly white, chanted “Nelson! Nelson!” Millions more gathered around their TV sets, whether in dusty black townships or leafy white suburbs, to urge their team toward victory. The Springboks won a nail-biter that day, defying the oddsmakers and capping Mandela’s miraculous ten-year-long effort to bring forty-three million South Africans together in an enduring bond.

John Carlin, a former South Africa bureau chief for the London Independent, offers a singular portrait of the greatest statesman of our time in action, blending the volatile cocktail of race, sport, and politics to intoxicating effect. He draws on extensive interviews with Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and dozens of other South Africans caught up in Mandela’s momentous campaign, and the Springboks’ unlikely triumph. As he makes stirringly clear, their championship transcended the mere thrill of victory to erase ancient hatreds and make a nation whole..
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