We know what you’re thinking—why are those book nerds over at Kirkus pontificating about the best football books? Do they even watch football at Kirkus? Ahem—we’ll bypass that question to remind you that if it’s a book, we know whether it’s any good. This week, we highlight 10 gripping, insightful stories about the big egos, big money and big bruises at the heart of America’s national sport. You won’t get all 10 read before Sunday’s epic battle, but any of these titles will provide some nice perspective on why that little oval of pigskin—and the guys fighting and fumbling over it—capture our attention (even our attention).
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 23, 2012
"Mealer tries a little too hard to tug at the heartstrings; nonetheless, he offers a stirring tale of sports as a means of escape from dire circumstances."
High school football players and other residents of hardscrabble Belle Glade, Fla., fight for their pride and their lives in this chronicle from veteran reporter Mealer (
All Things Must Fight to Live: Stories of War and Deliverance in Congo, 2008, etc.).
Read full book review >
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 9, 2012
"A fittingly exhaustive history of a larger-than-life franchise."
Texas journalist and author Patoski (
Willie Nelson: An Epic Life, 2008, etc.) delivers an oversized history of one of sport's greatest franchises.
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NONFICTION
Released: Nov. 8, 2011
"A deeply reported, thoroughly engaging look at what it takes to succeed in the NFL--and a perfect complement to the NFL Network's compelling miniseries Bill Belichick: A Football Life."
A longtime Patriots chronicler goes inside the brain trust of the NFL's most successful team.
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NONFICTION
Released: Aug. 18, 2009
"A feel-good story of youthful drive, great coaching and the value of unflagging communal support."
Turning his attention from horseracing (
To the Swift: Classic Triple Crown Horses and Their Race for Glory, 2008, etc.),
New York Times reporter Drape follows a high-school football dynasty.
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NONFICTION
Released: Nov. 4, 2008
"Touchdown, Gifford!"
NFL great Gifford (
The Whole Ten Yards, with Harry Waters, 1993) reminisces about the legendary game between his New York Giants and the Baltimore Colts.
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NONFICTION
Released: June 3, 2008
"Not quite on par with Bringing the Heat (1994), among the best football books ever, but surely a delight for anyone interested in the history of the NFL."
Bowden (
Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam, 2006, etc.) takes a sharp look at the 1958 National Football League championship game, which featured "the greatest concentration of football talent ever assembled for a single game."
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