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PARCELLS: Autobiography of the Biggest Giant of Them All by Bill with Mike Lupica Parcells

PARCELLS: Autobiography of the Biggest Giant of Them All

By

Pub Date: Aug. 24th, 1987
Publisher: Bonus Books

Aided by N.Y. Daily News writer Lupica, Bill Parcells slogs the long road from a New Jersey boyhood to his triumphant season as head coach of the Super Bowl-champ Giants, in a slapped-together memoir that dutifully chronicles what happened when, but provides fans with little in the way of excitement or insight. After a childhood of avid sportsfandom, Parcells plays college football well enough to be drafted by the Detroit Lions. When he doesn't make the cut, he takes an assistant coaching spot at Hastings College. From there, it's a transient life, coaching at a string of colleges, and then reaching the pros. At the end of 1982, he takes over the Giants, and starts trying to mold the talent (Phil Simms, Lawrence Taylor, Joe Morris, etc.) into a championship team. The result, a 39-20 triumph over the Denver Broncos, is Super Bowl history. There can be no faulting Parcells' generosity: instead of anecdotes, he's spilled out paeans--to his players and a slew of sportsworld friends. But his descriptions rarely resonate with insider's insight (for instance, on Taylor: ""Aggressive as hell. Unbelievable quickness. Great natural strength. Hated to lose""). His game-action descriptions are of the he-scored, then variety; the sense of Parcells as an architect of strategy too rarely shines through. Indicative of the slim pickings: the most interesting chapter is a description of how coaches spend a typical workweek. Ravenous Giant fans may gobble up this post-championship tidbit, but the lack of spice will disappoint many of the less avid.