JOHN MADDEN’S HEROES OF FOOTBALL

Slipping occasionally into first person to give the narrative a personal tone, this engaging if superficial history takes American professional football from “unorganized mess” in the 19th and early-20th centuries to its sleek, media-savvy modern incarnation. Despite periodic lists of rule changes and even some formation diagrams, the discussion rarely approaches any sort of technical level, focusing instead on a chronological tally of major names and watershed games. Madden steers carefully clear of controversial topics, but his special interest in defense does ensure that the likes of Lawrence Taylor and the Steelers’ “Steel Curtain” share the limelight with the Don Hutsons, Jim Browns and Joe Montanas. Readers coming into this a little hazy on the differences between halfbacks and fullbacks, or wondering why hash marks are exactly 23 yards, 1 foot and 9 inches from the sidelines will leave unenlightened—but they will enjoy the plethora of game photos and glimpses of the game’s greats in action. (multimedia resource list, index of names) (Nonfiction. 10-12)