# Books about football **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 14, 2012, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-football/625099 "2012-06-14T02:24:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mithril](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mithril/32/3517_2.png) [@Mithril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithril)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-football/625099/1 "2012-06-14T02:24:00Z")
I am currently reading **The Blind Side** , about Michael Oher’s high school years. It is teaching me a lot about left tackle, the West Coast offense, and Lawrence Taylor (what a jerk!). Does anybody know of any other highly-readable football books that will teach me more about the game? The biographical angle works well for me, but other non-fiction would be OK as long as it doesn’t assume tons of prior knowledge. For current level of knowledge, I watch enough football to know when good stuff is happening, but don’t know what each person on the field is up to. My goal is to watch every regular season Patriots game this year and to understand what is going on. No anti-Patriots commentary, please; I am Massachusetts born and raised. I am also interested in learning about hockey, too, so feel free to tell me about hockey books as well. Most of my hockey knowledge is derived from the similarities it has to soccer, which I played for a number of years. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-football/625099/2 "2012-06-14T03:17:07Z")
If you really want to _understand the game_, then two pieces of fiction are recommended: **North Dallas Forty** and **The Franchise** , both by Peter Gent. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-football/625099/3 "2012-06-14T03:45:16Z")
I haven’t read Chris Brown’s _The Essential Smart Football_, but his blog is great, and his writing at Grantland is good too. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-football/625099/4 "2012-06-14T16:01:41Z")
I enjoyed [_No Medals For Trying_](http://www.amazon.com/No-Medals-Trying-Week-Football/dp/0025582151) by Jerry Izenberg. He writes about a week he spent embedded with the New York Giants as they prepared for a significant late-season game against the Philadelphia Eagles in 1989. I’ll second **silenus** ’ recommendation of _North Dallas Forty_. (I haven’t read _The Franchise_, but I’d like to.) It’s set in the early 1970’s, so the landscape is a bit different but it’s still a pretty nice read. I found Peter Gent to be an entertaining writer; he’s a former NFL player, which make the details of his fictional account seem both frightening and realistic. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-football/625099/5 "2012-06-14T16:11:20Z")
Sounds like a job for [Football for Dummies](http://images.betterworldbooks.com/047/Football-for-Dummies-Long-Howie-9780470125366.jpg). Seriously. Written specifically for someone who knows little to nothing about the game. It details all the X’s and O’s from scratch without getting all technical, and includes a very broad history of the game and significant players and coaches from the past that you should know, all written in a very easy-to-read and approachable way. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-football/625099/6 "2012-06-14T16:43:03Z")
[America’s Game](http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Game-Michael-MacCambridge/dp/0375725067/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339692101&sr=1-4) is absolutely the one book to read if it is the NFL in particular you are interested in learning how it came to be the behemoth that it is. ---
**Author:** ![Mithril](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mithril/32/3517_2.png) [@Mithril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithril)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-football/625099/7 "2012-06-15T01:20:11Z")
Thanks, everyone! I will start requesting these books at my library. Go, Pats! ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-football/625099/8 "2012-06-15T02:06:32Z")
An interesting cross of Presidential biography and football history is [The Big Scrum: How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football](http://www.amazon.com/The-Big-Scrum-Roosevelt-Football/dp/0061744522/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339725771&sr=8-1&keywords=how+teddy+roosevelt+saved+football). Understanding some of the history and evolution of football explains some of the things you still see in the rules today, even if they’re not very common. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-football/625099/9 "2012-06-15T02:46:34Z")
Pat Kirwan is a former NFL exec who now is an analyst for [NFL.com](http://NFL.com) and Sirius NFL Radio. He has a book called “[Take Your Eye Off the Ball](http://www.patkirwan.com/)”, which is, from what I’ve read, very informative about the game. While it’s dated, and not particularly about the Xs and Os, George Plimpton’s [Paper Lion](http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Lion-Confessions-Last-String-Quarterback/dp/B007K4GKVM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339728368&sr=8-1) is still a classic, and a very funny, entertaining read. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-football/625099/10 "2012-06-15T21:05:26Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > While it’s dated, and not particularly about the Xs and Os, George Plimpton’s [Paper Lion](http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Lion-Confessions-Last-String-Quarterback/dp/B007K4GKVM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339728368&sr=8-1) is still a classic, and a very funny, entertaining read. It is also dated and not particularly about X & Os either, but Jerry Kramer & Dick Schaap 's “Instant Replay” is also a classic. [Link](http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Replay-Green-Diary-Kramer/dp/0385517459) ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-football/625099/11 "2012-06-15T23:11:08Z")
_Instant Replay_ by Jerry Kramer. Kramer was a starting guard for every one of Green Bay Packer Coach Vince Lombardi’s championship teams, including the first two Superbowls. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-football/625099/12 "2012-06-16T02:10:29Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > It is also dated and not particularly about X & Os either, but Jerry Kramer & Dick Schaap 's “Instant Replay” is also a classic. > [@colonial](#): > > _Instant Replay_ by Jerry Kramer. > > Kramer was a starting guard for every one of Green Bay Packer Coach Vince Lombardi’s championship teams, > including the first two Superbowls. Agreed on Instant Replay (though, as a Packer fan, I may be slightly biased 😉 ). Similarly, if one is interested in reading about Vince Lombardi and the Packers of that era, I’d highly recommend David Maraniss’s [When Pride Still Mattered](http://www.amazon.com/When-Pride-Still-Mattered-Lombardi/dp/1451611455/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339812606&sr=8-1&keywords=when+pride+still+mattered). ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-football/625099/13 "2012-06-21T05:39:53Z")
Friday Night Lights the inspiration for the television show is a goodone about Texas high school football. Interference by Dan Moldea is old and out of print but still available. It concerns the gambling element and will probably convince you to not bet on the game. I never read New England Patriots 101 but it sounds as if you would like to. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-football/625099/14 "2012-06-24T02:13:57Z")
> [@Darth\_Sensitive](#): > > I haven’t read Chris Brown’s _The Essential Smart Football_, but his blog is great, and his writing at Grantland is good too. I’m reading this now (it’s available in the Kindle/Prime library), but I’m not excited about it so far. It seems to lack readability, and also presume a bit more preknowledge than the OP professes to have.