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29th out of 427 books
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350 voters
Paper Lion: Confessions of a Last-String Quarterback
This paperback edition commemorates the 40th anniversary of the original publication of this sports classic.
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
September 1st 2006
by Lyons Press
(first published 1966)
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This is the dream of every guy who thinks they could be a professional athlete, Plimpton gets to live the life of one for one preseason. As you can imagine, it is a lot of work and getting to live your dream isn’t always the way you dreamed. The best parts of the book are Plimpton’s writing ability to give the reader the feel of being part of the team instead of a fan. Obviously the real life characters who stand out stand out b/c of their larger than life personalities which allows Plimpton a c...more
This wasn an okay book. Okay. George Plimpton is a great writer. He has a sports writers sensibility and vision. However, during reading this book, my mind wandered and I really couldn't focus. Maybe it's because I'm not a Lions fan. Maybe if this was about an author who was at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp instead of Detroit, I could relate more with the players, coaches, etc. Paper Packers. Paper Steelers. Paper Eagles. Anything but Detroit. The book is a bit dated as well. Imagine the lat...more
This was a very entertaining book, even if you don't like football, or care if any of the rookies make the team or anyone gets hurt. Plimpton has no illusions about his own ability, but he does have an eagerness to be a part of the team and to discover what one needs (or used to need)to make it as a football player. Most of the players--a faceless mass for us and Plimpton at the start--are drawn distinctly and creatively. And it's funny. Some of my favorite parts have nothing to do with football...more
Plimpton joins the Detroit Lions as a rookie to find out what it’s like. They let him play in the practices and the intra-squad game but not in a game against another team. The book is pretty good, even though I’m bored by football in general. Plimpton lets the reader know just what the rookie goes through: the tension, the exuberance, fear of being cut. It’s also interesting just how much rapid assessment the players do: a tightening of the knuckles, a shifting of the eyes can give away a play....more
Paper Lion is perhaps the first behind the scenes look at a pro football training camp. The excellent George Plimpton, first Editor in Chief of the Paris Review, wrote a series of pieces using "participatory journalism," a technique where he actually joined in the games he covered. In 1958 he pitched against National League all-stars in an exhibition baseball game at Yankee Stadium and wrote about it in his book "Out of My League." While on assignment with Sports Illustrated he stepped in the ri...more
Often called one of the best books of all time in sportswriting, I finally got around to reading this and it was pretty good, but dragged in some places. I wanted to know how he played in the games, thinking it was at the end of a few games, but it turns out he didn't play that much and when he did it wasn't good. He had a lot of good reporting from other players on what it's like to play in the NFL, but I can get that in a lot of books. Why I thought this one might be a little different is that...more
I was pleasantly surprised by the detail about what it would be like to be a player for a professional football team. Plimpton doesn't try to make his skills to be more (or less) than they actually are, and (not surprising for a journalist) writes with an engaging style. Before reading, I thought that the book might seem dated, since football has changed a bit over the last two decades, but I didn't find it to be that way at all. Many of the issues such as rookie vs. veteran salaries, long-term...more
Plimpton traces his own experiences in Lions training camp at the end of the franchise's golden era in the early 1960s. I remember this book on my father's shelf when I was a boy and when I asked him about it recently, he began to recite scenes from memory - clearly it made an impression on him as a young sportscaster. It's well-written and made me wish Plimpton had been more of a contemporary. The stories capture an NFL long since past, where training camps, drafts, and gameplans were more simp...more
Paper Lion is a throwback to the days of the NFL before the NFL-AFL merger. Plimpton takes us on a ride through training camp for an NFL player. The gimmick, of course, is that Plimpton has next to no skill at all in the game of football. This becomes evident quite early on when Plimpton writes candidly about the last time he played, which was in some high school pickup games. He disliked it then, and there's nothing about the game that really seems to grab his fancy. What Plimpton, and thus the...more
Excellent summer reading. Maybe a bit too technical at times for people with only a cursory knowledge of football, but I particularly liked those bits because it's interesting to see what stage the game had developed to in the 60s. When they talk about the Shotgun formation JUST being invented, it's really pretty alarming.
Of course the actual game is secondary to what's going on here. Plimpton's perspective allows for a vivid portrait of the league back then. It's pretty scary, to be honest. It...more
Of course the actual game is secondary to what's going on here. Plimpton's perspective allows for a vivid portrait of the league back then. It's pretty scary, to be honest. It...more
I read this book many years ago. What I remember most about the book is that I thought it was intriguing that someone could pursue an interest with something like football (in this case), get a chance to participate it in sort of "on a lark", then write a book about the experience and people bought/read the book.
Saw that a local book club was reading this, realized I had never read it so gave it a whirl. Can't say I enjoyed it.... didn't think it was particularly well-written. Too much talking with players outside of the practice field and describing events in flashbacks. The on-field events were well done though.
Aug 13, 2008
Jeffrey
added it
Paper Lion by George Plimpton
What happens when a writer decides to play professional football in the NFL? That is the entire joy that comes from George Plimpton’s timeless book, Paper Lion. Plimpton decided to write an insider’s eye view of the making the team and playing in a game. The year was 1965, Alex Karras (the dad from Webster) has been suspended for betting on games. Karras is the only name I recognized, but others were quite famous in their time. The book is quite enjoyable, as the pl...more
What happens when a writer decides to play professional football in the NFL? That is the entire joy that comes from George Plimpton’s timeless book, Paper Lion. Plimpton decided to write an insider’s eye view of the making the team and playing in a game. The year was 1965, Alex Karras (the dad from Webster) has been suspended for betting on games. Karras is the only name I recognized, but others were quite famous in their time. The book is quite enjoyable, as the pl...more
This is one of the classic "just do it" stories of all time. Plimpton is an American hero for his willingness to take us inside by putting his blood, sweat, tears and life on the line!
Cutting edge at the time...and remains a must-read for sports fans...you just have to be prepared to enter another era of writing and sports. Plenty of fun stuff here though.
Fine re: football & a classic, but it seemed extraordinarily wholesome & G-rated and, therefore, a cute yet dated memoir given all we've come to expect from professional athletes.
George Plimpton carved out an unusual career for himself; a journalist by trade, starting with "Paper Lion," he produced a series of best-selling books based on his experiences playing for various professional sports teams. "Paper Lion" is by far the best of these. Plimpton recounts his trials as a Detroit Lion quarterback, as he goes through the ordeal of training camp and interacts with players and coaches. It's doubtful that even many sports fans could relate to this book today; it springs fr...more
Without a doubt the standard to which all participatory journalism/new journalism works should be compared. What I love about this book is how Plimpton, an erudite Ivy League man, never lets himself be above his "teammates" on the Detroit Lions. He's clearly an outsider on their turf and brilliantly communicates the feeling of loss and helplessness during the action sequences, but also gives the reader a first-hand account of life in a 1960s era NFL training camp.
This book is about a journalist who chronicles his factual try-out with the Detroit Lions. His goal: to prove how difficult an average person would fare in professional sports. I recommend this book if you like sports; it is an easy read.
An entertaining bit of fluff. Should be read by any Lion's fan, as it's the only existing link to when they mattered as a team in the NFL.
This is a pretty solid look at what it was like to play pro football in the early 60s. By today's standards, it's pretty quaint. I couldn't fathom an author today naive enough to think he can jump in and play professional QB without even pee-wee experience at the position. It's entertaining, though, and it kept my interest. Stephen Fatsis wrote a book last year about being a placekicker in training camp with a modern team, and I'm going to read that soon to see how it compares.
If you think back...more
If you think back...more
Just great writing. George Plimpton has a rare gift of description.
Fun sports read. Good to see back into 1950/60s NFL.
My favorite 'George competes with pro athletes' book.
Plimpton's not quite the writer he thinks he is.
My kind of participatory journalism!
This book is great for football fans wanting a taste of football history, or for people who don't get football fans and want to understand their passion. Plimpton was a fantastic writer, and this behind the scenes look at a training camp from back when players weren't multimillionaires made me feel like I was right there with them, sharing in their training camp escapades and in Plimpton's struggles to not embarrass himself while pretending to be a pro. I really cannot do it justice.
Really enjoyed Plimpton's insight into the training camp, but put it down about 2/3 of the way through and haven't picked it up again. Will return to it at some point though.
The author documents his experiences and conversations after trying out for the Detroit Lions. The book is almost 50 years old. I might have enjoyed it more if I knew any of the players he interacted with during the pre-season workouts.
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George Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, actor, and gamesman. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.
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“The pleasure of sport was so often the chance to indulge the cessation of time itself--the pitcher dawdling on the mound, the skier poised at the top of a mountain trail, the basketball player with the rough skin of the ball against his palm preparing for a foul shot, the tennis player at set point over his opponent--all of them savoring a moment before committing themselves to action.”
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