Best books of July, 2008
20 books |
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A Few Seconds of Panic: A 5-Foot 8-Inch, 170-Pound, 43-Year-Old Sportswriter Plays Football with the Pros
by Stefan Fatsisbook data
69 ratings, 3.72 average rating, 25 reviews
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published
July 3rd 2008
by Penguin Press HC, The
binding
Hardcover, 352 pages
isbn
1594201781
(isbn13: 9781594201783)
description
Drawing on rare access to an NFL teams players, coaches and facilities, the author of The New York Times bestseller Word Freak trains to become a professional-caliber placekicker. As he sharpens his skills, he gains surprising insight into the daunting challengesphysical, psychological, and intellectualthat pro athletes must master<...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 153)
bookshelves:
2008,
afootballschool
Read in September, 2008
Fantastic story about a sportswriter who spent three months with the Denver Broncos organization, as a kicker. Hilarious, true, and often heartbreakingly sad about the realities of professional football as a career.
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bookshelves:
adults,
non-fiction,
ya_and_ya-lit
recommends it for: strong readers who are sports fans
Read in October, 2008
recommended to Kathleen by:
NPRrecommends it for: strong readers who are sports fans
Stefan Fatsis is a great non-fiction writer. Any more, I don't seem to read a lot of books that aren't related to my job; thankfully it's my job to read hundreds of fantastic YA books, but the point is that I don't so often find myself reaching for adult non-fiction like this. I'm glad I broke pattern for this book. As a regular contributor to NPR, Fatsis already has my loyalty in some ways but also gives me high expectations for his w...more
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Read in September, 2008
recommends it for:
those who bleed Bronco blue, die-hard NFL fans
This was supposed to be the book that got me through the sad, sad months that the NFL isn't playing. And it did, in a way, as it took me nearly the ENTIRE off-season to get through this memoir.
Fatsis is talented writer, and he took his task to heart. He wanted to show life from the inside of the NFL, and he accomplished exactly that. This is quite a feat, considering his newspaper background might have gotten his toe in the door, but was more likely to hurt his relationship with his would-...more
Fatsis is talented writer, and he took his task to heart. He wanted to show life from the inside of the NFL, and he accomplished exactly that. This is quite a feat, considering his newspaper background might have gotten his toe in the door, but was more likely to hurt his relationship with his would-...more
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Read in August, 2008
“Paper Bronco” – A Real Kick!
Wall Street Journal sports writer and uber-nerd Stefan Fatsis does a latter day George Plimpton as he becomes a 40-something place kicker for the Denver Broncos. What results is an absorbing on the inside narrative of what it is like playing in the NFL.
Fatsis doesn’t exactly have us (or at least me) feeling sorry for these athletes, but he portrays the grinding monotony, pain and job insecurity of a system that is always reminding the players of th...more
Wall Street Journal sports writer and uber-nerd Stefan Fatsis does a latter day George Plimpton as he becomes a 40-something place kicker for the Denver Broncos. What results is an absorbing on the inside narrative of what it is like playing in the NFL.
Fatsis doesn’t exactly have us (or at least me) feeling sorry for these athletes, but he portrays the grinding monotony, pain and job insecurity of a system that is always reminding the players of th...more
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Read in November, 2008
Fatsis updated George Plimpton's "Paper Lion" and tried to become an NFL kicker (for the Denver Broncos). The effort produces an insider's look at an NFL training camp. The book feels incomplete because Fatsis never gets to kick in an actual game, but the players seem real. Fatsis' ego comes through in this book more than it did in "Word Freak," which is too bad.
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Read in August, 2008
a fun read... a very insightful look into what nfl players are actually thinking and what the life of players on the cusp of being cut, demoted, or villified is like. makes the experience of being an nfl player seem more real and less mythological. on the downside i didnt find myself rooting for the author as much as i did when he took on the scrabble elites in word freak. --gw
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bookshelves:
memoir,
sports
Read in August, 2008
recommends it for:
football lovers
Mr. Fatsis is impressively self-confident, and luckily also an excellent writer. Few writers would dare take the challenge her assigned himself - to be a short, small, 40-something average guy trying to convincingly be a part of an NFL team. He does it with brio and determination. Much fun, I learned a lot, and will be watching the Broncos this fall.
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bookshelves:
immersion-journalism
Read in August, 2008
A wonderful, insightful book covering the author's stint as an aspiring kicker with the pre-season Denver Broncos. Fatsis writes about his struggle to develop his kicking skills, the business of football, the players, coaches and their personalities, and generally the NFL life. I (who, admittedly don't know much about football) learned a lot.
Read in October, 2008
recommends it for:
Sports fans.
I now know more about kicking a football than I ever thought I'd know. Good book about the kicking aspect and inside dealing of pro-football. However,I got confused when the author discussed the technical strategies of other positions and I had a hard time keeping track of who was who when he wrote about the other players.
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Read in August, 2008
Easy, breezy read. Every football fan's dream. Fatsis gets to go to training camp, get the inside scoop on what happens with the team (in this case, the Denver Broncos), but he avoids real contact by being a kicker. I wouldn't go so far to call it a modern 'Paper Lion', but it's still a very enjoyable book.
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A fun, interesting inside look into NFL training camp with the Denver Broncos (boo!). Even though I'm a lifelong Seahawks fan, it was still interesting to read about Fatsis' time in Broncos camp. Interesting perspectives on Shanahan, Bowlen, and the much maligned Jake Plummer. A must read for any NFL diehard.
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Pretty decent look at the modern NFL through the eyes of a guy trying out as a kicker. Fatsis must have a good personality because he seemed to gain the respect of his teammates pretty easily. Billed as a modern-day "Paper Lion" and while I didn't think it was that good, it was still worth a read.
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Read in October, 2008
Tex Schramm, president of the Dallas Cowboys, allegedly described football as akin to ranching -- with the players as the cattle, and he as the rancher. This book isn't so much a re-write of George Plimpton's famous experiment, as a look into the lives of the cattle.
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2008
Read in October, 2008
The marketing of this book may actually be a bit misleading... it's less about his Fatsis' personal journey, and more just a compelling, human look at life inside an NFL team.
(And thanks to Stefan for responding to my email about handball).
(And thanks to Stefan for responding to my email about handball).
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Read in April, 2008
Good stuff. My review is due out in Paste magazine in June, but you really have to care about professional sports a lot more than Scrabble to dig this follow-up to Fatsis wonderful WordFreak.
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Read in September, 2008
Stefan gives those of us that never had (or have) a chance to be a pro athlete a glimpse into what their world is really like. Of course, just like in Wordfreak, he tells us to the last detail. If you love football, read this one.
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Fatsis is a good writer and really held my interest with this book. Granted I'm a huge Bronco fan, so maybe that wasn't so hard. This book changed my perspective on professional athletes to a degree. Good stuff.
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Read in October, 2008
Even if you're a casual sports fan, this is a fun book to read. Fatsis offers some great insights into daily life in the NFL and explores where an "average Joe" fits into the league.
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Im really liking this so far. I think that he training with the Broncos is the main reason that I like this. If he was with another team, I don't know if it would hold my interest.
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Read in August, 2008
Starts as more of a gimmick book, but eventually shows the sad facts about the NFL's churning through the everyday players and leaving them out to dry. Surprisingly affecting.
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