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War Without Death: A Year of Extreme Competition in Pro Football's NFC East
A Washington Post columnist presents a behind-the-scenes account of the on- and off-field competition between four rival NFL teams including the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Dallas Cowboys, in a volume that cites the influence of personality conflicts, sports fans, and other factors.
- GenresSportsNonfictionFootball
400 pages, Hardcover
First published August 16, 2007
About the author
Mark Maske
2 books1 followerNoted Washington Post sports reporter and columnist Mark Maske has written the Moneyball of professional football, a behind-the-scenes account of a year in the life of the on- and off-field competition between four of the NFL's bitterest rivals: the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys. Mark Maske is a Washington Post staff writer and sports columnist. "
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 23, 2011
I've been really excited to read this book ever since it came out in hardback about 3 years ago, but I was a little dissapointed with this read by author Mark Maske.
It's a story about a year inside the NFC East football division consisting of the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, NY Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. It takes place during the 2006 season, where Bill Parcells coached the Cowboys and Joe Gibbs still coached the Redskins.
The book has good insight on Parcells and Andy Reid, head coach of the Eagles, as well as Terrell Owens. No surprise here, but the book makes Owens to be a real slacker that bitches too much, drops too many balls, and is probably the most overated player in the NFL. Oh yeah, and always wants more money. He DOES, however, always suit and play in games even when hurt. Maybe if he stayed in better shape and didn't fall asleep during film session, or try to committ suicide, that wouldn't happen.
But I did have some problems with this book. One, too much on the labor negotiations. Fans of football that don't make a lot of money like myself don't need to read 100 pages on this. It's boring and overkill. I wanted more on the NFL season, but that didn't start in the book until around page 250 of 373 pages. Then the season feels rushed, as if it's trying to be jammed in to a space too small.
If you're an NFL football fan, I would skip this and instead probably read the GM by Tom Callahan. Same time period, it's about the former GM of the Giants, Ernie Accorsi, and chronicles the same season used in War Without Death. The GM focuses on the NFC East as well, although a little more bias toward the Giants.
It's a story about a year inside the NFC East football division consisting of the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, NY Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. It takes place during the 2006 season, where Bill Parcells coached the Cowboys and Joe Gibbs still coached the Redskins.
The book has good insight on Parcells and Andy Reid, head coach of the Eagles, as well as Terrell Owens. No surprise here, but the book makes Owens to be a real slacker that bitches too much, drops too many balls, and is probably the most overated player in the NFL. Oh yeah, and always wants more money. He DOES, however, always suit and play in games even when hurt. Maybe if he stayed in better shape and didn't fall asleep during film session, or try to committ suicide, that wouldn't happen.
But I did have some problems with this book. One, too much on the labor negotiations. Fans of football that don't make a lot of money like myself don't need to read 100 pages on this. It's boring and overkill. I wanted more on the NFL season, but that didn't start in the book until around page 250 of 373 pages. Then the season feels rushed, as if it's trying to be jammed in to a space too small.
If you're an NFL football fan, I would skip this and instead probably read the GM by Tom Callahan. Same time period, it's about the former GM of the Giants, Ernie Accorsi, and chronicles the same season used in War Without Death. The GM focuses on the NFC East as well, although a little more bias toward the Giants.
March 17, 2017
There was some interesting information presented, especially in semiprivate NFL dealings that most of us average joes never hear about, but like others said in reviews, there is wayyyyy to much time spent on owner negotiations and meetings and labor disputes and not enough on the side of the NFL we really care about (the football). I found myself skimming or even skipping entire paragraphs or half pages and don't feel like I missed anything important. The premise was there and had it been executed better, it could have been dynamite, instead, it was more sparkler.
March 7, 2024
Got this book for like $2 so can’t complain. Was pretty decent and interesting, but I agree with other reviews that it took a while to even get to the football season. Also didn’t really feel like the events warranted a book. 3.5 stars probably but round down as always.
April 5, 2018
If you love NFL football and one of the 4 NFC East teams is yours, then you'll enjoy this book. Recaps a year from draft to season's end.
February 27, 2019
As a Giants fan, I expected not to be as bored as I was reading this. It was painful.
May 10, 2025
I read this when it first came out. I'm a Bucs fan, but I love this sort of "longform journalism" approach to periods/seasons/teams in the league, regardless. As such, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. There's no shortage of compelling characters (Jerry Jones, Dan Snyder, Donovan McNabb, Eli Manning, etc) and Maske does a great job of shifting between teams and events in a way that feels organic without letting specific entries drag on too long. Best of all, the Redskins (it's fine, it was 2008) beat writer gives us some really interesting stuff about then-Skins-owner and sociopath Dan Snyder.
The only reason it's not a five star book is that it's appeal is very esoteric, and Maske doesn't have any interest in tapping into larger themes. If you're a fan of any of these teams, or books of this nature, it's worth hunting down here in 2025.
The only reason it's not a five star book is that it's appeal is very esoteric, and Maske doesn't have any interest in tapping into larger themes. If you're a fan of any of these teams, or books of this nature, it's worth hunting down here in 2025.
July 9, 2008
Let's face it, a book about one year in one division of one isolated sports league is not going to break any new ground. There are only two reasons why anyone would pick up Mark Maske's _War Without Death_: either you are a big fan of professional football's NFC East or you're hoping the title will fool people into thinking that you are reading a very important book. Outside of those causes, you might as well take a pass on Maske's debut.
Not that the author doesn't do an admirable job treating his fairly inconsequential subject matter. Maske demonstrates an impressive degree of access to the NFC East's movers and shakers as well as a healthy share of candor from various players. The book is an enjoyable ride around the 2006 season as seen through the eyes of an insider.
As an author, though, Maske is limited. His style mirrors the kind of journalistic sensibilities of his "Washington Post" column, which is perfectly suited to a newspaper but less so for a book. (In his acknowledgements, Maske even admits blurring the distinction between the two.) Also - and this is said as a Washington Redskins fan, with all the biases that entails - Maske's book becomes enthralled with a handful of stories to the detriment of a more even coverage. Lots of Jerry Jones. Lots of Andy Reid and the Eagles. Far too much Terrell Owens. And precious little on the Redskins largely forgettable 5-11 season.
It takes a very specific interest in the NFC East to appreciate Maske's book. Failing that, there is no shortage of better sports writing available to the reader.
Not that the author doesn't do an admirable job treating his fairly inconsequential subject matter. Maske demonstrates an impressive degree of access to the NFC East's movers and shakers as well as a healthy share of candor from various players. The book is an enjoyable ride around the 2006 season as seen through the eyes of an insider.
As an author, though, Maske is limited. His style mirrors the kind of journalistic sensibilities of his "Washington Post" column, which is perfectly suited to a newspaper but less so for a book. (In his acknowledgements, Maske even admits blurring the distinction between the two.) Also - and this is said as a Washington Redskins fan, with all the biases that entails - Maske's book becomes enthralled with a handful of stories to the detriment of a more even coverage. Lots of Jerry Jones. Lots of Andy Reid and the Eagles. Far too much Terrell Owens. And precious little on the Redskins largely forgettable 5-11 season.
It takes a very specific interest in the NFC East to appreciate Maske's book. Failing that, there is no shortage of better sports writing available to the reader.
October 12, 2010
I found this book immensely readable and fairly entertaining. This book is not about playing football, it is about the personalities and lives of the people who own and run the teams in the NFC East: Washington, NY Giants, Eagles and Cowboys. There is coverage of free agency, salary cap decisions and mathematics, drafting, coaching personnel decisions, bascially everything but coverage of the games.
This is not a book about playing football, this is a book of the people who make the decisions that go into playing football, and if you read it more for the business side of the sport, it is very entertaining. Don't read this book if you are looking for coverage of the 2006 season on the field (the book covers January 2006 to January 2007), the book covers whole weekends in one or two paragraphs. But, if you are at all interested in the business side or the biggest personalities of the game, it will fill that need.
Finally, the book itself is a very good read. The writing is good and the pace is faster than you would expect out of a nearly 400 page book, likely because of the huge quantity of "action" that happens behind the scenes in the NFL. I used to here about the massive hours put in by coaches and front office people. This book confirms all of that and more. Very fun.
This is not a book about playing football, this is a book of the people who make the decisions that go into playing football, and if you read it more for the business side of the sport, it is very entertaining. Don't read this book if you are looking for coverage of the 2006 season on the field (the book covers January 2006 to January 2007), the book covers whole weekends in one or two paragraphs. But, if you are at all interested in the business side or the biggest personalities of the game, it will fill that need.
Finally, the book itself is a very good read. The writing is good and the pace is faster than you would expect out of a nearly 400 page book, likely because of the huge quantity of "action" that happens behind the scenes in the NFL. I used to here about the massive hours put in by coaches and front office people. This book confirms all of that and more. Very fun.
July 5, 2011
For a book that I picked up in a discount bin for $1, it was not too bad a read. It bascially followed the NFC East Division during the 2006-2007 NFL season. Now, of all the divisions to follow in the NFL, the NFC East would be one to analyze. Outsized personalities (players, coaches, owners) and teams with a long history and strong fan base. Admittedly, while the stories were interesting and it was good to get some insight into the wheeling and dealing that happens off the gridiron, this book was not any better than a complilation of sports blogs (see Peter King's Best of Monday Morning Quaterback). Still, it does make for a good summer read, especially now with the threat of a lockout interrupting the regular season (the labor disputes between 2006-2007 are also mentioned in here, as well as the last minute resolution). Probably not going to be on any mandatory read lists for high school, but for a football fan (especially one of the NFC East Teams (Dallas, NY Giants, Washington, Philadelphia), this would be worth the investment (at the discount bin).
May 7, 2010
As an Eagles fan it was fun to relive the 2006 season with a little bit of hindsight for perspective. There isn't really a lot of insight into the teams that rabid fans wouldn't already have gleaned by now, but there is a lot of lockerroom / front office coverage which was interesting. There was a whole lot of talk about labor negotiations and strife between NFL owners, which was sort of interesting, but got old quickly. Mostly it was great to read the author try with all of his might to offer balanced reporting of the four NFC East teams when he clearly thinks that Jerry Jones is an eccentric weirdo, Dan Snyder is a clueless bully and Wellington Mara is a god among men (he seems largely complimentary but ambivalent about Jeff Lurie).
Anyway, like I said, it was fun to read. Not great, not bad at all. Recommended for fans.
Oh, and Scott Young still needs to die screaming.
Anyway, like I said, it was fun to read. Not great, not bad at all. Recommended for fans.
Oh, and Scott Young still needs to die screaming.
December 1, 2008
A good read, definitely worth your time if you're a NFL fan. The only downside is the gap between what it is vs. what it could have been: it reads like Mark Maske's reporter notebook for the year in extended form. That's great, but as a result it's more about what Mark happened to be covering at any given time than a true chronicle of the year - there are curious omissions or topics that are glossed over. This isn't really a big criticism - what's there is a lot of fun to read - but it's the difference between a good book and a great book.
September 17, 2009
A must-read for any football fan. Maske takes you behind the on-field game, giving a glimpse into both the locker rooms and board rooms of the NFL. Indeed, if there's any deficiency here, its the relatively short time dedicated to the goings-on of 2006 football season, compared to the in-depth coverage of labor negotiations, team-building and draft-strategizing, and OTA/training camp. But I guess that's part of the lesson here -- what the fans generally think of as "football season" is, for those working in the industry, just the culmination of a full year's work.
July 25, 2011
Eh.
People who really, really like the NFL will enjoy this book more than I did. The author is a reporter, and the only way that reporters can make any money is to write books. I don't blame him for writing the book. Unfortunately, he wrote it like a reporter - as a chronicle, without any insight. It takes a serious NFL addict to appreciate chapter after chapter of documentation of the negotiations over a new labor agreement.
People who really, really like the NFL will enjoy this book more than I did. The author is a reporter, and the only way that reporters can make any money is to write books. I don't blame him for writing the book. Unfortunately, he wrote it like a reporter - as a chronicle, without any insight. It takes a serious NFL addict to appreciate chapter after chapter of documentation of the negotiations over a new labor agreement.
August 12, 2012
I don't read a lot of sports books, but I do know a little bit about football. And this taught me more. I read it several years ago, when I was more into football than I am now, but it was a lively book. Given how quickly things change in sports, it's probably a bit dated since it's 2007 publication. But I didn't toss it on the book pile of our last yard sale either.
Currently Reading
September 15, 2008If you're an NFL fan, especially an NFC East fan, you'll love the insight on every page.
January 8, 2012
Picked it up at a discount, and there were parts of it legitimately engrossing. And as a Redskins fan, there were parts that were painful. Good, quick read.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews