A football authority speaks about what books to get fans. In the weekend's Wall Street Journal, former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason recommended his "five best":
- When Pride Still Mattered by David Maraniss (S&S), "the life story of the game's biggest name: Vincent Lombardi," which "tells you about who Lombardi was as a coach, as a man, and about all that he brought to the table--what I'll call the virtues of football. . . the great character-building sport, a teacher of discipline and cooperation."
- Inside the Helmet by Peter King (S&S), "a terrific treat for lovers of the game" by a Sports Illustrated writer who immersed himself in the lives of 10 NFL players, including Esiason.
- Remember This Titan by Bill R. Yoast with Steve Sullivan (Taylor), "a football story charged with racial tension and drama" that centers on Yoast's experience at an Alexandria, Va., high school in 1972, when had to step down as head coach and become an assistant to the new black head coach--which was retold in the 2000 movie Remember the Titans. "This moving saga reveals how players and their coaches, functioning as a team, manage in the end to overcome their mistrust and animosity."
- Semi-Tough by Dan Jenkins (Atheneum), "better than the 1977 movie," about two Texas players who've just joined the New York Giants. The novel is "sometimes given to tastelessness that's neither amusing nor interesting. Still, nothing changes the fact that this hilarious satire is, on the whole, a very good read."
- North Dallas Forty by Peter Gent (Morrow), a novel by the former Dallas Cowboys player, "a powerful story, powerfully told," about "the darker side of football, about the game's human costs: the shattered knees and broken bodies, all the painkillers required for a player to get out of bed in the morning."