"Entertaining and informative narration . . . [Bowden] frames the
picture with a wide lens, but then focuses on the roles and lives
of a few key players." --Publishers Weekly "A sharp look at the
1958 National Football League championship game . . . [Bowden]
wisely focuses on a few individuals--Johnny Unitas, Raymond Berry,
Weeb Ewbank, Art Donovan of the Colts; Frank Gifford, Sam Huff,
Vince Lombardi, and Tom Landry of the Giants--to explain the game's
singular link to the NFL's past and future. The author deftly
examines the larger historical context shaping this coming-of-age
moment, which propelled professional football to its current
position as America's favorite sport. . . . A delight for anyone
interested in the history of the NFL." --Kirkus Reviews "Bowden, a
skilled journalist . . . has written The Best Game Ever as a labor
of love . . . His explanations of shifts in the teams' offensive
and defensive strategies are lucid, and he knows enough about the
extreme physical and mental demands the game exacts to convey a
strong sense of the players' exhaustion and determination as the
contest ground toward its conclusion . . . The Best Game Ever is
sure to become an instant Sacred Text."
--Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post "In his scrupulously researched
account of the 1958 NFL championship game between the Baltimore
Colts and the New York Giants, Mark Bowden makes a compelling case
for both his title, 'The Best Game Ever, ' and subtitle: 'The Birth
of the Modern NFL.' . . . Mr. Bowden succeeds in making a contest
from a half-century ago seem fresh, in part because he has a keen
sense for the anecdotal . . . [his] best trick, though, is that he
gets out of the way of a great story and a great game." --Steve
Wulf, Wall Street Journal "Tight and tidy . . . As we become more
familiar with the participants in this drama, there is a shock of
recognition on seemingly every page. It is remarkable learning what
these men who all played in one game went on to do with their
lives, both on and off the football field . . . Reading through Mr.
Bowden's reconstruction of the game, one does get the sense that
this game was, if not the best ever, at least one of the most
intriguing."
--Peter Hausler, Wall Street Journal "With the same precision he
used to dissect a firefight in Mogadishu, Bowden anatomizes the
1958 NFL Championship between the Baltimore Colts and the New York
Giants, which featured a death-defying comeback by the Colts and
was also one of America's first 'truly communal live national
events.'" --Time "Bowden dives into the trenches of the 1958 NFL
Championship game, where New York and Baltimore waged an overtime
battle that wowed TV audiences and ensured the future of pro
football . . . He astutely contrasts Frank Gifford's glamorous
Giants with the blue-collar Colts of Johnny Unitas."
--Entertainment Weekly "Befitting a skilled reporter, Bowden
uncovers new material to enliven his retelling. His interviews with
several of the Colts and Giants players, as well as with Colts'
then-assistant coach Charley Winner, yield new insights. In
particular, receive Raymond Berry's detailed game notes from the
day itself are invaluable, as are excerpts from the transcript of
the NBC radio broadcast by Joe Boland . . . this book is a fine
account of one of the most significant games in sports history."
--Library Journal "Bowden handles [the story] deftly, using a spare
writing style to illuminate the historic tussle." --Newsday
Bowden (Black Hawk Down; Guests of the Ayatollah) tells the story of the 1958 National Football League championship game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants, a legendary game that proved to be a harbinger of the enormous popularity of pro football over the next 50 years. Bowden writes that the game featured the greatest assemblage of talent ever on one field, including 17 future Hall of Fame inductees. He frames the picture with a wide lens, but then focuses on the roles and lives of a few key players, particularly the Colts' obsessive and methodical wide receiver Raymond Berry and the iconic quarterback Johnny Unitas, as well as the Giants' powerful linebacker Sam Huff. The game, played in frigid Yankee Stadium three days after Christmas, stretched into the evening, garnering the largest television audience in the history of the sport to that time. Bowden begins his entertaining and informative narration in the third quarter, and then delves into backstory on the league, players and the buildup, before returning to the gridiron to conclude with a detailed account of the final plays and an epilogue. (June) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
"Entertaining and informative narration . . . [Bowden] frames the picture with a wide lens, but then focuses on the roles and lives of a few key players." --Publishers Weekly
"A sharp look at the 1958 National Football League championship
game . . . [Bowden] wisely focuses on a few individuals--Johnny
Unitas, Raymond Berry, Weeb Ewbank, Art Donovan of the Colts; Frank
Gifford, Sam Huff, Vince Lombardi, and Tom Landry of the Giants--to
explain the game's singular link to the NFL's past and future. The
author deftly examines the larger historical context shaping this
coming-of-age moment, which propelled professional football to its
current position as America's favorite sport. . . . A delight for
anyone interested in the history of the NFL." --Kirkus Reviews
"Bowden, a skilled journalist . . . has written The Best Game Ever
as a labor of love . . . His explanations of shifts in the teams'
offensive and defensive strategies are lucid, and he knows enough
about the extreme physical and mental demands the game exacts to
convey a strong sense of the players' exhaustion and determination
as the contest ground toward its conclusion . . . The Best Game
Ever is sure to become an instant Sacred Text."
--Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post "In his scrupulously researched
account of the 1958 NFL championship game between the Baltimore
Colts and the New York Giants, Mark Bowden makes a compelling case
for both his title, 'The Best Game Ever, ' and subtitle: 'The Birth
of the Modern NFL.' . . . Mr. Bowden succeeds in making a contest
from a half-century ago seem fresh, in part because he has a keen
sense for the anecdotal . . . [his] best trick, though, is that he
gets out of the way of a great story and a great game." --Steve
Wulf, Wall Street Journal "Tight and tidy . . . As we become more
familiar with the participants in this drama, there is a shock of
recognition on seemingly every page. It is remarkable learning what
these men who all played in one game went on to do with their
lives, both on and off the football field . . . Reading through Mr.
Bowden's reconstruction of the game, one does get the sense that
this game was, if not the best ever, at least one of the most
intriguing."
--Peter Hausler, Wall Street Journal "With the same precision he
used to dissect a firefight in Mogadishu, Bowden anatomizes the
1958 NFL Championship between the Baltimore Colts and the New York
Giants, which featured a death-defying comeback by the Colts and
was also one of America's first 'truly communal live national
events.'" --Time "Bowden dives into the trenches of the 1958 NFL
Championship game, where New York and Baltimore waged an overtime
battle that wowed TV audiences and ensured the future of pro
football . . . He astutely contrasts Frank Gifford's glamorous
Giants with the blue-collar Colts of Johnny Unitas."
--Entertainment Weekly "Befitting a skilled reporter, Bowden
uncovers new material to enliven his retelling. His interviews with
several of the Colts and Giants players, as well as with Colts'
then-assistant coach Charley Winner, yield new insights. In
particular, receive Raymond Berry's detailed game notes from the
day itself are invaluable, as are excerpts from the transcript of
the NBC radio broadcast by Joe Boland . . . this book is a fine
account of one of the most significant games in sports history."
--Library Journal "Bowden handles [the story] deftly, using a spare
writing style to illuminate the historic tussle." --Newsday
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