This was one of the most anticipated sports books of the fall as it promised to tell the complete story of the New England Patriots dynasty. It delivered on that promise as it did that and more. Here is my review of "The Dynasty."
Title/Author:
“The Dynasty" by Jeff Benedict
Tags:
Football (American), professional, history, Patriots
Publish date:
September 1, 2020
Length:
587 pages
Rating:
4 ½ of 5 stars (excellent)
Review:
The New England Patriots have built one of the longest lasting dynasties in professional sports, lasting 20 years built primarily around three people – owner Robert Kraft, head coach Bill Belichik and quarterback Tom Brady. Together, those three brought the Patriots to the Super Bowl nine times, winning six of them and galvanizing millions of fans on one side or the other of being fans of the team. This dynasty is captured in this lengthy but well-written book by Jeff Benedict.
Something that will be noticed by readers soon after starting the 587 page book is that while a football team is the subject and the games they have played, including the Super Bowl, will be captured throughout the book, they will not be the primary focus of the book. Much more space is devoted to the off-field activities of all three of these men, even Brady. At times, this is much more interesting than the games on the field. One of the topics in which I believe the writing and storytelling is superb is how Kraft ended up owning the team, which was quite and adventure and nearly resulted in the team playing in Hartford instead of suburban Boston.
Some of these stories
are well-known – Brady becoming the starting quarterback only due to a serious
injury to veteran signal caller Drew Bledsoe, Belichick becoming coach of the
Patriots one day after being named coach of the rival New York Jets and the
subsequent negotiations for compensation, "Spygate" when the Patriots
were accused of illegally taping Jets coaches and "Deflategate" when
the Patriots and specifically Brady were accused of deflating footballs below
the required pressure in the 2015 AFC Championship game. These and so many more stories about the team are
told in a such a fresh and entertaining manner that readers who are avid fans
of the team and know about these matters will still enjoy the book.
This review only scratches the surface of the information contained in this
publication and Benedict pulls no punches.
He has many words about former coach Bill Parcells, the upset by the New
York Giants in Super Bowl XLVII that kept the Patriots from enjoying a perfect
season and the improbable comeback by New England in Super Bowl LI. Readers who enjoy pro football, regardless of
their fandom of the Patriots, should add this one to their reading lists.
Book Format Read:
E-book (Kindle)
Buying Links:
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