As I work on trying to catch up on my reading (both sports and non-sports related) it means I’m also trying to catch up on reviews. Here’s my first one as I work on that year-end push, a review of a book on quarterbacks.
Title/Author: “American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback” by Seth Wickersham
Rating: 3 of 5 stars (okay)
Review: In today’s professional football, the quarterback is the lifeblood of his team. While the evolution of the position resulted in him being important decades ago, that importance has been magnified recently. This book by Seth Wickersham explores the timeline of this process through stories about quarterbacks through different eras.
It should be noted that not all of the stories revolve around quarterbacks in the NFL. There are those who hope to become great at the position such as Colin Hurley and Arch Manning. There’s a fairly new NFL quarterback included in Caleb Williams. If one goes way back, there are quarterback stories before the position was considered “glorious.” The first quarterback portrayed who may fit that profile is Bob Waterford - but even there, while he was a Hall of Fame quarterback, his wife as just as famous - Jane Russell, the glamorous actress of that time.
The stories of all the quarterbacks portrayed, even stars like John Elway and Steve Young, take sad turns which was a title disconcerting while reading the book. I also found it hard to follow as the stories bounced from one quarterback to another. Having a chapter on each one in chronological order would have been my preference. The same goes when Wickersham inserts his own stories when he played the position. They were interesting and did provide substance to the theme - just would have been better as its own chapter.
Football fans who want to hear stories about players in the vital role will enjoy the stories. But treat the book as such - a collection of stories. I expected something different and it did not turn out that way.
I wish to thank Hyperion Avenue for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.
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