Review of “American Kings”

 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. 

Link:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1368099181/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1368099181&linkCode=as2&tag=netg01-20 

Review of “Marinovich”

This was one of those books that I wish I didn’t let sit in my TBR pile for so long. Former USC and Raiders quarterback Todd Marinovich has penned a memoir that is very different than other books in this genre. This is my review.

Title/Author: “Marinovich: Outside the Lines in Football, Art and Addiction” by Todd Marinovich with Lizzy Wright

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: Todd Marinovich was seemingly born to be a football player. Not only did he show great promise as a quarterback in his days playing youth football, his father was Marv Marinovich, a former NFL player and coach. While he achieved success in high school and college football (the latter at USC) and was a first round draft pick of the then-Los Angeles Raiders, there was a demon Todd was battling: addiction. This memoir is a very good account by Todd of his struggles battling the disease.

I used “disease” because that’s how Marinovich described it for both himself and his father, although that didn’t occur until near the end of the book. He said Marv’s addiction (what he always called his father, never “Dad” or something similar) was physical conditioning and coaching while his was drugs and alcohol. While his story is not unique, this was written with quite a different tone than other sports memoirs. 

This is because Marinovich doesn’t focus on his childhood or his playing career. Due to his addiction, his time with the Raiders was brief, but did have some good games. After several attempts at recovery, he caught on in the Canadian Football League, but that didn’t pan out. He played one season in the Arena Football League and was named Rookie of the Year but like with all his other football teams (even at USC) he never could stay away from drugs.

Instead of football, Marinovich concentrated on telling the darker side of his struggles. He gives some very detailed and painful accounts of his arrests, failed rehabilitation sessions, and failed relationships including with his family. Even though he currently is living a decent life in Hawaii coaching youth football and crafting his artistic talent, he makes it clear that addiction is something he is still fighting every day. This is what makes this such a powerful book. It’s clear that he has many regrets and knows his issues but is trying every day to overcome them. Todd Marinovich must receive at least some praise for opening up like this to the world. 

I wish to thank Ben Bella Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.  

Link: https://benbellabooks.com/shop/marinovich/ 

Review of "Out of the Darkness"

This book was one that while I received it before its publication before its 2024 publication date, I just never got around to reading it as I also placed newly received books on top of it in the TBR pile. Thanks to a reading challenge in an online group this month, I finally got around to it and really enjoyed it.  Even this Vikings fan had to read about a Packers legend - the author made it a great book. 

Title/Author: “Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rogers” by Ian O’Connor

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:  Aaron Rogers will certainly be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as he was an outstanding quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.  He often makes headlines for comments and actions outside of the football field as well. This makes him a polarizing and complex individual and this excellent biography by Ian O’Connor makes a valiant effort to understand Rogers better.  

O’Connor has written other excellent sports biographies on complex people, most notably Bill Belichick.  He does the same thing here with Rogers, and it goes far beyond the better-known controversies around Rogers such as his stance on the COVID-19 vaccines. O’Connor covers just about every question or topic one might have about Rogers, on and off the field. 

For football related items, O’Connor covers Rogers’ entire career, from his high school accomplishments at Pleasant Valley High School in California to hie devastating Achilles injury four plays into his time with the New York Jets at the star of the 2023 season. For just one excellent example of O’Connor’s work, reading about how Rogers left the University of California early and was expected to be a top 5 draft pick to sliding down all the way to near the bottom of the first round where he was selected by the Packers.  Like in the rest of the book, O’Connor does much research and conducts as many interviews as he could to tell the complete story.

The same approach is done for the more controversial aspects of Rogers’ life, especially off the field.  These include his lengthy self-estrangement from his family, a comment linking late night television host Jimmy Kimmel to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and his views on religion after being raised by religious parents. This was quite a contrast to the person that Rogers was portrayed as by teammates and coaches (even those with whom he often clashed such as former Packers coach Mike McCarthy). This adds layers to the complexity that is Aaron Rogers and why telling his complete story in a very balanced manner makes O’Connor one of the best writers of sports biographies in the business today.

I wish to thank Mariner Books for providing a review copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link:  https://www.amazon.com/Out-Darkness-Mystery-Aaron-Rodgers/dp/006329785X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0