Synopses & Reviews
From America’s premier sportswriter, the definitive, #1 New York Times bestselling biography of Joe Paterno and the story of America’s love affair with football.Joe Posnanski spent the last two years of Joe Paterno’s life covering the coach on and off the field, having gained unprecedented access to his personal notes and files. Posnanski was with Paterno and his family when the horrific scandal unfolded that eventually consumed him, and he was there when, less than three months later, the legendary coach died of lung cancer, bringing a tragic end to his epic life. Written with Paterno’s full cooperation, this unforgettable biography is the fullest description we will ever have of one of America’s most brilliant and charismatic coaches.
Born in Brooklyn in 1926, Paterno was a first generation college student who became a star quarterback while attending Brown University. After graduation in 1950, at age twenty-three he was hired as Penn State’s assistant coach. Over the course of sixty-two football seasons, Joe Paterno’s influence led the Nittany Lions to win 409 games, a Division I record for a coach. He was honored with every distinction the sports industry has to offer, from Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year Award to the Associated Press College Football Coach Award to the NCAA’s Gerald R. Ford Award.
Following in the tradition of David Maraniss’s biography of Vince Lombari and Richard Ben Cramer’s Joe DiMaggio, Posnanski presents an honest and surprising portrait of one of the most controversial figures in America. Paterno is the definitive account of the epic life of America’s winningest college football coach.
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"Paterno is a portrait very much in three dimensions. It is the story of an extraordinary life."
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"andlt;Iandgt;Paternoandlt;/Iandgt; adds grain and texture to the historical record.... makes a cogent case for absorbing Paterno's entire legacy."
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andlt;divandgt;"I urge you to read [andlt;Iandgt;Paternoandlt;/Iandgt;]. . .
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"It is exhilirating to read of Paterno the man and gripping to read of his downfall."
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The truth is that [andlt;Iandgt;Paternoandlt;/Iandgt;] is a portrait very much in three dimensions. In that sense, Posnanski succeedsand#8230;We are left with this book as the final record of the final days. It is more than that, obviously - it is the story of an extraordinary life - but it is most compelling as a chronicle of the end.and#8221;
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andlt;divandgt;"Paterno is a portrait very much in three dimensions. It is the story of an extraordinary life."andlt;/divandgt;
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andlt;divandgt;"It is exhilirating to read of Paterno the man and gripping to read of his downfall."andlt;/divandgt;
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"I urge you to read [andlt;Iandgt;Paternoandlt;/Iandgt;]. . . A life is never defined entirely by a man's good, or by his bad."
Synopsis
From America's premier sportswriter, the definitive, #1 New York Times bestselling biography of Joe Paterno and the story of America's love affair with football.
Joe Paterno believed that football was a way to teach young men how to live. He coached at Penn State for 62 years. In the course of his years as a head coach, his teams won 409 games, a Division I record. At the end of his life, more than 100 of those wins were invalidated by the NCAA because of the crimes of a longtime assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, and Paterno's alleged knowledge of those crimes--knowledge Paterno denied until his death. In the process, the name Paterno--the name he had spent a lifetime building--came to represent scandal and controversy.
Joe Posnanski lived in State College, Pennsylvania, through the turbulent final months of Paterno's life and was with him and his family as the scandal that eventually consumed him unfolded. Now with a new afterword, Posnan-ski's book delves deep into the life of Joe Paterno, going back to his childhood days in Brooklyn and his college days at Brown, and looks at him through the eyes of the young men he coached. It is a portrait that goes beyond the daily headlines and into the life of a stubborn idealist, a teacher, and a flawed but principled man who, to the very end, loved to coach.
Synopsis
Joe Posnanski’s biography of the late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno follows in the tradition of works by Richard Ben Cramer on Joe DiMaggio and David Maraniss on Vince Lombardi. Having gained unprecedented access to Paterno, as well as the coach’s personal notes and files, Posnanski spent the last two years of Paterno’s life covering the coach, on (and off) the field and through the scandal that ended Paterno’s legendary career.
Joe Posnanski, who in 2012 was named the Best Sportswriter in America by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame, was with Paterno and his family as a horrific national scandal unfolded and Paterno was fired. Within three months, Paterno died of lung cancer, a tragic end to a life that was epic, influential, and operatic.
Paterno is the fullest description we will ever have of the man’s character and career. In this honest and surprising portrait, Joe Posnanski brings new insight and understanding to one of the most controversial figures in America.
Synopsis
From Americaand#8217;s premier sportswriter, the definitive, #1 andlt;iandgt;New York Times andlt;/iandgt;bestselling biography of Joe Paterno and the story of Americaand#8217;s love affair with football.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Joe Paterno believed that football was a way to teach young men how to live. He coached at Penn State for 62 years. In the course of his years as a head coach, his teams won 409 games, a Division I record. At the end of his life, more than 100 of those wins were invalidated by the NCAA because of the crimes of a longtime assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, and Paternoand#8217;s alleged knowledge of those crimesand#8212;knowledge Paterno denied until his death. In the process, the name Paternoand#8212;the name he had spent a lifetime buildingand#8212;came to represent scandal and controversy.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Joe Posnanski lived in State College, Pennsylvania, through the turbulent final months of Paternoand#8217;s life and was with him and his family as the scandal that eventually consumed him unfolded. Now with a new afterword, Posnanand#173;skiand#8217;s book delves deep into the life of Joe Paterno, going back to his childhood days in Brooklyn and his college days at Brown, and looks at him through the eyes of the young men he coached. It is a portrait that goes beyond the daily headlines and into the life of a stubborn idealist, a teacher, and a flawed but principled man who, to the very end, loved to coach.
About the Author
Joe Posnanski is the author of the #1 andlt;Iandgt;New York Timesandlt;/Iandgt; bestseller andlt;Iandgt;Paternoandlt;/Iandgt;. He is a national columnist for NBC Sports and was a senior writer at andlt;Iandgt;Sports Illustrated andlt;/Iandgt;from 2009 to 2012. In 2012, he was named National Sportswriter of the Year by the Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame. Before joining andlt;Iandgt;SIandlt;/Iandgt;, he was a columnist for the andlt;Iandgt;Kansas City Star andlt;/Iandgt;for fifteen years, and was twice named the best sports columnist in America by the Associated Press Sports Editors. He is the author of four books and has been anthologized widely. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his family.