Synopses & Reviews
andquot;This is the best book looking inside the mind of a big-league manager I have ever read, because Francona is sharp and loves the game, because Shaughnessy is eloquent and a dazzling storyteller.andquot;andmdash;
Philadelphia Daily News When Terry Francona took over as manager of the Boston Red Sox in 2004, the storied franchise hadnandrsquo;t won a World Series championship in eighty-six years. Led by Francona, the team won two over the course of four years. During the full eight years of Franconaandrsquo;s tenure, the Red Sox were transformed from andldquo;cursedandrdquo; into one of the most successful and profitable teams in baseball historyandmdash;only to fall back to last place as soon as Francona was gone.
Francona: The Red Sox Years lets readers in on the inner workings of the Red Sox clubhouse like no book has ever done before. From the highs of the World Series to the lows of the final months of the 2011 seasonandmdash;the most epic collapse of a team in baseball historyandmdash;this book features the never-before-told stories about Sox fansandrsquo; favorite players, moments, wins, and losses.
andldquo;A scorched-earth memoir . . . [that] touches fleetingly on steroid use, sabermetrics, and Michael Jordanandrsquo;s stint in the minor leagues . . . but saves its heaviest artillery for the owners . . . [and] Theo Epstein backs him up.andrdquo;andmdash;New York Times Book Review
andldquo;Itandrsquo;s not often that baseball aficionados and gossip gluttons can plunk down on a shared portion of outfield grass with the same book for an afternoon of readerly delight, but Francona can bridge those kinds of differences.andrdquo;andmdash;Boston Globe
Review
“The ultimate book for pro football geeks.” Publishers Weekly
Review
Crisply written, the story moves along like a two-minute drill. It also sparkles with interesting anecdotes and tidbits….WAR ROOM is a lively, fast-paced insiders account that will please ardent and casual fans alike.” Boston Globe
Review
“WAR ROOM is going to take you into the inner world of pro football. I recommend it highly.” Peter King, Sports Illustrated
Review
“Fans will want to read how Belichick transformed the once-lackluster Patriots into the mostsuccessful franchise of the past decade, which Holley explains in an engaging chronological narrative.” Booklist
Review
“A deeply reported, thoroughly engaging look at what it takes to succeed in the NFL.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Synopsis
Bill Belichick is one of the titans of todays game of football. Now, sports commentator and bestselling author Michael Holley follows three NFL teams—the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, and Atlanta Falcons—from training camp 2010 through the Super Bowl and into the April draft, opening a new window into Belichicks influence on the game. This one-of-a-kind exploration takes football fans behind the scenes of the most popular sport in America, with unprecedented insider access to the head coaches, scouts, trainers, and players who make the game what it is—including new insights from Bill Parcells, Todd and Dick Haley, and Belichick himself. For true fans of the game, and for readers of Badasses, Patriot Reign, and Boys Will Be Boys, Holleys War Room is not to be missed.
Synopsis
In
War Room,
New York Times bestselling author Michael Holley gives readers an unprecedented look behind the scenes at three contending National Football League teams—from the draft room to the locker room to the sidelines—and grants access to the brilliant minds of Bill Belichick and his former protégés, Thomas Dimitroff and Scott Pioli.
In 1991, while he was with the Cleveland Browns football organization, Belichick was struck by the Big Idea: how to build the perfect team, one draft pick and one trade at a time. This strategy obsessed him, leading him on a remarkable personal and professional journey filled with miraculous finishes, heartbreaking losses, shattered relationships . . . and ultimately three Super Bowl championships. In Massachusetts, Belichick reunited with two former office employees from the Ohio days—Pioli, a low-paid scouting assistant, and Dimitroff, a groundskeeper and part-time scout—and together they refined and burnished Belichick's method for constructing a winning team. The end result was one of the greatest franchises in modern NFL history: the New England Patriots. Packed with never-before-told anecdotes and insights from team officials, players, coaches, and scouts, War Room is a fascinating, often astonishing story of grit and genius, and the art of building a championship team.
Synopsis
The bestselling story of Terry Francona's tenure as manager of the Boston Red Sox.
About the Author
Terry "Tito" Francona was a first baseman and outfielder in the majors from 1981 to 1990. After retiring as a player, he managed several minor league teams in the 1990s before managing the Philadelphia Phillies for four seasons. In 2004, Francona was hired to manage the Boston Red Sox, and that year he led the team to its first World Series championship since 1918. He won another World Series with Boston in 2007 and continued to manage the team until the end of the 2011 season. He is now a commentator for ESPN, joining in on their Sunday Night Baseball telecast and contributing to ESPN.com.Dan Shaughnessy is an award-winning columnist for the Boston Globe and the author of several sports books, including The Curse of the Bambino, a best-selling classic. Seven times Shaughnessy has been voted one of Americaand#8217;s top ten sports columnists by Associated Press Sports Editors and named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year. He has appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Early Show, CNN, Nightline, NPR, Imus in the Morning, ESPN, HBO, and many others. He lives in Newton, Massachusetts.