Synopses & Reviews
FOR FAR TOO LONG, the menace of concussions has been hidden in plain sight. On playing fields across America, lives are being derailed by seemingly innocuous jolts to the head. From the peewees to the pros, concussions are reaching epidemic proportions. This book brings that hidden epidemic and its consequences out of the shadows. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;As frightening as the numbers areand#8212;estimates of sports-related concussions range from 1.6 million to 3.8 million annually in the United Statesand#8212;they canand#8217;t begin to explain the profound impact of a hidden health problem that can strike any of us. It is becoming increasingly clear that concussions, like severe head traumas, can rob us of our memory, our mental abilities, our very sense of self. Because the damage caused by a concussion is rarely visible to the naked eye or even on a brain scan, no one knows how many millions might be living lives devastated by an invisible injury too often shrugged off as and#8220;just a bump on the head.and#8221; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;This book puts a human face on a huge public health crisis. Through narratives that chronicle the poignant experiences of real people struggling with this invisible and often unrecognized brain injury, Linda Carroll and David Rosner bring home its potentially devastating consequences. Among those you will meet are a high school football player whose college dreams were derailed by a series of undiagnosed concussions, a hard-driving soccer star whose own struggles with concussions pushed her to crusade for safety reform as a coach and soccer mom, and an economist who lost her career because of lingering concussion symptoms from a fender bender. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;The Concussion Crisis andlt;/Iandgt;weaves these human dramas with compelling stories of scientists and doctors who are unraveling the mysteries of how an invisible injury can wreak such havoc. It takes readers into the top labs, where scientists are teasing out what goes wrong in the brain after a jolt to the head, and into the nationand#8217;s leading concussion clinic, where patients get cutting-edge management and treatment. Carroll and Rosner analyze the cultural factors that allowed this burgeoning epidemic to fester unseen and untreated. They chronicle the growing public awareness sparked by the premature retirements of superstars like NFL quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Steve Young. And they argue for an immediate change in a macho culture that minimizes the dangers inherent in repeated jolts to the head. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;The Concussion Crisis andlt;/Iandgt;sounds an urgent wake-up call to parents, coaches, trainers, doctors, and the athletes themselves. The book will stand as the definitive exploration of this heretofore-silent health crisis. It should be required reading for every parent with a child playing sportsand#8212;in fact, by everyone who has ever suffered a hard bump on the head.
Review
and#8220;There is no injury I worry about as a coach more than concussions, and this book shows why. Itand#8217;s a must-read for athletes and their parents.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;Anson Dorrance, coach of the USAand#8217;s first World Cup womenand#8217;s soccer champions and of UNCand#8217;s 20-time NCAA champions
Review
and#8220;andlt;iandgt;The Concussion Crisisandlt;/iandgt; puts a human face on traumatic brain injury through real-life stories of athletes and soldiers. The authors define the problem, explain the science, and accentuate the need for prevention. This informative book sounds a much-needed alarm for medical intervention, continued research, and a reassessment of how we play sports.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8212;Michael J. Stuart, M.D., co-director of the Mayo Clinicand#8217;s Sports Medicine Center and chief medical officer of USA Hockey
Review
and#8220;Carroll and Rosner tell some utterly heartbreaking stories, but their book, ultimately, offers hope by giving readers the information and resources they need to confront a public health crisis. They show us that a concussion does not have to be a life-altering event, but it can be if it is not properly recognized, respected, and treated.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8212;Michael Sokolove, author of andlt;iandgt;Warrior Girls: Protecting Our Daughters Against the Injury Epidemic in Women's Sportsandlt;/iandgt;andlt;iandgt;andlt;/iandgt;
Review
“A cautionary wake-up call about addressing a seemingly innocuous hit to the head with critical care. . . . Comprehensive.” --Kirkus Reviews
Review
and#8220;A very hot topicand#8230;. This noteworthy book issues a challenge to the and#8216;macho play-through-the-painand#8217; sports culture and urges a rethinking of safety versus spectacle.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8212;andlt;iandgt;Publishers Weeklyandlt;/iandgt;
Review
and#8220;A powerful call for action on the part of parents, coaches, and older athletesand#8230;. A good primer for parents whose kids play contact sports such as football.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8212;andlt;iandgt;Booklistandlt;/iandgt;
Review
and#8220;Importantand#8230;. A book everyone involved with football or concerned about the sport must read.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8212;Gregg Easterbrook, ESPN.com
Review
and#8220;In andlt;iandgt;The Concussion Crisisandlt;/iandgt;, health writer Carroll and sportswriter Rosner team up to offer a jolt on the headand#8212;intellectual onlyand#8212;to those whoand#8217;ve tended to dismiss blows to the noggin as innocuousand#8230;. The book is a clarion call to take full measure of the broken brains and bodies among us.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8212;andlt;iandgt;The Globe and Mailandlt;/iandgt; of Canada
Review
“Thoughtfully passionate and comprehensive.... A devastating testament.... One lays The Concussion Crisis down wondering where future American gridiron gladiators will come from; surely not from families who read this book.” - The Washington Post
Review
and#8220;The parents of teenage athletes should take a careful look at this book.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8212;Abigail Zuger, M.D., andlt;iandgt;The New York Timesandlt;/iandgt;
Review
Review
"
The Concussion Crisis should be required reading for players at all levels, parents, and coaches.... [One of] the 10 best [sports] books of the year."
--The Boston Globe
Review
and#8220;Thoughtfully passionate and comprehensiveand#8230;. Quite a devastating testament. It lays it all out and forces us to ponder how a civilized people can blithely accept an entertainment that does such damage to young menand#8217;s minds.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8212;Frank Deford, andlt;iandgt;The Washington Postandlt;/iandgt;
Review
and#8220;andlt;iandgt;The Concussion Crisisandlt;/iandgt; should be required reading for players at all levels, parents, and coachesand#8230;. [One of] the 10 best [sports] books of the year.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;and#8212;andlt;iandgt;The Boston Globeandlt;/iandgt;
Synopsis
Brings the explosive but largely invisible epidemic of concussions out of the shadows through stories of kids and pro ball players and doctors.
Synopsis
Brings the explosive but largely invisible epidemic of concussions out of the shadows through stories of kids and pro ball players and doctors.
Synopsis
The first book to bring the silent epidemic of sports concussions out of the shadows, with dramatic true-life stories of victims—high school football players, college basketball stars, professional sports heroes—and the doctors and scientists who are unraveling the mysteries of concussions and crusading to prevent this devastating injury.
• Follows in the footsteps of classics: Like what Fast Food Nation did for the American diet and The Noonday Demon did for depression, The Concussion Crisis puts a human face on a huge but largely invisible public health crisis.
• An epidemic that afflicts millions: In the United States alone, 1.7 million people are seen in the ER each year for traumatic brain injuries, mostly concussions—more than for invasive cancers, heart attacks, and strokes. Experts estimate that millions more go undiagnosed and untreated. And yet, each day, parents around the country send their kids off to play sports completely unaware of the risk to their children’s brains. The Concussion Crisis is essential reading for every family.
• A hidden health crisis revealed: Concussions can rob their victims of memory, mental ability, even a sense of self. Because the damage is rarely visible and barely registers on a brain scan, it’s easy to miss something that all too often is shrugged off as “just a bump on the head.”
• Filled with poignant true-life examples: Readers meet a high school football star whose college career is derailed by concussions, a soccer mom who herself suffered concussions and now advocates for safety reform, a doctor who treats student athletes as well as pro players suffering from concussions, and more.
• A call to action: The Concussion Crisis argues for a wholesale change in our culture—in how we think about and play sports at all levels, from peewee leagues to the Big Leagues.
About the Author
Throughout her two decades as a nationally respected health and fitness writer, Lindaandnbsp;Carroll has mastered the art of making complex subjects entertaining and accessible for the average reader. She has written for a wide range of prominent publications, including andlt;iandgt;The New York Timesandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;SmartMoneyandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Healthandlt;/iandgt;, and MSNBC.com. Currently, she is a contract writer for NBC News, covering health and business. An accomplished equestrian, Carroll brings more than thirty years of experience in breeding, training, and showing horses. For the past two decades, she has owned and operated Fiery Run Farm, where she has hands-on control of breeding and training her twelve Arabian and Oldenburg sport horses. For more information, visit the farmand#8217;s website at FieryRunFarm.com.For three decades, David Rosner has worked as a sportswriter at major metro newspapers and national magazines. As an award-winning staff writer at andlt;i andgt;Newsdayandlt;/iandgt; in New York, he spent twelve years covering the full gamut of pro sportsand#8212;including horse racing. He has covered racing since the spring of and#8217;77 when his first bylined stories as a cub reporter chronicled the harrowing Belmont spill that hospitalized the teen sensation Steve Cauthen. Rosner earned national Associated Press Sports Editors Association awards for investigative reporting and for deadline writing as well as New York State AP and UPI awards for enterprise journalism. He also served as editor-in-chief of the national hockey magazine andlt;iandgt;Rinksideandlt;/iandgt; and coauthored andlt;i andgt;The Official Illustrated NHL Historyandlt;/iandgt;.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;