Book: Breaking the Line: The Season in Black College Football That Transformed the Sport and Changed the Course of Civil Rights
Author: Samuel G. Freedman
Narrator (if applicable):n/a
Release date (if applicable): August 13, 2013
Synopsis: A story of college football in the 1967 segregated South, which still impacts the NFL today.
My rating: 3 Stars
My opinion: This was such a great story reminiscent to me of the movies "We Are Marshall" or "Glory Road". In fact, it would not shock me if this story was made into a movie like The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis. The problem... there was no passion to this book. It was a flat read to the point of "just the facts, ma'am". All that I can guess is that the author, a Colombia journalism professor who has written books on a plethora of topics, isn't a football fan.
The other thing that made this stand out was the fact that his prologue was laden with "white people" (literally used that term) don't understand or are "assholes" (my insinuation). I just kept rolling my eyes at the prologue and if people read it, I would recommend skipping it. It was simply a rant.
As a diehard football fan (go Bears), it was fascinating to me see the impact of the story on football, even today. I just wish the story didn't seem so "clinical" and cold.
Source:
Edelweiss for Simon & Schuester
Stand Alone or Part of a Series: Stand Alone
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