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A propos de l'auteur

Chad Millman, a former Sports Illustrated reporter and CNNSI correspondent, is a contributor to ESPN The Magazine. He has covered the NCAA basketball tournament, the Boston College football gambling scandal, the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics, and six Super Bowls

Œuvres de Chad Millman

Oeuvres associées

Jewish Jocks: An Unorthodox Hall of Fame (2012) — Contributeur — 54 exemplaires

Étiqueté

Partage des connaissances

Date de naissance
1971
Sexe
male
Nationalité
USA
Lieux de résidence
New Jersey, USA
Études
Indiana University, Bloomington (BA Journalism/Political Science) 1989-1993
Professions
Journalist
Organisations
ESPN

Membres

Critiques

This work of history unravels an overlooked incident in American history: the Black Tom explosion. This munitions depot on a spit of land on the New Jersey side of New York Harbor was detonated by German saboteurs on July 30, 1916, before the United States had entered the World War. Debris from the explosion damaged the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge and shattered windows in Manhattan, so it is surprising that it is not a more well-known event. Millman traces the actions of the network of German spies who caused the explosion. But the better part of the book is dedicated to the legal efforts to hold Germany responsible for the explosion and the series of legal proceedings that occurred over decades until Germany was forced to pay legal damages in 1939, just before another war was about to begin. The book is plodding at times, and the explosion occurring so early in the book makes the rest feel anticlimactic, but it is a fascinating incident in American history that deserves greater awareness… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
Othemts | 1 autre critique | Feb 6, 2017 |
What a dud! What a waste of time and money. What a bitter disappointment. And how about that subtitle -- "The Steelers, The Cowboys, The '70s, and the Fight for America's Soul?" What a load of crap! What horseshit is that?

I'm a lifelong Steelers fan with a healthy memory and respect for the Pittsburgh/Dallas rivalry and that's what I expected this book to be about. It wasn't. It was a book about the Steelers, yes. It was mostly about the Rooney family, about Chuck Noll, Mean Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Jack Lambert, Andy Russell, Jack Ham, with mentions of Mel Bl0unt, Mike Webster, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Rocky Blier, Terry Hanratty, LC Greenwood, Dwight White, Fats Holmes, etc. Some decent stuff on the players and team. Almost all of it well known already. Virtually nothing new. How about the Cowboys? Equal treatment? Hardly! You get Tom Landry, Duane Thomas for a couple of years, for some unknown reason -- literally makes no sense -- and then, Tony Dorsett, who's from Pittsburgh and who's portrayed as a mega-asshole. That's it. Okay, I guess we don't need to know anything else about the Cowboys.

Well, if we don't learn anything new about the Steelers and if we don't learn much at all about the Cowboys, what is in the book at all? Um, the steel industry and labor unions. Literally. At least one third of the book, perhaps a great deal more, is a history of the steel industry and labor unions dating from the late nineteenth century centering in the greater Pittsburgh area. If you're into Pittsburgh manufacturing history or even US manufacturing history, I guess that's pretty damn great for you. Since it's virtually not even remotely tied into the the alleged "true" topic of the book -- the Steelers and the Cowboys -- I don't really give a flying fuck about it. That's not why I bought the book. There's more info in this book on labor union bosses, even on people who ran for labor union president and FAILED -- like that fucking matters about anything!!! -- than there is about fucking football in this stupid fucking book!

Oh, and the rivalry? There's infinitely more spent on the "true" rivalry between the Steelers and the Raiders than there is on the Steelers and the Cowboys.That's obviously the true rivalry. There's a little bit about the first Super Bowl the Steelers win and then the book ends abruptly with the second Steeler Super Bowl win over the Cowboys. That's it. There's been this huge steel industry self destruction buildup and the battle of labor union bosses and the war of words between the two teams and then the game is over and there's a paragraph or two following the game and that's fucking it. No conclusions, no epilogue, nothing. It's a stupid waste of a book, a stupid waste of time and money. I can't believe these idiots wrote something like this. I hope they took a huge loss on this. I hope they didn't make a dime on this. I hope I make something decent when I sell it to the used bookstore. This is easily the worst Steelers book I've ever read. The worst. Even though there's interesting stuff about the history of the city and the ethnicities making up the city, that's not why I bought the book. If you're a Steelers fan and want to learn about the team and its rivalries, just skip this book, because you won't learn a damn thing and you'll feel screwed after reading it. Most definitely NOT recommended. Poor excuse to talk about steel labor unions using the Pittsburgh Steelers as cover. Bullshit. Biggest piece of shit ever!
… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
scottcholstad | 1 autre critique | Jan 4, 2016 |
rather plodding and clichéd writing, but it's about the legal case my grandfather tried (and solved) which is a good story.
 
Signalé
lxydis | 1 autre critique | May 11, 2013 |
A fabulously written book about the two biggest opponents of the 70s, Roger Stauback's Cowboys and Terry Bradshaw's Steelers. But how did they get there? What made these two teams so dominant? Millman begins by outlining the oil industry of Texas and the coal/steel industries of Pittsburgh which built those cities, and the people that worked in them. The bitter union activities of the men of the industry and how that brutal work defined the social milieu. The teams fit the cities and it was only a matter of time before they clashed.

An excellent history of the NFL and the establishment of various teams and the joining of the NFL and AFL. And a big plus for Steeler fans. The organization comes off as truely the team of the 70s despite what the Cryboys called themselves.

Well written and very easy to read, this book will have you laughing and crying and remembering. A great sports read.
… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
book58lover | 1 autre critique | Dec 17, 2011 |

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Statistiques

Œuvres
4
Aussi par
1
Membres
223
Popularité
#100,550
Évaluation
3.2
Critiques
4
ISBN
13

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