Series in Sociology Of Sports
Books in Sociology Of Sports
Manziel Mania(With: Cathy Hutzler,Louis DeLuca)
Manziel Mania is the story of Johnny Manziel from childhood all the way through his first preseason in 2014 with the Cleveland Browns. For two years at Texas A&M, Manziel was the most exciting college football player ever. In 2012, he was the first player to win the Heisman Trophy as a freshman. As he enters his first season with the Cleveland Browns, he is already the most talked-about player in the NFL. His fame already approaches that of Broadway Joe Namath. Along with being great players, Namath and Manziel have a taste for women, drink, and good times. The escapades of both players have been greatly chronicled. From the day Manziel was drafted by the Browns on May 8th, his jersey has been the number seller on NFL.com. His first preseason game broke the all-time record for the NFL Network. He is everywhere you look and, no doubt, will be one of the most fascinating characters in pro football for years to come. Manziel Mania will be the first of three installments by author Jim Dent. Books Two and Three are expected to be scheduled for November 2014 and February of 2015. Check for those dates on and other books by Jim Dent on Amazon.com.
Muck City: Winning and Losing in Football's Forgotten Town
In a town deep in the Florida Everglades, where high school football is the only escape, a haunted quarterback, a returning hero, and a scholar struggle against terrible odds. The loamy black “muck” that surrounds Belle Glade, Florida once built an empire for Big Sugar and provided much of the nation's vegetables, often on the backs of roving, destitute migrants. Many of these were children who honed their skills along the field rows and started one of the most legendary football programs in America. Belle Glade’s high school team, the Glades Central Raiders, has sent an extraordinary number of players to the National Football League – 27 since 1985, with five of those drafted in the first round. The industry that gave rise to the town and its team also spawned the chronic poverty, teeming migrant ghettos, and violence that cripples futures before they can ever begin. Muck City tells the story of quarterback Mario Rowley, whose dream is to win a championship for his deceased parents and quiet the ghosts that haunt him; head coach Jessie Hester, the town’s first NFL star, who returns home to “win kids, not championships”; and Jonteria Willliams, who must build her dream of becoming a doctor in one of the poorest high schools in the nation. For boys like Mario, being a Raider is a one-shot window for escape and a college education. Without football, Jonteria and the rest must make it on brains and fortitude alone. For the coach, good intentions must battle a town’s obsession to win above all else. Beyond the Friday night lights, this book is an engrossing portrait of a community mired in a shameful past and uncertain future, but with the fierce will to survive, win, and escape to a better life.
The Best of Enemies
An England vs. Germany football match is one of the most passionate and controversial sporting events there iswhether it's a club match or international. In this book, David Downing examines the history of such clashes, unearthing the stories, the statistics, and the footballing trends.