Pre-Order John U. Bacon's Book Chronicling Michigan Football Under RichRod
The highly anticipated new book by John U. Bacon that tells the story of Rich Rodriguez's turbulent tenure as Michigan football head coach is now available for pre-order at Amazon.com.
Three and Out: Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines in the Crucible of College Football will put you back $17.35 and ships Oct 25, 2011. Interestingly, based on the front cover that appears on the site, the book had a previous title: Third and Long: Three Years with Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines. As noted in the comments below, the new title is clearly more evocative of the reality of the last three years.
Here's the blurb:
The national spotlight never strays from the University of Michigan football team. More people have seen the Wolverines play football—in person and on TV—than any other team in the nation. Michigan boasts the most wins, the best winning percentage, the biggest stadium, the most alumni, the most heated rivalries, and the richest tradition in the game. As their famed fight song proclaims, the Wolverines are "Victors valiant . . . conqu’ring heroes."Or they were, until 2008. The brilliant but star-crossed Rich Rodriguez led the young Wolverines through three of the program’s toughest seasons. With the entire sports world watching, they enjoyed thrilling victories and suffered heartbreaking losses, often falling short in the winner-take-all struggle of big-time college football. Day after day for three years, John U. Bacon watched the drama unfold, from the sidelines to the locker room to the meeting rooms and even the homes of the players and coaches. No sportswriter has ever been granted more intimate access to a top-flight college football program. Now Bacon—an award-winning journalist and coauthor of Bo’s Lasting Lessons—has written a narrative saga in the vein of Friday Night Lights and Season on the Brink.His story is one of hopes raised and dashed; of reputations pumped up, then punctured; and of coaches and youngsters striving to satisfy the demands of a culture that values winning above all else.
Not sure I agree with that last sentence, but whatever. While you're at it, order Dhani Jones' new book: The Sportsman: Unexptected Lessons from an Around-the-World Sports Odyssey discussed here and get the free shipping deal.
[Ed.: I agree with the commenters below that point out that the book's title as published is "Three and Out" and that "Third and Long" must have been a working title that was rejected. The OP was edited to account for this.]
I am really looking forward to this book. Also, great cover art.
Because John is the guy kneeling at the far lower right hand corner.
John was so omnipresent on the sidelines, I am thinking that there will be many more good photos. I didn't ever see John with a camera himself, but that doesn't mean he didn't take any, away from the games. He really did have unprecedented access to Michigan football.
Knowing Bacon a little bit, I doubt he was carrying a camera. I've heard him talk about journalists never asking for pictures, and his style in this type of reporting seems to be to blend in, observe, and report. Consumate professional. And, really, do we care about the photos here?
"pics or it didn't happen"
I look forward to the stretching pictorial, then.
the primary subject of the book. Don't you think he should, you know, be on the cover?
Very much grounded in the literal world aren't ya? Symbolism yo.
Show me a couple of non-fiction books that highlight one individual on the cover when that person is in fact not the primary subject of the book. If you can, I'll buy what you're saying. But it's not common in the publishing world.
Please re-read the complete subtitle and try again.
I'm all over this. Can't wait to read it.
Edit: So what's the advantage to preordering it? How much earlier would you get it?
Lock in your price by pre-ordering. They do sometimes change before release. You'll still pay less if it goes down.
Will this hit iBooks on iOS?
I think that was a working cover and he changed the name to "Three and Out".
He said on the radio that he was turning the final copy in and that it may come out on October 11th instead of the 25th.
I think Bacon is great and I'm really looking forward to this book. I think it will be a must get for any Michigan football fan.
I agree with you that MGoShoe has the title change backward. From what I remember, "Third and Long" was the working title, which was then changed to "Three and Out" after Rodriguez was fired.
Also, would a photo of a current Michigan player really be allowed on the cover?
EDIT: The Library of Congress Catalog entry for the book is under Three and Out, so odds are that's the current title. Sometimes titles of books are changed at the last minute, but usually the title that the publisher sends to the LC is the final one.
...my misinterpretation. See the edits in the OP.
and kill me for this comment, but ...
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<br>I can't and don't want to relive those three years so will not be reading this book.
Thank you for saying that. Was thinking the same. I'm more than happy to let these three years go to the history books. I'm ready to look forward because the view from the rearview just wasn't as great.
...this is "the history book." Right?
If you are equating "history" with "forgotton," then I'm not buying that.
It's okay with me if players and coaches want to say, "We're moving on. We've got the 2011 season to prepare for." That's not me.
You will never move on.
You're PPO material, man.
That would be pretty weird; merely criticizing the press, as the basis for a PPO. That sounds downright Soviet.
Washington Post Publisher Phil Graham is the guy who is most often credited with the famous quote, that journalism is "the first rough draft of history." If that is the case, and I think that it routinely is, then Michigan football has an awful lot of history to start rewriting. I'm glad that Bacon is starting the process. There's a lot of work to do.
But you're not changing anyone's minds. The Freep piece was seen for what it was by those who know better and it was and will continue to be taken at face value by those who didn't check their biases at the door.
That you can't let it go and still to this day choose to focus on the exploits of Michael Rosenberg and Mark Snyder far, far more than any one mistake Rodriguez ever made here is petty and annoying.
If you've ever had the same attitude toward letting go of how you were mistreated in a relationship or friendship, yeah, it'd be PPO time.
we all know what happened, we sucked, lost a lot of games and Dick got fired. Insider info can only make it more painful or make me feel bad about firing Rodriguez. Lose, lose IMO
Was it richs ego, sabotage a little of both?
I like John U. Bacon and hope the book is a success for him, but I personally don't want to relive the last three years.
I'll probably be ready for it then.
To be fair, though, I think it's going to take some work to avoid hearing about it once it does come out.
Three and Out is a vastly superior title (I like the sub better too). Don't know what the publishers were thinking by rejecting it.
While being historically accurate, the title "Three and Out" is succinct to the point of being glib.
To me, "Third and Long" better describes a challenge or a process, in this case a turbulent one.
what high hopes I had, but I will have to read it. Good maiden voyage for my new Nook or Kindle. (If anybody has a suggestion which to get. . . there is a new Nook that some reviewers are saying beats the Kindle. Don't suggest an ipad, thanks--I have padded Apple's coffers on several other occasions, not to my benefit.)
H/T to the OP- much appreciated. I locked it in. I can't wait for this book.
but I have a feeling that the painful part will not be about the losses on the field, but OUR obsession with sports and how that has impacted the game, players, and coaches. I'm as guilty as anyone. I confess to logging on to this site the day TP announced to find out if we got him. I was crushed at the time that he scorned us for ohio. Yet, I still follow recruiting because, well, I can. I hope I/we are not loving college football to death.
Just sayin'.
...would be Bacon's take on the whole of the Ohio scandal and the context those issues place Rodriguez' tenure at Michigan. One wonders if some of the many issues at Ohio hadn't come to light a few years earlier (compliance clearly looking the other way on so many obviously) if we wouldn't still be looking at Rodriguez coaching and bitching about GERG's replacment.
I'll buy the book but it will be sad to read it.
RR is no longer on the sidelines because of his teams' win loss record and his complete drubbing in the bowl game. Had he won more games, he would be here. He didn't so he is gone. OsU's issues would have no impact.
I think his point is that post-NCAA-hammer OSU would have been easier to beat, and he is postulating that RR was 1 or 2 wins over OSU from keeping his job. That's probably not far from the truth - I doubt RR loses his job after an 8-5 season with a win over OSU, bowl drubbing or no.
Should be an awesome read, I'm hoping there's some good recruiting insight, and a story or two of how Rich Rod managed to nab Denard from Florida's clutches. Also, speaking of awesome publications, is 'Hail to the Victors' being published again this year?
Non-fiction books that feature one person on the cover are pretty much always the primary subject of the book.
I stand by it.
Three years with Rich Rodriguez and the Wolverines, I think the photo is an excellent choice. The team, the team, the team. And the program. And how it fared in those three years. It's not a RichRod biography.
And since it may not be the current cover (this is the photo on Amazon, but the listing uses the "Three and Out" title), we can reopen the discussion later. Or not.
But given that Denard was only the starter for one of RR's three seasons, and that RR's tenure ended poorly (whereas that photo captures it at its highest point), it does seem an unusual choice. I'd guess that the final version will show RR on the sidelines, probably looking chagrined.
Denard was only a starter for 1 of 3 seasons but is undoubtedly the face of the Michigan football program during RR's tenure. The only other player to have his level of success (albeit in a completely different fashion) was Brandon Graham, who isn't as well known outside of B1G/Philadelphia Eagles fan groups.
The team, the team, the team?
It's supposed to be a piece of journalism, not a pep rally instruction manual.
No, it doesn't sound like a straight biography of Rich Rod, but it is specifically about his tenure here. I would say him not being on the cover is odd.
I can't wait for the 200+ post threads discussing the undoubtedly juicy details to be released in this book.
Who knows if there will be any. I have no doubt there could be, but it also may be a piece of restrained story-telling that deliberately leaves a lot out.
Writers who have access usually write to retain it - not blow it up. The tail found out how to wag the dog.
Here's what I'd like to know: In the film adaptation of Bacon's book, who will play Rich Rodriguez, Bill Martin, Lloyd Carr, Mike Barwis, Denard Robinson, Greg Robinson, etc.?
Bill Paxton as RRod, Harrison Ford as Gerg, the dude who played Boobie Miles as Denard
Hopefully that's an affiliate link you included in the OP. If it is you could make some decent bank off something that most people here were probly gonna buy anyways.
I heard a book is being written about GERG's tenure. Working title: "Leave it to Beaver"