Recommended reading for new Wolverines
I have to admit that I am a not a lifelong Michigan fan. I grew up in upstate New York (like Mike Hart!), and that's where I attended my undergraduate school. I watched a lot of Michigan, Notre Dame, and Penn State football, and Syracuse was "my" basketball team (due to proximity).
I came to Michigan for my PhD, and have been here for a little over 3 years (I outlasted RR!). In this time, I have quickly become a die-hard UM fan, visiting MGoBlog a dozen times a day and attending every athletic event possible (while still progressing on my degree, of course).
My question is: for someone who is not that familiar with the intricacies of the Michigan football legacy, what books are "the best"? I've been browsing Amazon and have seen a ton of books, but I'm not sure what lifelong Michigan fans think is the truest (as opposed to a lot of the reviews written by not-as-knowledgeable folk). I've heard good things about Jon Falk's book -- would it be a good starting point?
January 14th, 2011 at 9:42 AM ^
I'm not going to be of much help here, but I can think of at least one you should avoid...
January 14th, 2011 at 9:44 AM ^
read Bo's Lasting Lessons.
great read, and probably one of the best books i've ever read. it's by the legend himself so you really get a feel for what kind of a guy he was like, and in addition learning alot about michigan football.
January 14th, 2011 at 12:18 PM ^
Yes, agreed. It is also one of the best books I have read. I highly recommend it, you will not be disappointed. I've read it a few times and keeps getting better.
I would also recommend "If These Walls Could Talk" Its a book written by Jon Falk, I think thats his name, and he has countless stories and memories about Michigan from his long time as equipment manager. Interesting read.
January 14th, 2011 at 9:47 AM ^
You only come on this site a dozen times a day??? pfft... /s
January 14th, 2011 at 9:48 AM ^
Not sure which is the best but 3 off the top of my head would be:
"Bo" by Mitch albom
Bo Lasting Lessons by John Bacon, not sure on the author
Falk's book is ok - repeats a lot from the above
January 14th, 2011 at 1:56 PM ^
Anything written by Mitch is good. One of the best writers in the country.
January 14th, 2011 at 9:49 AM ^
If These Walls could Talk is an excellent read.
Jon Falks book tells it from a completely different perspective than some of the other Michigan books.
I highly recommend it.
January 14th, 2011 at 9:51 AM ^
Tales from Michigan Stadium is a good read as well
January 14th, 2011 at 9:51 AM ^
is a great book. There are also many others "Tales from michigan stadium" is a good one, there is another one called "Michigan Tradition" or something like that, the head equipment manager has a new book out too. If you go to Borders, especially here in the Metro Ann Arbor area they have numerous O$U-Michigan books as well.
January 14th, 2011 at 9:54 AM ^
If you can ignore the fact that it was written by the devil, It's an awesome book. I've read it five times, and I'm still getting new info from it, every time I pick it up, I can't put it down.
January 14th, 2011 at 9:58 AM ^
I am a history teacher and I did enjoy that book (my god, I'm about to get killed here) for the cultural and political history of Ann Arbor v. Columbus and an interesting look at the Vietnam War.
January 14th, 2011 at 9:55 AM ^
"Bo's Lasting Lessons"
"If These Walls Could Talk"
"University of Michigan Football Vault"
I have "For Michigan Fans Only" but have not yet read it.
January 14th, 2011 at 9:58 AM ^
Essential reading and personally recommend:
Bo's Lasting Lessons - Bacon
If These Walls Could Talk - Falk
January 14th, 2011 at 11:50 AM ^
Pay particular attention to pages 264-267.
Very entertaining insight from that dude.
AHAHAHAHAHAH!
January 14th, 2011 at 10:13 AM ^
Fab Five by Albom
January 14th, 2011 at 10:13 AM ^
BO by Albom
Bo's Lasting Lessons and Blue Ice by John U Bacon
War as they Knew It-Rosenberg. I didn't like the writing as much, but I did really enjoy it and found it very interesting. Learned a lot. This was pre jihad.
Can't reccomend personally, but Natural Enemies is supposed to be pretty good.
January 14th, 2011 at 10:19 AM ^
by John Kryk is excellent. It digs into the history of the program and the rivalry with ND. Great read on two storied programs.
January 14th, 2011 at 10:21 AM ^
If you can find it, Don Canham's From the Inside is a great perspective on his tenure as Michigan AD and shows how he revamped Michigan's athletic department into the machine it is today. (If you've read it, you also sense that Dave Brandon is following Canham's lead as much as he is channeling Bo.)
The Big House: Fielding H. Yost and the Building of Michigan Stadium by Dr. Robert Soderstrom is a very good look into the 1920s at Michigan and how Yost managed to get the Big House built. It's not a great read in terms of prose, because it excerpts large chunks of Michigan Daily and Detroit Free Press articles from the era, but the research is excellent.
The 100-Yard War by Greg Emmanuel is a strong read on the history of the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry.
Natural Enemies by John Kryk is a strong read on the Michigan/Notre Dame rivalry that does a great job with the cultural context of the rivalry. Kryk also contributes to MVictors with some frequency.
Passing Game: Benny Friedman and the Transformation of Football by Murray Greenberg isn't about Michigan, per se, but the insights into Friedman's time at Michigan as one of the two Bennies is quite strong.
I am sure I leaving off others. I also recommend spending some time in the Bentley Library's Michigan Football History section, a lot of great resources there.
January 14th, 2011 at 10:23 AM ^
Also, I am exceedingly excited for John U. Bacon's forthcoming book Third and Long: Three Years on the inside of Rich Rodriguez's Michigan Wolverines which was mentioned in the author blurb when Bacs wrote about the end of the Rodriguez era for the Wall Street Journal last week.
And Blue Ice, though not about Michigan football, is a great read to get a sense of place, and because Bacs prose is loving toward Michigan without being fawning. Plus, Red has some excellent stories.
January 14th, 2011 at 12:02 PM ^
Yes! Bacon's new book should be very interesting and eyeopening.
Here is the article you refer to... also a very good read:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704723104576062163140431804.html
January 14th, 2011 at 10:29 AM ^
One thing that's not a book: The Rivalry, an HBO special. Really well made, and the OSU fans they interview will increase your hate 100 fold.
January 14th, 2011 at 10:33 AM ^
"Razor Sharp" by Drew Sharp. If the reviews are right, it's an amazing read.
http://www.amazon.com/Razor-Sharp-Drew/dp/0937247413/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295017033&sr=8-1
According to Amazon reviewer Myron Piggie:
"With so many other choices out there, I can't believe that anyone would seriously considered buying, let alone reading, this filth. My 18-month-old daughter has more talent and credibility that this hack, and she doesn't even know her ABC's yet!
Finally, with all due respect to the great Ernie Harwell, I start to question his senility when I read his review of Mr. Sharp's rubbish."
January 14th, 2011 at 11:54 AM ^
Having only lived in Michigan during my undergrad years, I never really was familiar with the Detroit media or Drew Sharp until the whole RR/DD brouhahas. I figured that maybe he's a jerk now, but was ok 7 years ago when the book was written. Having seen the dates on the reviews (from 2004-2005), I guess it's fair to say that he's always been a jerk and fancies himself a renegade, tell-it-like-it-is, pulling no punches beacon of brutal honesty. But you know, papers love the controversy because it generates viewers/readers, regardless of his talent (or lack thereof).
January 14th, 2011 at 12:05 PM ^
Drew Sharp is all about generating clicks for the website. Throw some bombs, generate a reaction. Glenn Beck had made millions doing it.
January 14th, 2011 at 1:25 PM ^
I know that Drew Sharp, Michael Rosenberg and others are not the most popular newspaper and magazine people on this blog. But they are not unique and are actually representative of what passes for "sports journalism" today.
Having a byline in a paper, magazine or blog doesn't make a positions of Reporter and Commentator the same. I don't mean by this a comment on relative quality or importance but the role. Traditionally, that is before the rise of the Internet and the massive cable TV ESPN 24 hour sports coverage there were two distincts and separate groups:
1. Reporters - they covered events or teams and were like Joe Friday, "just the facts maam". They gave you the who did what, when did it happen, where did it happen, and finally what happened. They prided themselves on being honest, and as objective as possible. Being accurate was more important than being first. Rushing to be first without confirmation was a huge taboo and once someone made a huge mistake like declaring someone had died or had gotten fired, it was very hard to ever recover from. You can still find a few of these people around - usually they are the decade long beat writers for some baseball or football team. They know everyone from the security guard, laundry people to the secretary to the public relations head, in addition to the usual coaches and players and general managers.
2. Commentators - they offer commentaries; they are the pundits. They are often insightful or witty or provocative or all of the above. They are in short personalities and known for their witty comments more than being first or right.
Over the past several years, the line has blurred. Sports writers who may have started out as true reporters quickly are seduced by the notion that they are actually "part of the process" and want to be commentators. Getting the facts right, becomes secondary to "buzz" and being "part of the discussion." The appeal is understandable - it is isn't just vanity of having your name and picture displayed with your comments being quoted. Ex:"Kirk Herbstreit says xxxx". It is also about money. Being a Commentator and a personality generates more income and more income opportunities - speaking engagements, writing gigs, and books. Mitch Albom who tries to distinguish when he is doing reporting from commentating, is probably the most successful example of this transition.
All of the books mentioned are good, but in the end make up your mind - but at least you'll know the major dates and events.
January 14th, 2011 at 11:00 AM ^
You can always check goodwill in AA, maybe RR dropped off some books there when he dropped off his clothes.
January 14th, 2011 at 11:01 AM ^
I know you said football, but Blue Ice by John Bacon is also a good book about the hockey program. I read it while sitting on the porch at 121 Hill St.
January 14th, 2011 at 11:19 AM ^
Great thread and appreciate all the contributions!
January 14th, 2011 at 11:42 AM ^
at 126 Hill St.
January 14th, 2011 at 11:37 AM ^
I'll add my +1 to Bo's Lasting Lessons.
If you really want to know more about Michigan, see if Nicholas Steneck is still offering HIST 265: History of the University of Michigan. I took it 10 years ago, so maybe things have changed. I took it expecting it to be a easy class. It wasn't. But it was worth it. The course guide for that class is probably the best source you'll ever find. The textbook for that class is The Making of The University of Michigan by Howard H. Peckham. It's also good, but a little dry in parts. And it's available on Amazon, I just checked.
January 14th, 2011 at 1:14 PM ^
Thanks for helping me out guys --- +1 all around!
January 15th, 2011 at 2:34 PM ^
This is a great thread! I just went on ebay and bought Bo lasting lessions for $5.20 and can't wait to read it. Thanks guys!!
January 15th, 2011 at 5:56 PM ^
How to OVER RECRUIT and USE MEDICAL SCHOLARSHIPS
A collection of stories by Current and Former coaches of the SEC
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