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| | | Fiction (Ages 12-14) | Home » » » Coach: The Life of Paul "Bear" Bryant | | | | | | | Description: | | "Revised & Updated"
More than two decades after his death, Paul "Bear" Bryant's imposing shadow still towers over the sport of college football.
For twenty-five years at the University of Alabama, and thirteen years before that at Maryland, Kentucky, and Texas A&M, Bryant pushed his players to excel with a combination of charisma and fear, winning 323 games and six national championships.
In this definitive portrait of a rough-hewn man with an extraordinary gift for leadership, Keith Dunnavant shows how Bryant survived headline-grabbing controversies and the vagaries of a changing social landscape to become college football's greatest coach and the foremost Southern icon of his time.
Coach is the epic story of a larger-than-life figure who overcame poverty and insecurity with intense desire and steely will, reflecting the transformational power of the American experience while emerging as a beacon of pride for Alabamians who felt defensive about their place in the world.
Praise for Coach
"The definitive Bear Bryant biography.... The first serious attempt to portray Bryant as he really was...."
---John Pruett, The Huntsville Times
"Bryant's story says volumes about America and that story is very ably told by Dunnavant...."
---Geoffrey Norman, American Way Magazine
"Balanced and intelligent."
---Kirkus Reviews
"A masterful job."
---The Christian Science Monitor
"Dunnavant skillfully raised my eyebrows...[in] a robust and revealing biography of college football's greatest coach."
---Paul Finebaum, Birmingham Post-Herald
"A thoroughly captivating read."
---Larry Woody, The (Nashville) Tennessean
"Thanks to Dunnavant, the Bear has a biography that does him justice."
---The Sporting News
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Keith Dunnavant | | Paperback:
| 320 pages | | Publisher:
| St. Martin's Griffin | | Publication Date:
| September 01, 2005 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0312348762 | | Product Width:
| 139.0 centimeters | | Product Height:
| 202.0 centimeters | | Product Weight:
| 0.73 pounds | | Package Length:
| 8.3 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.4 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.1 inches | | Package Weight:
| 2.75 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 12 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 12 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 Great ReadJun 16, 2006
By Paul W. Holley
All told, "Coach: The Life of Paul 'Bear' Bryant" is probably the best in-depth analysis of Bryant as not only a coach but as a man. Although "The Last Coach", a new Bryant biography, may eventually take this particular book's place in that regard, this is nonetheless the standard text for those seeking an in-depth look at Paul "Bear" Bryant.
Most Bryant biographies lack depth and real analysis, and mostly just repeat common knowledge such as "Mama called", etc. However, this particular book thoroughly analyzes and details Bryant as he grew up in the Moro Bottoms of rural Arkansas, and what were the influences that shaped his life. It has a great section regarding Bryant as a player, and the writing on Bryant as a coach is particularly good, dealing with Bryant's views on the psychology, philosophy and strategy of the game. Moreover, the sections of the book regarding the Bryant / Butts scandal, and the Holt / Granning incident are all particularly good.
I would recommend this to anyone looking to read about Bryant.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Extremely well written biography of Coach Bryant's CareerNov 10, 1998
This book makes you think you knew Coach Bryant, or at least makes you wish you had. It is entertaining, as well as informative, for college football fans of all ages. For Alabama Fans it is a must. Thank you, Keith for bringing Coach Bryant's life to those of us who missed seeing him while he was alive.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Well-done biographyOct 12, 2002
Mr. Dunnvant admits from the beginning that, like many Alabamians, he grew up in awe of Paul Bryant. But he has succeeded in writing a fair, balanced portrayal of a complicated man. Bryant's failings are not glossed over, nor are they treated with sensationalism. A solid biography and a good read for college football fans.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Coach Bryant: the man who casts the shadowOct 17, 1997
By m985742@baltic.nadn.navy.mil
This book describes the life and times of one of the most influential men in America over the last 40 years. Just as everyone knows where they were when Kennedy was shot, generations of southerners, more succintly Alabamians, knew exactly where they were when the Bear went home. That is just how much influence he had in shaping a culture over almost 4 decades. This book does shows just how Bryant could take a boy from any walk of life and not just make him a winner on the field, but a champion and a man off of it. His struggles growing up, his struggles while coaching, the way he would sacrifice for any of his boys, all made him the leader he was and to a degree, still is. The shadow he casts in the state of Alabama is not only accepted, but revered and Keith Dunnavant does an outstanding job of showing just how and why this is so. No, the "Bear" is not and never will be truly gone as long as there is someone to wear the crimson and gray.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Great BookAug 23, 1998
This is a great book as written by Keith Dunnavent. It really puts you in touch with a side of the Bear that I didn't know
See all 12 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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