Customer Reviews

Black and Blue: A Smash-Mouth History of the NFL's Roughest Division

5 star:		(3)
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2 star:		(1)
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I obtained an early copy of the book. Great memories of the NFL's black and blue division. Many of the stories and anecdotes related in the book are excellent. It's obvious that a great deal of time and effort was put into the writing of this book. Purchase it for yourself and as a gift.

Picked this up at the card show and I wasn't able to put it down. What a great, and long overdue, idea to write about storied franchises such as Green Bay and Chicago.

The history on the early years of the Black And Blue was fascinating, and I am sure there will be many discussions (arguments) over the members of the All-Time Black And Blue Teams.

If you are a pro footbal fan you have to read this book, even if it's the only book you read all year. It's that good!

This review is for Black and Blue: A Smash-Mouth History of the NFL's Roughest Division by Bob Berghaus, published 2008, ISBN 978-1-57860-301-5 (hardcover). I find it necessary to include this information, as Amazon isn't always accurate in where they publish reviews, and this review could end up on other web sites, as Amazon sees fit.

This book seemed to offer so much potential to fans of the teams covered. However, I found the book to be written to the reading level of a 12-year old and the same data was covered over and over. The jacket states the author is a newspaper writer which explains much in terms of the reading level and repetition.

This is fine if you're either: a) twelve years old, or b) possessed of a very short attention span. As I am neither, I found the book to be mildly entertaining, but not one that I am likely to read a second time.

The Bears, Packers, and Vikings get pretty good coverage in the book, but if you're a Lions fan you should look elsewhere. I'm not sure where Lions fans go to get material on their team, but I found Paper Lion by George Plimpton an excellent book.

The book is manufactured on thick paper, has a pleasant heft, and is tightly bound. There are many black-and-white photos, and the layout is well done. I may seek out other books by Clerisy Press if I can be assured the writing is better than this tome.

There are better football books than this one. Seek them out and spend your money on them instead of Black & Blue.

As a girl who grew up in Milwaukee loving the Packers, this is a compelling look at the rivalries of the four teams in this division. I especially love the history between the Packers and the Bears, reading stories about Butkus and Nitshke, Halas and Lombardi is a wonderful walk down memory lane.