Customer Reviews

Civil War: Army Vs. Navy: a Year Inside College Football's Purest Rivalry

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This will be very short. I am a 49 year-old, female, English teacher with NO interest in sports! I began this book because there was nothing else to read. After the first few pages I was completely taken in. I could not put it down. Yes, it was about football, but it was more a study in determination, in the hopes of youth, in the foolishness of old men and in heartbreak. Friends and relatives were constantly surprised that I was not only reading this book, but enjoying it so much! Couch potatoes, get a work-out without leaving your chair! Read this book!

If you are looking for a story of selfish, maladjusted, spoiled, law-bending athletes... this isn't it. No Lawrence Philips or Peter Warwicks here. No chest-thumping, trash-talking, pampered delinquents. No BCS hype, big-time budgets, or recruiting violations. Feinstein reveals dedicated young men -- many of whom are overachievers -- who accept sport in its broader context. While not perfect, we read the story of young men dedicated to an end that is greater than the sum of its parts. I will never watch Army, Navy (and, yes, Air Force) play again without honoring in my thoughts what these young men give day in and day out. Every high school and college athlete should read this book. Beyond football's "purest rivalry," Army-Navy is football (sport) like it ought to be.

As a former Division I-AA player who played against Army, I was always in awe of the effort the Cadets gave, leaving everything they had on the field. I could not put this book down. It explains the inner workings of the service academies, not just in a football context, and the incredible hardships players at these schools must endure just to get on the field. This book has inspired me to rethink many of my philosophies on hard work and perseverence, because compared to these guys, most of us have it easy.

This book does justice to one of America's best rivalries in sport. I grew up a short distance from West Point, but I had lost interest Army sports and the Army/Navy game...until reading this. It is amazing the way Feinstein makes you feel as if you are close friends and teammates with the players. He brings the players to life and THAT is what makes sports so engaging. I found myself rooting madly for both teams. This book makes you realize how wonderful college sports can be. It shows you the hard work and dedication that go into playing them, especially at the academies. I repeatedly found myself thinking, THIS is what college football is supposed to be. The love of the game, the love of teammates, the passion for competition. It is all here and it is all very well told. Even if you don't love sports you will be caught up in drama of Army/Navy. You can bet I will be watching the game this fall!

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a magnificant journey through the 1995 season with 2 of the most prestigious football programs in the country. We get a first hand view of what it is like to go to a military school first of all, but to also play football while at that military school. We also get a glimpse of what it was like when the 2 programs were in their hayday and people actually wanted to play at these schools. There was once a time where they dominated and all of the great players went to the military academies. Today, with high salaries and mandatory service, it is unlikely for an all american to attend one of these schools. The cadets know that the end of their football career comes with the end of their college schooling, and that makes the losses hurt that much more. Follow the players through their push through the season against some of the nation's powerhouses. You won't be sorry.

After reading this book, I will never miss another Army-Navy game. The book gave me a great appreciation for the kids who play in these games, the rivalry and all the tradition that goes with it. It's filled with great stories that give you a good look at what it's like to be a student at one of these acadamies, and to play for these football teams. These are not a bunch of pampered jocks who are going to school so they can go play at the next level. The schools are not in the sports business to make a lot of money. This is what college sports should be: No grades or money under the table, no BCS nonsense, no scandals, no agents. Next time you pick up the sports section of a newspaper and read about another player who's been arrested for rape, assault or whatever, put down the paper and pick up this book. No matter how you feel about West Point or the Naval Academy now, you'll gain a lot of respect for the institutions and especially for the kids who go there.

I picked up the book, thinking it would be a history of the rivalry, but instead found that it looks at one season, ending with the Army-Navy game at the end of that season. Of course, you get a little bit of the history of the game, but the closer look at this one contest is much more interesting.

If you want to understand a big part of the midshipman/cadet experience, you need to understand the A/N football game and Feinstein does a great job explaining it. As he tells you about two teams of dedicated athletes who play for the love of the game and the pride of their school, with little hope of going on in the athletic world, he also goes into the traditions of two great schools and the bond that the men and women there have with each other and their schools. My daughter Lisa, a '94 midshipman, is mentioned in the book and would have been proud to read it. I don't usually like to read about football; I prefer to watch it. However, not only was this book an exception, it was also one of the best books about the Army/Navy experience that I've ever read.

I have read all of John Feinstein's books on sports and this is one of his best, perhaps only second to "Season On The Brink." Personally, I had no interest in the Army-Navy battle before I read this book. But Feinstein takes you inside both schools to show why this game means so much to these students. These are not necessarily the blue chip athletes we hear about all the time, they are young men playing for pride and leaving it all on the line when they step on the football field. I'm hooked to this rivalry now, as much as Alabama-Auburn and Ohio State-Michigan. If you're a fan of any sport, especially college football, you will love this book and won't be able to put it down.

I am a retired army colonel (not an academy grad) and love college football...but, except for once a year when they play each other, don't follow the teams as I am a HUGE Notre Dame fan. This book is about so much more than football. It is about the young men at the academies who--after you read this book--will truly give you a sense of what college football should be. And you'll feel like the opponent Feinstein quotes who after defeating one of the academy teams says that he's glad the national security is in the hands of young men like these. In fact, I was so moved by this book that during last week's Notre Dame-Navy game, I wanted Navy to win. Read this book...and then give it to a teenager you love.

What a wonderful book. As the son of a USMA '59 grad, I've been to quite a few A/N games. I vivdly remember the season Army had that year, even reading the book 2 years after the events took place. He captures the essence of the game so well, but with such great detail. I wish he could cover the A/N game every year, since what he wrote about is by no means unique. the stories like those he tells are there EVERY YEAR. John does such a wonderful job, I can't wait for his next book on the Patriot League Basketball season. One last thing...

Go ARMY!! Beat Navy!!