Customer Reviews

A Cowboy's Life

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It was nearly 24 years after he played his last game for the Dallas Cowboys when the autobiography of Mr. Cowboy himself, Bob Lilly, was released. For fans of Cowboy history like me, this is good news. And the book does not disappoint.

Bob Lilly was a class individual as a player. He was a destructive force at defensive tackle and yet a very clean player of great sportsmanship. He was unselfish and team-oriented. He comes across the same way as an author- all class and very positive. The chapter "Battle Scars" of the various injuries he endured is particularly insightful of what he went through and the sacrifices he made.

My only complaints with the book are that several photos and a lot of the player anecdotes are lifted from Bob Lilly's fine book "Reflections." (this is only a bad thing if one already owns "Reflections"). Also at times the narrative is a bit generic and has the feel that it is coming from the co-author's research from other published sources rather than insights from Bob Lilly. And there are some factual errors. The Cowboys were never 2-4 in the 1970 season, and the Cowboys didn't lose the home game to the Giants in 1971.

In summary, this is a book I would highly recommend to any fan of Dallas Cowboys history. Of course, such a fan just knowing it was a book on Bob Lilly probably would snatch it up anyway without caring what anyone else who read the book thought of it as Bob Lilly is that large and respected a figure in Cowboy history.

My husband received this as a Christmas gift and has thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Even though he has lived in Steeler country all his life, he became a fan of the Cowboys in the early 1960s and has remained so all this time. It's a great read for a Cowboy's fan.

After reading several great sports books (particularly the fantastic "Quiet Strength - Tony Dungy"), this was a big disappointment. The "action" segments of the book are little more than tired play-by-play summaries of key Cowboy games, with only sporadic insights from Bob's perspective.

I picked up this book knowing very little about the person of Bob Lilly, and came away still knowing very little. It serves much more as a summary of the glory years of the Cowboys (with detailed descriptions about players and coaches) than it seems a book about Bob Lilly or even a player's background perspective on the game. I would have liked to hear more about Mr. Lilly's Christian and personal convictions alluded to throughout but never explained.

I can see the draw for nostalgic Cowboy fans, but for the average unbiased reader there are better choices. Take the first and last few chapters out and the book is essentially game after game of play-by-play narration and short biographies of Cowboy personnel with a few anecdotes from Mr. Lilly sprinkled throughout.

The brightest spot in the book comes at the end, "Battle Scars," an eye-opening perspective into what football players go through year after year for our entertainment on television. Unfortunately, it's too little, too late.

As a book about the glory years of the Cowboys, a 4/5 rating. As a book about Bob Lilly, I'm afraid my 2/5 stands firm.

I grew up watching the Cowboys play. I was just 3 years old when Bob started his professional career. In our house, Thanksgiving was a day of Cowboy Football!!!

Very enjoyable read!!! It is fun to learn about the game from an inside point-of-view.

From his humble beginning, through his amazing career, and post-football life.

Thanks Bob, for writing this book!!!