Domers: A Year at Notre Dame [Hardcover]

Kevin Coyne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1995

Notre Dame remains a place of mythic stature to American Catholics, offering both a vision of their highest dream, and a ladder to climb toward it. Coyne's unlimited access to all areas of the college, from faculty meetings to football team Masses to dorm beer busts, has helped him create a rich and complex portrait of America's most prominent Catholic university.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Coyne goes back to school, as it were, to delve behind the football-powerhouse reputation and provide a well-rounded portrait of this 150-year-old Midwestern Catholic university. Embarking on his journey with a somewhat skeptical air, Coyne tells of his year spent in research, attending classes, dances, parties, administration meetings, Mass and, of course, football games. Readers will soon sense that the author was won over but not blinded by what he experienced. Coyne divulges that life beneath the glow of the golden dome (hence "domers") is often a paradox in which students, faculty and administration struggle to balance the religious and spiritual traditions of the past with the social, academic and cultural movements of the present. For devotees, biographical information on campus luminaries such as the university's founder, Father Sorin; longtime university president Father Theodore Hesburgh; legendary football coach Knute Rockne and others abounds. For those who have attended Notre Dame, this volume is a walk down memory lane spiked with a few jolts of modern reality; for those who worship from afar, this is an up-close and personal examination of a myth.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Journalist Coyne spent a year on the campus of Notre Dame, interviewing people and observing life at this famous university. The opening chapter describes the gold-domed building on campus that lends the students their nickname, Domers, setting the tone for a study that is wide-ranging yet particular, current yet historical, celebratory yet irreverent. The text as a whole is divided into "Fall" and "Spring," with no chapter titles, indications of chronology, or sequence of events. Chapters consist of vignettes describing a building or a scene or detailing a conversation or professor's lecture. What's missing, however, are the students. Coyne interviewed the occasional student, but his observations lack depth. Instead, Domers looks at the adult world of Notre Dame, touching on issues of religion, abortion, drinking, affluence among Catholics, and political power. An interesting book for both insiders and outsiders; recommended for regional and large education collections.?Nancy E. Zuwiyya, Binghamton City Sch. Dist., N.Y.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670850055
• ISBN-13: 978-0670850051
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,250,932 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bleed Blue and Gold? Considering ND? Read it!, June 29, 1999

By 

Chad Silker ([e-mail]) (Notre Dame, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Domers: A Year at Notre Dame (Paperback)

If you've ever wondered what a year at one of the world's most prestigious universities is like, or if you're just a diehard Irish fan who can't wait until the band strikes up the Victory March every fall, read this book. Coyne captures the magic which is Notre Dame and brings it to life for those who have lived and breathed the experience or for those who maybe dreamed that they could. A must read if you have even a passing interest in the ways of ND. The people, the experiences, and the spirit Coyne describes are not fictional. Many in the book have moved on in the world, although quite a few still walk under the Golden Dome each day, but even as time marches on, a new generation enters and lives the stories and traditions found within the book's cover. It is written evidence as to why so many "Love Thee Notre Dame!"

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Go Irish, June 24, 2004

By 

"vertigo526" (Warminster, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Domers: A Year at Notre Dame (Hardcover)

The book explores in interesting detail the workings of a large university in the late 90's. What made this book more enjoyable for me was that it focused on the tradition that is Notre Dame, and adequately addressed campus life at the most renowned Catholic university in the world. It brought to light how the school deals with today's social issues through the eyes of faculty, administration and students. For those interested in the mystique and history of Notre Dame, or the struggles of surviving with your unique message in a time when the world may not agree with you, I recommend you take the time to enjoy this book

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true story, July 11, 2002

By 

paul higgins (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Domers: A Year at Notre Dame (Hardcover)

If you want to get under the covers of the public face of one of the world's most prestigious institutions, this book does it. It shares the personal experiences of domers as they deal with the pressures of academia, the experiences of meeting many influential people on campus (e.g., Bill Clinton, George Bush, Jimmy Carter, Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, Regis, among others), and indulging in the athlectic rigor - all on one of the most beautiful campuses in the world. It will make you want to go back again and again.