Eli Manning: The Making of a Quarterback [Hardcover]

Ralph Vacchiano (Author), Ernie Accorsi (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 2008

New York Giants beat writer Ralph Vacchiano examines the quarterback position in the NFL from all angles, using Giants quarterback (and Super Bowl XLII MVP) Eli Manning as his primary focus.

When Eli Manning found teammate Plaxico Burress in the end zone with just 35 seconds remaining in Super Bowl XLII, he completed what was perhaps the greatest game-winning drive and unlikely upset in Super Bowl history. But the drive, which also included a remarkable escape and pass completion to unheralded receiver David Tyree, was the culmination of years of promise and development. Champion quarterbacks aren't made overnight.

With Manning, the Super Bowl MVP, as its focal point, New York Daily News Giants beat writer Ralph Vacchiano's Eli Manning: The Making of a Quarterback is a fascinating insider's look at the National Football League, how stars are made and crushed, and how fortunes are won and lost on the performance of one man: the quarterback. From the bold draft day trade that brought Manning to New York, through his dramatic ups and downs on and off the field, his first training camp to his last-minute heroics in Super Bowl XLII, Vacchiano takes a candid and revealing look at the people and events that made Manning's and his 2007 Giants' success one of the greatest stories in modern sports history. Complete with exclusive interviews with NFL stars, coaches, and executives and a foreword by former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi, Vacchiano uses his unfettered access to the world champion Giants to present a true, behind-the scenes look at the quarterback and team that defied all of the experts and oddsmakers to pull off one of the most phenomenal upsets in pro football history. 25 black-and-white photographs

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

New York Daily News sportswriter Vacchiano chronicles the journey of New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and how he went from reviled to revered in the eyes of fickle Big Apple sports fans. Vacchiano starts with Manning's career at the University of Mississippi, exploring the last-minute deal that allowed the quarterback to come to New York, and Manning's rocky rookie season with the Giants and the struggles he endured in escaping the shadows cast by older brother Peyton and father Archie, both established quarterbacks. With insight from an abundance of Manning's coaches and teammates, and a well-documented chronology of the week-to-week roller-coaster ride of a young football player, Vacchiano's story culminates with Manning rewarding the faith the Giants had in him with a Super Bowl title. Still, while Vacchiano supports the story well with plenty of statistics and analysis from a wide range of football people, the reader learns little about what Eli Manning is like, aside from the three hours fans see him each Sunday. Vacchiano does compare Eli to the stereotypical little brother, standing in the background as if he's trying to hide compared to the overwhelming presence that is older sibling Peyton. But relationships with teammates are only touched upon. (Sept.)
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Review

"A masterpiece of brilliant, thorough reporting and page-turning reading. The closing chapters are as compelling as the tensest thrillers every produced for the screen. How good is this book? It's in the front row of the class and will be regarded as a classic." -- Jeff Davis, author of Papa Bear: The Life and Legacy of George Halas

"Not only a compelling account of the unlikely rise of the young Manning, but it provides any student of the game with a detailed blueprint on how to build a championship team the right way." -- Sal Paolantonio, National Correspondent, ESPN

"What makes this book a must-read for Giants fans--for all football-lovers, in fact--is Ralph Vacchiano's reporting. He takes you insdie the frowth of the Super Bowl MVP with details you just can't read anywhere else. I love this book." -- Peter King, Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (September 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602393176
• ISBN-13: 978-1602393172
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #580,704 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ralph Vacchiano is the award-winning New York Giants beat writer for the New York Daily News, where he has worked since 1998. A Long Island native and graduate of Syracuse University (1991), he has covered the Giants for the Daily News since 2001.

Vacchiano has covered the NFL since 1991, when he began his career covering the Buffalo Bills for the Niagara Gazette in Niagara Falls, N.Y. He moved from there to the North Jersey Herald & News in 1993 to cover the Giants and the NFL, along with a little hockey, basketball and baseball, too.

In 1998, he moved to the News, first to cover the New York Islanders (1998-99), and then to cover the New Jersey Devils (1999-2001). He switched back to football and the Giants at the beginning of the 2001 season.

His Giants' blog, The Blue Screen, which is one of the most popular NFL beat writer blogs in the entire country, can be found here: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/giants/

When not writing for the Daily News, Vacchiano is also the Giants reporter for ESPN Radio in New York (1050 AM), the national NFL columnist for AthlonSports.com, and hosts national radio shows on Sirius NFL Radio.

He also appears on SportsNet New York's Daily News Live, and on Giants Online which airs on WNBC-TV in New York.

His first book, Eli Manning: The Making of a Quarterback (Skyhorse Publishing) was published in 2008, just seven months after the Giants' miraculous win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Under Pressure!, September 5, 2008

By 

NygFan "GB" (VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eli Manning: The Making of a Quarterback (Hardcover)

As a Giant fan and an Eli fan I had to get this book and read it right away. I was glad I did. I haven't missed but two televised Giants games in nearly seven years, so I thought I knew everything about Eli Manning and the Giants, but this book gave me even more insight. The pressure Eli was under when he entered the league is well established, but this book gave me a new appreciation for all the young man has been put through in just a few years. From the locker room feelings towards Kerry Collins to the shared insight of his on the road roomate, I felt as I read the book like I could feel his pressure rather than just hear about it. The way he carried himself during his rough times is a testimony to the man he is not just as a player. His refusal to ever get overly upset or throw tantrums or the fact that he never once threw his teammates under the bus (when his errors were exasberated by their mistakes on occassion)and just take the hit for the team make me a fan of his even more than I was before.

As a book, it reads well. Like a story rather than a plain vanilla biography. The insights by Ernie Arcorsi are excellent, as he experienced his own pressures the same as Eli. The two tied together forever. Great read and an excellent book, not a simple book about football but about being a man under intense scrutiny and enormous pressure. Highly recommeded! Not just to Giants fans but to any fan of football who has grown tired of selfish, spoiled, over paid atheletes and their antics.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reporting...the way it is supposed to be done., November 3, 2008

By 

David W. Gross "Dave in Ottawa" (Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Eli Manning: The Making of a Quarterback (Hardcover)

What sticks out above everything else in this very well-researched account of Eli Manning, is Vacchiano's startling ability to draw the reader in emotionally.
In particular - Vacchiano's gripping account of that famous final drive in the Super Bowl against the undefeated New England Patriots. Having watched - glued to the screen, waiting for Manning to implode, and yet he didn't - that gut-scrambling final 2-plus minutes, I can say it was some of the very best drama football has produced. What is remarkable is that Vacchiano, through his writing, matches the virtuoso moment. The fact that readers were already well aware of the outcome, makes this an even more astonishing feat of writing.
I ripped through those last 40 pages, even though I knew what the end result was...
The tendency in books like this is for the writer to gush over the subject...accolade after accolade. Vacchiano steers away from the expected. At times, it's a harsh, clinical evaluation of the subject.
Vacchiano, as every reporter writing a book should do (but few accomplish), taps on a wealth of resources. Former Giants Ernie Accorsi writes the forward and is quoted throughout...but there are also dozens of others involved.
This is not only a must-but for Giants' fans, but for fans of solid writing (ahh, that drama!) as well.
A stirring achievement by one of the best football beat writers in America.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ralph Vacchiano Pens a Winner!, August 31, 2008

By 

Neil M. Hickey "Neil Hickey" (Reading, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Eli Manning: The Making of a Quarterback (Hardcover)

I too admit to being a long-time and fierce New York Giants fan and "from the start" Eli Manning fan. I knew that when Eli was placed into the starting line-up, we would have to endure growing pains and tough losses as he developed both as a quarterback and a leader for the New York Giants.

Ralph Vacchiano perfectly captures the nuances of what Eli has meant to Ernie Accorsi (then GM), the Giants, the fans and the NFL. Ralph uses an interesting and perfectly suited style of writing from an "outsider looking in" approach while still enjoying insider access and direct information that a veteran reporter has.

Having said that, Ralph doesn't bat you over the head with subjectivity. While he clearly respects and admires Eli and his family, he still maintains an objectivity that is both fresh and appealing. What differentiates this book from the multitude released in the past several months about the Giants Super Bowl Run or any other football book is the crafting and skill used. It is hard to put this book down and each chapter flows perfectly into the next. It is a compelling read.

Ralph is an excellent writer and this is an excellent book.

Neil Hickey, Reading, PA.