Customer Reviews

Go Gators!: An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory

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

 

 

Even though I'm a Seminole fan, I couldn't resist this brand new exploration of our biggest rival. And I'm glad I did! A rollicking romp through Gators history, this book makes our yearly rivalry all the more weighty. Every football fan in Florida should read it, but don't ask to borrow my copy -- it's a keeper!

I liked the whole angle this book took. The first hand accounts are pretty solid. I recommend this for the collection...along with "A Tailgater's Guide To SEC Football" by Chris Warner...another great tome for die hard SEC fans like me.

This book is one of quite a few published about the Gators since the football team truly came to national prominence in the early '90s. This one is different, though, in that it is history told in a continuous series of (generally) well-edited interview segments Golenbock had with Gator players and coaches from through the years, starting in the late '20s.

Among the recognizable names are: LaPradd, Casares, Dunn, Graves, Infante, Dupree, Rentz, Trapp, Tannen, Youngblood, Reaves, Dickey, Fisher, Peace, Nattiel, Bell, Matthews, Jackson (Terry) and Wuerffel, to name a few. The last chapter, written by the author, deals with Spurrier's departure and Zook's arrival. A very good index allows you to find mention of particular players or events.

Negative points? Recent history is told mainly from the quarterbacks' point-of-view; it would have been nice to hear from the likes of Nat Moore, Wilber Marshall or Jevon Kearse, not to mention Steve Spurrier. Photos are confined to an 8-page centerspread that looks like an afterthought. Typos are common, including a continual reference to Murphree Hall as "Murphy." And the book is awfully thick, no less than 2-1/4".

All that aside, there is a lot of fun stuff here. Whatever your Gator era, you will find a lot to reminisce about.