LT: Over the Edge: Tackling Quarterbacks, Drugs, and a World Beyond Football [Mass Market Paperback]

Lawrence Taylor (Author), Steve Serby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 2004

On the football field, Lawrence Taylor was an unstoppable force of nature -- arguably the best defensive player in the game and, quite possibly, ever. But off the field, the life of a player who enjoyed a record ten Pro Bowl appearances and led the New York Giants to two Super Bowl victories was an all-out blitz, fueled by drugs, sex, and booze, and charging at breakneck speed toward total self-destruction. This is the shocking true story of a giant's fall ... and his remarkable journey back to the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this slapdash effort, former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor and a supporting cast of characters recall the football legend's career and personal struggle with drug addiction. On the field, Taylor was universally regarded as the greatest defensive football player in the game's history. His size, speed and ferocity led the Giants to two Super Bowl championships in 1986 and 1990, and earned Taylor an exalted place in NFL folklore, as well as in the record books and in the Football Hall of Fame. All this for a player, readers learn, who rarely worked out, practiced lazily and played many of his awe-inspiring games hungover. While he was succeeding on the field, off the field Taylor's life was out of control. He was addicted to cocaine and to a hard-partying lifestyle that eventually led to a divorce, numerous arrests, financial ruin and employment prospects that sunk as low as professional wrestling. Although billed as an autobiography, the book (written with New York Post columnist Serby) is more an oral history, interweaving Taylor's remembrances with those of former teammates, coaches, sports writers and friends. While there are some memorable anecdotes and a few intimate glimpses, there is surprisingly little new here for Taylor fans beyond the depressing details of his most recent travails. That's unfortunate-underneath it all, Taylor' is a truly rich, compelling story. He remains a larger-than-life personality, and one who made extraordinary football history in one of the NFL's most colorful eras. Still, in this, his second shot at autobiography (his first was LT: Living on the Edge in 1987), the true substance of Lawrence Taylor goes woefully unexamined.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Lawrence Taylor now divides his time between Florida and New Jersey.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch (August 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061031496
• ISBN-13: 978-0061031496
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #616,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #40 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > African-American & Black

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars LT OUT OF CONTROL, February 19, 2005

By 

COOL JEWEL (MACEDONIA, OHIO USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: LT: Over the Edge: Tackling Quarterbacks, Drugs, and a World Beyond Football (Hardcover)

THIS IS A VERY HONEST AND HARD LOOK AT LAWRENCE TAYLOR WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. HE GOES THRU THE NIGHTMARES OF THIS ADDICTIONS WITH HONESTY AND DETAIL. THE MANY SET BACKS AND ATTEMPTS AT SOBRIETY ARE VERY INTERESTING AND FRIGHTENING. HE WAS A GREAT PLAYER FOR MANY YEARS FOR THE GIANTS. LT HAS FINALLY GOTTEN A HANDLE ON HIS DEMONS AND IS NOW SOMEONE TO RESPECT. I FOUND THIS TO A WELL WRITTEN BOOK AND RECOMMEND THIS FOR ANYONE.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LT and all that that Implies!!!, January 17, 2005

By 

R. Spell "raspell" (Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: LT: Over the Edge: Tackling Quarterbacks, Drugs, and a World Beyond Football (Hardcover)

If you like football then you will probably love this book. Lawrence Taylor is arguably the best player in the last 20 years or maybe forever. He clearly revolutionized his position.

This book is probably 30% football, 70% off the field. And that's as it should be as his world was wild and wooly and makes a great read. The drugs, the women, the parties are all here. Some of the most interesting parts are how he hid his drug habits from the NFL.

This isn't a classically written book. But the stories are so compelling it can't help be entertaining. You'll read it with your mouth open in disbelief. And, at least for the time being, it ends with a story of redemption.

I strongly recommend this book for football fans and stories of the wild life.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story, May 21, 2006

By 

Fan in Great Neck - See all my reviews

This review is from: LT: Over the Edge: Tackling Quarterbacks, Drugs, and a World Beyond Football (Hardcover)

His story is a very honest and hard look at his life written by he. He goes thru this nightmares of this addiction with honesty and detail. This many setbacks and attempts at sobriety are frightening and unknown to this common man. He were a great player for many years. He have finally conquered he demons and he are now a likable and respected person.