Made or Broken: Football and Survival in the Georgia Woods [Paperback]

Bill Lightle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2002

Set in the tension-filled Deep South in the 1960's, "Made or Broken" follows a group of young men on their experiences at the notorious Graves Springs football camp.Lightle vividly describes how players came to endure the two weeks of humiliation and abuse in the rich swampland of Southwest Georgia through mutual support and comraderie.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Bill Lightle has explored a dimension of mid-century Southwest Georgia culture - the high school football camp - and in the process has shed light on the significant transformation in race relations that accompanied desegregation in Albany, GA. The book has the ingredients for a fascinating tale, including race, gender, and athletic competition. --Lee W. Formawalt, executive director of the Albany (GA) Civil Rights Institute and former executive director of the Organization of American Historians

Bill Lightle has demonstrated his passion for education, history, and the futherance of social justice...it is fitting and proper that the outstanding accomplishments of this remarkable and distinguished Georgian be recognized... --Georgia State Senate Resolution --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

The recent release of Hollywood’s latest high school football movie, "Friday Night Lights" starring Billy Bob Thorton, prompted the New York Times to report on the protests of residents of Odessa, Texas. They expressed anger over the book’s negative portrayal of their town as obsessed and football-crazed.

The film exposes the seedy underbelly of high school football programs, which use and abuse their players for the glory of corrupt coaches and misguided fathers. This story is a staple of Hollywood movie making, but are there positive aspects of high school football that are not being portrayed? Do demanding coaches and arduous training sessions create powerful life lessons that players can take beyond the football field? --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Authorhouse (November 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403347247
• ISBN-13: 978-1403347244
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,689,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bill Lightle's first book, Made or Broken: Football & Survival in the Georgia Woods, was praised by the Georgia State Senate, and the Organization of American Historians. Since then he has written, Mill Daddy: The Life & Times of Roy Davis and My Mother's Dream: Baseball With the Bankers. Lightle was born in Indiana but has lived most of his life in Albany, Georgia, where he continues to write. He teaches at Albany State University and LaGrange College in Albany.

Visit Bill Lightle's website at: www.blightle.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Made or Broken Gotta Have It, March 3, 2003

By 

ray macolly (Marietta, Ga United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Made or Broken: Football and Survival in the Georgia Woods (Hardcover)

As a kid we just wanted to play ball. We didn't care what color the guy beside us was. We didn't realize all that was going on outside of our little world in those trying and changing times. I look back now and see what our parents went through, but in that stadium on Friday nights they cheered for Orange and Green!
As I read this book I realized what a difference in my life Graves Springs and sports in general made. "Made or Broken" reminded me of the many Fourth and Ones that life deals you on a daily basis.
I laughed and I cried while reading. This book is a must read not only if you are familiar with Southern Football Tradition, but if you are interested in the flavor of the times in the Old South.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The mystique of the Southern Male, February 5, 2003

By 

Jim Finkelstein (Albany, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Made or Broken: Football and Survival in the Georgia Woods (Paperback)

I grew up in Pennsylvania and have lived in South Georgia the last 26 years. This book illustrates as well as anything how the South has managed to produce such a disproportionate number of young men who have answered the call of the nation and made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in times of national crisis. More than just a football book- actually, very little is about football- it tells the tale of young men molded by shared hardship and miserable conditions in the woods of South Georgia. Racial strife in the outside world is handled differently here, where young black men and young white men had to put aside their predispositions (a kinder word than prejudice) and learn to judge others by standards that did not include race. This book is a worthwhile addition to any personal library of works that deal with history and social progress in the New South.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "A Fascinating Tale", January 30, 2003

By 

William Lightle (Albany, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Made or Broken: Football and Survival in the Georgia Woods (Hardcover)

Bill Lightle has explored a dimension of mid-twentieth century southwest Georgia culture - the high school football camp - and in the process has shed light on the significant transfromation in race relations that accompanied desegregation in Albany. This book has many of the ingredients for a fascinating tale including race, gender, and athletic competition. Lightle reveals how young athletes in Albany - at first all white, and then black and white - faced the challenge of two weeks in the blistering August heat of south Georgia in the all-male environment of a camp notorious for its almost burtal training that came close to abuse even for its time. The boys' ability to withstand the physical challenge and to meet the social challenge of integration in one of the most racially intransigent parts of the Deep South demonstrates how much the human spirit can endure and how it can triumph over adversity.

Lee W. Formwalt
Executive Director
Organization of American Historians

Bloomington, Indiana