Paterno [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Joe Posnanski (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 21, 2012

Joe Posnanski’s biography of the late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno follows in the tradition of works by Richard Ben Cramer on Joe DiMaggio and David Maraniss on Vince Lombardi. Having gained unprecedented access to Paterno, as well as the coach’s personal notes and files, Posnanski spent the last two years of Paterno’s life covering the coach, on (and off) the field and through the scandal that ended Paterno’s legendary career.

Joe Posnanski, who in 2012 was named the Best Sportswriter in America by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame, was with Paterno and his family as a horrific national scandal unfolded and Paterno was fired. Within three months, Paterno died of lung cancer, a tragic end to a life that was epic, influential, and operatic.

Paterno is the fullest description we will ever have of the man’s character and career. In this honest and surprising portrait, Joe Posnanski brings new insight and understanding to one of the most controversial figures in America.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Paterno is a portrait very much in three dimensions. It is the story of an extraordinary life." (Philadelphia Daily News)

"Paterno adds grain and texture to the historical record.... makes a cogent case for absorbing Paterno's entire legacy." (Dwight Garner The New York Times)

"I urge you to read [Paterno]. . . A life is never defined entirely by a man's good, or by his bad." (Mike Vaccaro New York Post)

"It is exhilirating to read of Paterno the man and gripping to read of his downfall." (ESPN.com)

The truth is that [Paterno] is a portrait very much in three dimensions. In that sense, Posnanski succeeds…We are left with this book as the final record of the final days. It is more than that, obviously - it is the story of an extraordinary life - but it is most compelling as a chronicle of the end.” (Philadelphia Daily News)

About the Author

Joe Posnanski is a senior writer at the new USA TODAY venture Sports On Earth. Previously, he was a senior writer at Sports Illustrated and wrote about sports for the Kansas City Star for sixteen years. In 2011 he was named National Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame. He is the author of four books, including The Soul of Baseball, the 2007 winner of the Casey Award as America’s best baseball book. He lives with his family in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition edition (August 21, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451657498
• ISBN-13: 978-1451657494
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (172 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Coaching > Football (American)
  • #78 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Football (American)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

105 of 121 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Life of Paterno - A Fair Treatment August 21, 2012

By J. Gomez TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Paterno by Joe Posnanski

"Paterno" is the fascinating story of Joe Paterno's life. It's the truth of his life. "The only thing he ever asked of me was to write the truth as I found it." Mission accomplished, talented author and sports journalist Joe Posnanski, takes the reader on a life's journey, the life of Joe Paterno. With unlimited access to Joe Paterno's personal files, family, friends and former players, Posnanski weaves a captivating life that impacted many: his childhood, war, college life at Brown University and his sixty-one years of coaching at Penn State. It includes the very sad ending and the scandal that galvanized the country. This mesmerizing 416-page book is composed of the following five acts: Act I: Before, Act II: Excellence, Act III: Success, Act IV: What Comes After and the Final Act.

Positives:
1. Posnanski captures the essence of Joe Paterno's life. It is well-written, well-researched and the topic was treated with the utmost care and respect. Most importantly, it was truthful.
2. Having access to Joe Paterno and all the people that interacted with him was instrumental in being able to provide the public with a truthful account. The author makes it clear that he is not out to defend Joe Paterno but to provide a truthful account of his life and succeeds.
3. The book covers Paterno's life: from his childhood, his many years as a coach to the sad end.
4. One of the joys of reading is discovering hidden gems and surprises. The author provides many interesting tidbits about Paterno.
5. As a football fan, I enjoyed the insight into coaching. The philosophy, the inner workings, the interaction with people, the impact to a community and ultimately a nation. How coaching changed over the years, the evolution of coaching....
6. Paterno's philosophy in life. His passion for education.
7. This book is also about the people that Paterno influenced: his family, the players, students, his staff and his community. Many amusing stories.
8. Once again, if you are a college football fan and you are going to enjoy the inside scoop of big-time college sports. Many great anecdotes.
9. The rise of a college coach star. Sainthood. The arrival of Penn State. to prominence.
10. The issue of race and college football, fascinating.
11. Paterno and his relationship not just with his players and family but rival coaches.
12. The things Paterno enjoyed the most.
13. The cherished traditions of Penn State. Paterno's idiosyncrasies.
14. Penn State College football...time to name drop, the football stars. The players, the games, the successes, the championship teams.
15. Paterno's family and their relationship to football.
16. Paterno's speeches. His motivational and inspirational tactics.
17. His relationship with Sandusky, as a coach and as a man. The author is very candid and forthright. Interesting.
18. The aging coach and dealing with adversities (bad seasons). Interesting.
19. The scandal. A very touchy and disturbing issue. The author handles it with an even-handed approach.
20. The sad end. The investigation, the illness and the end. The author does this section justice.
21. An excellent notes section that covers how the majority of the material for the book was obtained.

Negatives:
1. The biggest downfall of biographies is that many of the highlights of the book have been revealed to the public. That being said, the author includes so much more to Paterno's life story.
2. If you are not a college football fan you will struggle through those sections that emphasize the game that I particularly enjoyed.
3. Those looking for a book about just the scandal will be disappointed, this book is about the life of Joe Paterno and all that it entailed including the scandal.
4. There are still more questions than answers.

In summary, I really enjoyed this book. First of all, let me state for the record that I have no affiliation with Penn State. The purpose of my review is to provide a personal assessment of the quality of the book, not to defend Joe Paterno. The most important thing about a biography is how it corresponds to reality and to convey it in an entertaining and accessible manner to the public. It's also about treating the subject with fairness and to handle sensitive issues with the proper tone and care. Posnanski succeeds on all fronts. It's a book that covers the life of Joe Paterno accurately. I highly recommend this book!

Further recommendations: "Paterno: By The Book" by Joe Paterno, "Playing for Paterno: One Coach, Two Eras: a Father and Son's Personal Recollections of Playing for JoePa" by Charles and Tony Pittman. Read more ›

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An enlightening portrait September 6, 2012

By Robert Harris

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Having casually followed US college football for a number of years -- including my time playing in Canada during the early 80's -- I was a semi-informed but highly motivated reader. I had a vague notion of Paterno's characteristics but few details, so this fascinating portrait really filled in the gaps for me. And it was done in a well paced, approachable and intelligent manner. Overall, an excellent read.

On the matter of Paterno's culpability, with respect to properly reporting his knowledge of Sandusky, I found myself flipping back and forth emotionally. At one point my reaction was the author was cutting Joe Pa the maximum allowable slack -- but then as I read more closely I found maybe that bias was more of my own as I was tainted going in by the press stories which expressed unfettered outrage. In addition, I must say I appreciated the fact the author took a risk and briefly include his personal response to Paterno's question about "what do you think of all this?". It was appropriate and illuminated other aspects of the text nicely.

Paterno lived a rich and authentic life. While his blind spots unfortunately led to his downfall, I believe, as the emotion subsides, the everyday fan will have a more balanced view of his entire legacy.

64 of 80 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Vital Piece of the Puzzle August 21, 2012

By Phen Andrews

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Posnanski's book needs to be read by those that prior to November 2011 only knew Joe Paterno as a football coach. A lot of favorite vignettes of Paterno's legacy are here, including stories of his childhood in Brooklyn and the disappointment of his father upon Paterno's decision to shirk law school to instead coach at Brown University. Posnanski outlines Paterno's rise and explains how he etched out a special place in many Penn Staters hearts, but the author also holds no punches in his criticism of Paterno's handling (or mishandling) of the Sandusky saga. Posnanski has stated on the record that the Paterno estate has had zero input on his final draft, making this the most unbiased and most thoroughly researched biography of Joseph Paterno.

If your intention is to read this book to learn more dirt about Paterno's role in the Sandusky scandal, you will walk away disappointed. If you care to learn more about the man that millions idolized and attempt to understand his legacy and fallout, then you must read this book.

57 of 73 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Controversial, Uplifting, Somber, Portrait of Joe Paterno August 21, 2012

By Raeden Zen

Format:Kindle Edition

JOE PATERNO. Perhaps the most controversial sports figure. Ever.

Let me first point out that Joe Posnanski's style is such that you forget you are reading a biography of the most hated and/or loved person in America, right now. I wanted to read this book, but not to learn more about Joe Paterno; I've read it all; "No Ordinary Joe," "The Lion in Autumn," etc. And to be honest folks, there isn't much new about Joe Paterno, the human, in this book. But, Mr. Posnanski has a way with words to make us realize that Mr. Paterno was a person. He had a mother and a father; his own children, and grandchildren. And then he had his football team, which was his life. Football is ultimately what made Joe tick. If the various biographies written about him didn't drill that point, Mr. Posnanski did, whether he meant to or not.

The book covers the scandal; the last hundred pages or so. Perhaps not as many as some would have hoped. Perhaps too many to others. But, it had to be covered. It's part of Joe's legacy. While in the past the controversy that surrounded Joe Paterno focused on questions such as: is this man for real? Does he really care about his players? Is he real or is he faking? How could he possibly want to do it the right way? Why hasn't he changed those ghastly uniforms? Why hasn't he stopped wearing white socks with Khaki pants yet? Why does he still wear those god-awful glasses? Now, the questions are: what did he know? When did he know it? Why would he have possibly covered for a child molester?

Mr. Posnanski answers some of the former questions, pointing to the simple life in which Joe Paterno had lived, but doesn't, and can't, answer the latter ones. Ultimately, he wrote this biography with the blessing of the late Mr. Paterno and his living family.... Ultimately, he could only probe so deeply to answer the questions that all of us--even those of us who had always looked up to Mr. Paterno, such as myself--wanted to know. Why would someone who had been so morally good, and lived that morally good, simple, life, do something so clearly wrong? Why Joe why? And so as I read this book I couldn't help but tear. Not because I feel sorrow for JoePa. But, because I always thought he was good, and now I'm not so sure, and this book didn't really answer that for me.

Why 5-stars? Because this book is extremely well written and I was able to read about all the good times. Still, I realize that as of today, outside of Nittany Nation, Joe isn't going to be remembered for any of that. He's going to be remembered for the last 100 pages of this book. And that makes me incredibly sad. So I wept for Joe. I wept for the victims. And I wept for PSU. Because none of what Jerry Sandusky represents is what any of that place has been about; and those kids lives are ruined--forever. And it all makes me very sad.

So, approach this book with an open mind. Don't expect earth shattering revelations; it's more of the same in regard to Joe's life and his collapse. But, do expect to read an extremely well written biography on someone who may be the most controversial man in US sports history. Read more ›