Customer Reviews

Raiders Forever: Stars of the NFL's Most Colorful Team Recall Their Glory Days

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a book that truly captures the spirit of The Oakland Raiders of the 1970's. Best of all you come away with a deeper sense of the personalities and what made the team so unique. It is not just a "remember when" book, but rather a behind the scenes look at why the Raiders where the most compelling team of the 70's. It's well written, full of detail and should be interesting to any football fan.

What I enjoyed the most about this book is what it offers for different Raider fans in all walks of life. If you are a hardcore Raider fan, then you will find it interesting in how deep the author goes into each old time players' history to get to the very soul of each individual player. If you are a newer fan, then it gives you a look into Raider tradition and pride. If you are a peripheral fan, or a football fan overall, then it gives you an excellent look into the life of a football player.

If you ever wondered what is Ray Guy doing now? or how does Art Shell feel about the Raiders? or how does John Madden recall his coaching days? then you will find a plethora of information that makes this book hard to put down. I know being a Raider fan makes me a little unbalanced in my opinion (as well as in the mind of fans of the AFC West), but you find this book interesting even if you don't like the Raiders if you take it at face value.

I'm a football fan, and like any football fan who was around at the time, I have fond memories of the Oakland Raiders of the 1970's.

Raiders Forever is much more than a simple recounting of the "Glory Days", rehashing the same old stories we're all familiar with by now. It is instead a compilation of conversations between the author and each member of the core group of Raiders(19 in all). Each player is encouraged to reflect on the team, and his role in it, and in this way, is the Raider's mistique defined. What turns out to be as interesting and important as their recollections, are the circumstances and places where these conversations take place. The author has tracked each player down and met them on their own turf, and it is fascinating to see where their life has taken them, and how the being a Raider has helped(or didn't help) them get there.

The author provides us with plenty of background information on each player as well, some of it surprising. Each player's complete Pro stats are at the end of each chapter. By the time I was finished reading a chapter, I had a good sense of where these people came from, who they were then, and who they are now. To me, it offers a more personal insight on what it was, and is, to be a Raider.

This is a well written book with a unique and fresh approach to an oft told story.

Raiders Forever is a must read for any Raiders fan. I'll never forget the glory days of the 60's and 70's - guys like Stabler, Madden, Van Egan, etc. After you read this book, you realize they never will either. The author finds all our old favorites, spread out all over the country now, and they reminisce about what it was like to be a Raider back in the good old days. It's fun to hear them as they look back, tell a story or two, and fill us in on what they're doing now. This is a great book about a great team. Highly recommended!

RAIDERS FOREVER was a big deception for me cause I buy the book to read about the greats moments of one of the greatest team of the NFL story,the Raiders of the 70's.I have a big surprise when I realise the book was a kind of short biography of each of the great players of that time.They talk about their years at high school,college,how they feel when they we're draft and a lot about their life after they retired from football.But I want to read about the games vs the Steelers,Chiefs or the Superbowl.I'm looking for Raiders memories not for the private life of the players.Mr.Lombardo talk about some highlights of the great moments of the team but talk too much about the players life off the field and not enough about what they did during the games.

Loved reading about the old Raider Days and the great players from that era. The book profiles all the big name players like Stabler and shows what made them great.

The Oakland Raiders were a good team back then. They were put together in the late 1960s-1970s. The Raiders were the only team in NFL history to win in the season 16 consecutive years. The silver and black won 2 superbowls in the 80s. I recommend this book because it gives you the information that you would want. The book was just the length for me to read. I like how the pictures in it kept the story real.

having been a raider fan for over 35 years, i think i may have read every book ever written about the raiders and/or players who have played for them. while i prefer books like 'snake' by ken stabler and 'cruisin with the tooz' by john matuszak, as they are written from the experiences of players first hand, this book delves a little deeper into the myths and lore of the raiders from multiple sources, by an outsider, or non member of the raider family. this book fills in some of the gaps of juicy info that other player inspired books fail to divulge, for whatever reason, but lacks some of the same from previous publications. this offering gives a little insight about many different players, in their own words, which they related to the author, about the fun and mayhem of the 1970's raiders. what i liked about this book was the minutia of daily life in training camp and regular season which this author reports, and is rarely seen or heard by the general public. it gives the reader a palpable insight as to how it really was back then, which to raider fans like myself, who are enamored with the teams of the 70's, enjoy reading about. it contains a little dirt, a little fun and a little something for everyone. if you are a raider fan, it's a must read. if you're a fan of classic nfl, it's worthwhile as well.

While not a bad read, keep in mind that this book is primarily 18 individual mini-biographies of great Raiders players from the 70's compiled into one book. You will learn where they went to school, a little bit about their playing careers, and what they are up to now.

RAIDERS FOREVER IS SKIMPY. IT IS GREAT TO READ ABOUT ALL THESE GREAT PLAYERS. BUT HALF THE INTERVIEW IS WASTED ON THERE BACK GROUND AND SCHOOLING. LETS HEAR MORE ABOUT HOW IT WAS IN THE TRENCHES AGAINST THE STEELERS. THE BATTLES WITH RIVAL CHIEFS. I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THIS BOOK. I THINK THE AUTHOR SHOULD HAVE SPENT MORE TIME TALKING ABOUT THE GOOD OLD DAYS. A TEN PAGE OR LESS INTERVIEW JUST DOESN'T HACK IT. NOT WORTH THE MONEY. NOT RECOMMENDED. GLOSSY GARBAGE.