Semi-Tough (Signet) [Paperback]

Dan Jenkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1973 | Series: Signet

Made into a hilarious and timeless film starring Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, and Jill Clayburgh, and recently named number seven on Sports Illustrated's Top 100 Sports Books of All Time, Semi-Tough is Dan Jenkins's masterpiece and considered by many to be the funniest sports book ever written. The novel follows the outsize adventures of Billy Clyde Puckett, star halfback for the New York Giants, whose team has come to Los Angeles for an epic duel with the despised "dog-ass" Jets in the Super Bowl. But Billy Clyde is faced with a dual challenge: not only must he try to run over a bunch of malevolencies incarnate, but he has also been commissioned by a New York book publisher to keep a journal of the events leading up to, including, and following the game. Infused with Dan Jenkins's characteristic joie de vivre and replete with cigarettes, whiskey, and wild women, Semi-Tough is an uproarious romp through a lost era of professional sports that will have any armchair quarterback falling out of his or her recliner in hysterics on a semi-regular basis.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A very funny book...It is outrageous; it mocks contemporary American mores; it mocks Madison Avenue; it mocks racial attitudes; it mocks writers like me; and it even mocks sportswriters for Sports Illustrated like Dan Jenkins...[Jenkins's] writing and his ear recall--there is no higher compliment-Ring Lardner, though in different times and different Americas." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Dan Jenkins is the author of ten novels, including Semi-Tough, Dead Solid Perfect, The Money-Whipped Steer-Job Three-Jack Give-Up Artist, and, most recently, Slim and None. He has also published seven books of nonfiction, most notably Fairways and Greens and The Dogged Victims of Inexorable Fate and writes an enduringly popular monthly column for Golf Digest. Jenkins is the recipient of the William D. Richardson Award from the Golf Writers Association of America, which recognizes those who have consistently made outstanding contributions to golf. He divides his time between his native Fort Worth, Texas, and New York City.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Signet (June 1, 1973)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451137930
• ISBN-13: 978-0451137937
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,771,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite simply, it's the book that made a Yankee love Texas., March 14, 2003

By 

Scott Ashburn (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Semi-Tough (Signet) (Paperback)

Without question, Semi-Tough is Jenkins' masterpiece. As a high school kid, I wanted to be Billy Clyde Puckett...the bursts of laughter still erupt each time I pick it up.

Two stud hosses from Ft.Worth, having starred at TCU, find themselves together in NYC and playing for the football Giants. They've got themselves a little old date in LaLaLand with the...Jets in what you call your Super Bowl. Puckett tells the story (in first person) of the days leading up to the game by taking a small tape recorder wherever he goes. Along with his counterpart, one Marvin "Shake" Tiller, and the gorgeous and talented Barbara Jane Bookman, Puckett waxes poetic on everything under the sun, particularly the hypocrisy associated with such an event as the Super Bowl in LA. It's lewd, raunchy, politically incorrect, and about as funny a read as you'll ever find...

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the funniest sports book ever, February 27, 2001

By 

"pspa" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Semi-Tough (Signet) (Paperback)

It is incredibly politically incorrect, replete with satiric racial and sexist slurs, full of (as an old song goes) cigarettes whiskey and wild, wild women, but despite that, and more likely in part because of that, this is the single funniest sports book ever written. Nominally about two characters from Texas who play for the New York Giants in the 70s, this is wonderful satire about sports, athletes, and life in general, and the fact that it is out of print is mind boggling. Burt Reynolds gave a pretty good performance as the immortal running back Billy Clyde Puckett, but youve GOT to read this book to truly appreciate Dan Jenkins' biting satiric wit.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keep an eye open for this one...., April 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Semi-Tough (Hardcover)

...check the auctions, check garage sales, check used bookstores in your neighborhood. If you have never read this before, this is quite simply one of the funniest books ever written. Do not let the horrible movie from 1977 that was adapted from this fool you - this is nothing less than a minor classic about the New York Giants, told 'first person' by the star running back, as 'hype week' ensues before their big Super Bowl showdown with their crosstown rivals, the Jets. Leading up to the game, we are treated 'firsthand' to many lewd and vivid stories of wild parties right out of what can only be the '70s, loose women (also right out of what can only be the '70s), and all around male bonding as the team stands on the verge of it's finest hour. It is funny how nearly 30 years later, the somewhat jaded underlying subtext of the business side of professional football still rings true in many instaces, and in many other examples we see that things in professional sports have definetely become more complicated and bottom line oriented here in real life in the early 21st Century. WARNING: definetely NOT a book for the easily offended! As funny as it is, some of the text seems like it was lifted right out of the raunchiest issues of Hustler. Not to mention that this book is filled with some of the most un-politically correct racial slurs of all time, and the race card is indeed a recurring issue throughout the book (the star RB who is supposedly 'writing' the book is a white guy), once again showing the era that it was written in as being a much different time. Buyer Beware!