Tales from the Gator Swamp [Hardcover]

Jack Hairston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 5, 2001

In the last decade, Florida Gator football has reached heights that few programs can even imagine. But football success at the University of Florida is not only a recent phenomenon. Florida's winning tradition was established early, as the Gators went 49-18-5 during their first ten seasons (1906-15). And even in the years when Florida wasn't winning football, the loyal Gator fans enthusiastically cheered the team's effort. On football Saturday's in the Fall, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, known to all as the Swamp, draws 83,000 spirited fans for each home game. This book brings all the Gator tales to life. Whether it's winning championships or enduring the dry spells, both on and off the field, this book keeps alive the humor and spirit that is Florida Gator football.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hairston has covered University of Florida football for 44 seasons. He retired in 1990 and began publishing a popular fan newsletter "Gator Pipeline".

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC (November 5, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582613435
• ISBN-13: 978-1582613437
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,150,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun For Gators, September 13, 2005

By 

B. Hendricks "darthgatorone" (Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tales from the Gator Swamp (Hardcover)

Jack Hairston is a very respected sportswriter, and I enjoyed many of the anecdotes in his book. However, I think that the book is too anecdotal. Jack apparently sent out requests to former Gators for anecdotes, including the funniest things that ever happened to them. The book is a compilation of those responses, and it is organized around the subjects of those tales. I would have preferred that the book be organized differently, perhaps chronologically, with Jack using his archival knowledge to give us some text history of each generation of Florida Football along with the amusing anecdotes.

The last two chapters are completely out of place and belong in another book. Ch. 35, entitled "An Opponent to Remember" is about Coach Bill "Pete" Peterson of FSU infamy. While Coach Pete was an hilarious figure and some of the anecdotes are laugh-out-loud funny, they don't belong in a book about Florida Football. Nor does the last chapter entitled, "Barbara Dooley's Bama Trip". Although somewhat amusing, I didn't buy this book to read about a Dawg coach's wife.

All in all, however, the book is certainly worth its purchase price. It just could have been better had Jack used his formidable writing skills to weave history and humor together.