Customer Reviews

Tales from the Virginia Tech Sidelines

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

 

 

This book is a series of entertaining anecdotes and IMO is an absolute must read for all Hokie fans. I ended up finishing it in only two seatings. I am a more recent Hokie fan (I was a VT student from 95-99) so I liked the fact that the majority of the book's stories took place during the Beamer years. Don't be discouraged though, there are still plenty of stories of times prior to Beamer.

The only reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is because of its target audience. Non-Hokies may get bored, but true Hokie fans will not be able to put this down...

Go Hokies!!!!

I enjoyed the stories told in the book, but this edition looks like it was photocopied and bound at a local print shop rather than at a serious book publishing house. The amateurish print and photo quality really diminished the book as a whole. I will not order anything else online from this publisher again.

I am a Hokie alumnus and got this book for Christmas. I admittedly read through it right after I got it in preparation for the bowl game, however I really did not like this book at all for one simple reason: Colston seems to have crafted it more to fit joke punchlines than to really share a worthwhile experience. When I say punchlines, this is what I mean: he goes through a very interesting story only for the circumstances and end quote to be something that you've already heard in bar jokes before. This is in several instances and it makes me doubt if the people he attributes to saying things actually said them, or if he just threw it in to make the story entertaining. Case in point: a story with something to the effect of Frank Beamer and his wife in an airplane and his wife says something about jumping out without a parachute to make everyone happy. This is a classic joke and I would never believe it, so you sort through and get involved in a story, only to find reasons to doubt the truth or substance to it. Save your money and find another VT history rather than dwell through this slapstick memoir.

Great inside stories from Chris Colston, who has written more books about Virginia Tech than anybody else...easy to read entertaining, insightful. Book quality I have is first-rate; not sure what the other reviewer had (photocopy? Really?), must have been some knockoff.

I am a Virginia Tech alumnus so anything about Tech football is a must read for me.

Hokie Nation forever.

Chris Colston did an excellent job of compiling this collection of insider stories surrounding the Hokie football program. The nuggets are golden and Colston does a great job of setting up the vignettes and letting the players, coaches, and journalists tell the story. It's the kind of book that you can pick up and turn to a random page to enjoy a quick tale or sit down and read from start to finish.

Like my book Hokie Games: Virginia Tech Football Game by Game 1945-2006, it's a must-have for any Tech football fan.