Customer Reviews

Tuesday Morning Quarterback: Haiku and Other Whimsical Observations to Help You Understand the Modern Game

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This book turns out to be really tiny with postcard sized pages, thick paper, wide margins, and lots of full-page, old-fashioned photos of football players I didn't recognize.

I think Gregg Easterbrook's weekly columns on Slate.com are great. Some of the best commentary on football I've ever read (and I've been watching and reading about football for more than 30 years, though only as a fan). However, this book is really more of a "joke" than it is a real book. I read it in less than 30 minutes. It contained nothing that I didn't already know as a result of reading his columns.

A collection of his columns with weekly scores and some additional information about last season might have been a useful book (that's kind of what I thought I would be getting). I don't really understand what Mr. Easterbook thought this book was about. Football poetry? Three or four general observations on football put together in a easy to read format?

Bottom line: not worth my money. I would never have bought this if I'd seen it in a bookstore as opposed to "online". One of the down-sides about buying online :-(

This is a great little book if you've never read a greg easterbrook column. It's a good book if you've read one column and enjoyed it. It's pretty dull if you are a loyal reader of his columns. Easterbrook has a few key ideas. (Stop me before I blitz again; no, that's not a *double* reverse; coach + parka = loss; cheerleaders are hot, etc.) Each tuesday it's fun to see how they are apply to the previous weekend's games, but here, the book seems like just a poor rehash of his columns. Even some of the Haiku has been in his columns already.

If you've never read Easterbrook, buy the book, then read his columns (now on ESPN Page 2). If you are an Easterbrook loyalist, don't buy the book for yourself, but maybe give it someone else (after flipping through to read the Haiku).

I am a pretty avid fan of Gregg Easterbrook's writing for Slate and now ESPN. I bought this book expecting it to be of the same quality as the columns. Quite honestly, I would have settled for simply the material given in the columns with no improvement. Instead this book takes same material that is so interesting in the columns (the importance of fake kicks, proper sideline attire for cold weather, unusual college mascots) and presents them so quickly that they lose both their humor and informativeness. Part of the problem is that Easterbrook's observations seem much keener in the column, applied to last weekend's games, but I think Easterbrook still could have written a much better book, and I hope he does.

Gregg Easterbrook (aka Tuesday Morning Quarterback) has been my favorite columnist since I first found him on Slate a while back. When the football season concluded this year, I knew I had to get this book to fight withdrawal over the season.

However, I soon found one major flaw--the only one I ever found: It's far too short. I read it in one sitting. While I truly enjoyed it, it seemed that, if the pictures and such were removed, the remaining text would be no longer than one of his columns.

The insights are still great, and the concept of football haiku--not to mention its excellent execution--is something that I still love the idea of.

I found this guy on Slate.com last year and I have been hooked ever since. How can you not like a guy who pokes fun at one of the games that tries to be really stodgy? Anyways, when I read his column today, I found out that a book was made so I of course had to buy it and I'll have to say that I'm not disappointed even though I've read most of it before. The Haiku are new though. Who'd think that football could be the subject of Haikus? Excellent book, makes me want to go out and find his other books.

I am a huge Easterbrook fan, especially of this TMQ column on ESPN. I figured this book would be interesting and on similar lines but I was greatly disappointed with it. Just a bunch of lines of text with pictures in between. Absolutely do not waste your money on this.

I am of the opinion that authors should know a little something about their subject. Call me crazy, but I do. This collection of pages was clearly written by a person who has never stepped foot on a football field in his life. This putz clearly has not.

For those fans of Easterbrook's TMQ column at slate.com, this book is right up their alley. A Brookings Inst. Fellow writing football haiku's? What took so long? A great survey from the edges of football with plenty of humor thrown in. Definitely going to buy a few copies as stocking stuffers for the lads who rejoice in every Giant victory. The Heidi game and blitz strategies. Only Easterbrook.

Lets put it this way, i was selling it on ebay within 2 hours

My 5 star rating is given solely on the interview with Greg held earlier today on public radio. I know little about football. By choice. However, I recognize and freely admit I'm in the minority of those in my circle of friends. Two interesting tidbits Greg shared - 1. he equated this with the immutable (whatever that word means!)law of physics: After years of observation and recordkeeping, Greg says the immutable law of football is that the team that completes a fake kick wins the game. 2. The team with the most overdressed (wearing too much clothing due to cold weather)coach, loses the game. So..focus on the coach who is shivering in the blustery wind n weather. Lastly, Greg read about five of his haiku's and they were great. I ordered five books for holiday gifts. I'm sure I'll sneak a peak as a minimum through one of them before wrapping.