Customer Reviews

Understanding American Football: The Simplest, Clearest and Most Detailed Guide for Spectators

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It takes more than just stating the rules to tell the full story of football. Unfortunately, this book does little more than state the rules. I don't know who McCorduck is (the book gives no info at all on him), but I suspect he's not an American. This book was obviously written by and for someone who only has an intellectual curiosity in the game. The essential information is here, but it falls far short of the full picture. We need someone to give us a sense of perspective; to let us know what is and isn't significant. This book fails in that. The most glaring flaw of the book is that there are absolutely NO DIAGRAMS of player positions or plays. The players' physical positions on the field are left to our clueless imagination. This is inexcusable. If you just want to know the rules, you may as well read the official NFL rule book. But is you want a full, proper perspective on the game, both pro and college, I would recommend Theismann's "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Football" or Long's "Football for Dummies." What those books lack in conciseness they more than make up for in the authors' (and co-authors') experience in and love for the game. This book projects no love for the game and gives you no perspective on what is and isn't significant in it.

Fantastic book for someone who yearns to understand the game, and America's obsession with it. The author explains all details (from uniform requirements through offensive plays) without being condesending. I've watched football my entire life, not really understanding a thing - this book definitely helps me watch (and enjoy!) the game.