War As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest [Hardcover]

Michael Rosenberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 2008

The Vietnam War . . .

Nixon . . .

Kent State . . .

The late 1960s and early 1970s were a time of total turmoil in America-the country was being torn apart by a war most people didn't support, young men were being taken away by the draft, and racial tensions were high. Nowhere was this turmoil more evident than on college campuses, the epicenters of the protest movement.

The uncertain times presented a challenge to two of the greatest football coaches of all time. Woody Hayes, the legendary archconservative coach of Ohio State, feared for the future of America. His protégé and rival, Bo Schembechler of the University of Michigan, didn't want to be bothered by these "distractions." Hayes worshipped General George S. Patton and was friends with President Richard Nixon. Schembechler befriended President Gerald Ford, a former captain and team MVP for the Wolverines.


In this enthralling book, Michael Rosenberg dramatically weaves the campus unrest and political upheaval into the story of Hayes and Schembechler. Their rivalry began with Schembechler arriving in protest-heavy Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the height of the Vietnam War. It ended with Hayes wondering what had happened to his country. War As They Knew It is a sobering and fascinating look at two iconic coaches and a different generation.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The yearly battle between Ohio State and the University of Michigan is one of the most intensely fought rivalries in college football, and one of its greatest eras began in 1969, when Bo Schembechler arrived in Michigan as the team's new head coach. Schembechler had been a former protégé of Woody Hayes, the legendary coach of Ohio State—who was so intimidating that one player used to be terrified that Hayes would kick him in the testicles during practice, despite never having seen him do it to another player. Rosenberg, a sportswriter for the Detroit Free Press, tracks how the two coaches pushed their players to greatness over the next nine years (until Hayes was fired after punching an opposing player in the middle of a game) while trying to adjust to the social upheavals of the 1970s. His attempts to bring the radical student underground into the story are an intermittent distraction—the most powerful drama is out on the football field and in the locker room when every year Schembechler and Hayes went head-to-head. The story has its strong moments, including one of history's most notorious missed field goals, but it's the dual portrait of the old-school coaching legends that's the real attraction. (Sept. 10)
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Review

'WAR AS THEY KNEW IT is a wonderfully crafted collision course of a book...By the final page, you have glimpsed deeply into the soul of both college sports and America' - MITCH ALBOM

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1St Edition edition (September 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446580139
• ISBN-13: 978-0446580137
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.4 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (333 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #662,208 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

301 of 329 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Rosenberg is a poor journalist, August 31, 2009

By 

Michael Michetti "Boknows" (FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: War As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest (Kindle Edition)

In my opinion, poor journalism at its best. The book seems contrived and he comes off to me as a blow hard who did not really understand the rivalry of two great coaches. Rosenberg and Schembechler should not be used in the same sentence.

248 of 271 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Meh...below-average at best..., August 31, 2009

By 

Alex B. Coppelman "al" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: War As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest (Paperback)

Lacks the passion that the topic demands. Mostly filled with vauge discussion from sources with questionable credibility. Clearly written from an outsiders perspective. Many better choices to learn about the UM-OSU series.

329 of 364 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bland, Trite, Uninspired, August 31, 2009

By 

SLV "College Football Fanatic" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest (Paperback)

Retread. Trite. Had high hopes this book would shed new light on a dynamic and enduring period for our country and our (Wolverine) Nation. But it merely repackages the same old. Serviceable if you want an uninspired repository of stories everyone knows, I guess.

Bottom line: there are some good to very good era-pieces about the Bo/Woody turf war. This is not one.