A War in Dixie: Alabama V. Auburn [Hardcover]

Ivan Maisel (Author), Kelly Whiteside (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 18, 2001

Each year, on a Saturday in November, emotions run high as the entire state of Alabama comes to a halt. Stores close. Bars open. Families, friends, and couples who on any other day of the year are civil to one another become enemies. Young men strap on their equipment to partake in the annual frenzy that they will not experience again in their lives, whether or not they go on to play professionally. And a victory gives them and their fans bragging rights for a year. Short of a national championship, to win the state's own Super Bowl -- ultimately dubbed the Iron Bowl -- may well be their greatest accomplishment. Above all, the very future of the football programs themselves hinge on which team wins.With remarkable access to both schools, A War in Dixie reveals the passions and the pressures that have made the Alabama Crimson Tide-Auburn Tigers rivalry the most feverish in the nation. Both head coaches -- Tom Tuberville and Mike DuBose, in his last game at Alabama's helm -- open their doors to meetings, practices, film study, team meals, and every other activity as they prepare for the Iron Bowl. From the coaches' first meeting at seven A.M. to lights out, hour by hour, day by day, we see what the athletes and staffs endure in order to win.

Looming over the proceedings are the long shadows of history: Paul "Bear" Bryant, whose Crimson Tide dominated the Tigers during his reign by winning nineteen of twenty-five contests, and Ralph "Shug" Jordan, who went head to head against the Bear for almost his entire career. And then there are the games: Ken Stabler's 47-yard touchdown run through mud in a driving rainstorm for a 7-3 victory, Van Tiffin's 52-yard field goal as time expired, and David Langner's two blocked punt returns for touchdowns that led to Auburn's shocking upset in what became known as the "Punt, Bama, Punt" game.

Featuring a foreword by Ken Stabler, a former Crimson Tide All-American, A War in Dixie is hard-hitting proof of a hit of local wisdom: This isn't life or death, it's more important: it's Alabama-Auburn football!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 110-year-old football rivalry between the state university and the land grant college exerts a powerful gravitational pull on Alabama's deep-seated football culture, requiring most state residents to choose sides at birth (as "Tide" or tiger fans) and to demonstrate their loyalty every November. The rivalry these two Sports Illustrated writers describe outdoes other cross-state competition like the one in Michigan, overflowing the common-sense limits of even Southern fandom. As the two Alabama powers drift toward each other in their Southeast Conference orbits, Maisel and Whiteside recount the seven-day countdown to Iron Bowl 2000 from deep inside the coaching offices Maisel in Tuscaloosa, Whiteside in Birmingham. Though recent Iron Bowls have been newsworthy football, this runup to last year's ground-out Auburn victory isn't as dramatic as Maisel and Whiteside want it to be. Apparently their credentials from SI (Whiteside has gone on to USA Today's football page) gave them complete access, but Maisel, especially, might have done better in the company of a native guide who could provide some color commentary. Even the short intro by Ken Stabler seems like an admission that the secret Southern football society remains impenetrable to the authors. Presenting players' bland gridiron sentiment, training table details and family trivia is no substitute for reporting or sports writing: the game itself is described in nine pages, and by that point its significance in the tradition of Alabama football is awash in background. For local fans only. B&w photos not seen by PW.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Among the great college football rivalries--Army versus Navy, USC versus UCLA, Michigan versus Ohio State--Alabama versus Auburn stands out as perhaps the most intense. This in-depth look at the series, called the Iron Bowl, focuses on the week before the 2000 game, with Maisel, a senior writer at Sports Illustrated, covering Alabama, and Whiteside, college football reporter for USA Today, taking Auburn. They present the game from the perspective of coaches, players, team managers, and fans; along with a detailed look at pregame preparation, the writers fold in anecdote-rich accounts of previous games and great moments throughout the series. With virtually unlimited access provided by the teams' coaches, the authors are able to dig far beneath the surface. The result is the history of a rivalry; an account of one game in that rivalry; and a fascinating analysis of the far-reaching effect the games have had on the participants. An entertaining, informative peek inside an athletic maelstrom. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1 edition (September 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060198001
• ISBN-13: 978-0060198008
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #667,006 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Only Auburn fans need apply..., July 1, 2004

By 

Jeff W Traylor (Baton Rouge, LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A War in Dixie: Alabama v. Auburn (Paperback)

Rather than covering the history of the Iron Bowl, this book deals exclusively with the 2000 Alabama/ Auburn game. The story is interesting given that Mike Dubose, the Alabama coach, was going to be fired at the end of the season and knew it going into the game. But the gloom surrounding the Alabama program, coaches and players puts a damper on the game and subsequently the book. Turning the pages, I almost felt that I was "going thru the motions" trying to get to the end the book just as Alabama was "going thru the motions" trying to get to the end of the season. I am sure Auburn fans will really enjoy the book while the Crimson Tide faithful will probably want to avoid reliving the awful 2000 season. For the average college football fan, there are probably a number of books you could turn to before looking here.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Inside Look, November 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A War in Dixie: Alabama V. Auburn (Hardcover)

What a great idea-- go inside both teams as they prepare for the greatest college football rivilary in the nation-- Auburn v. Alabama (or Alabama v. Auburn, whichever you prefer). It offers great insight of the workings of the coaching staffs as they get ready for the big game.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars disappointing, April 26, 2004

By 

SEC Fan (Baton Rouge, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A War in Dixie: Alabama v. Auburn (Paperback)

Didn't learn anything I didn't already know. Try "A Tailgater's Guide To SEC Football" for a great look at the nation's toughest football conference. This is probably just for die-hard Bama or Auburn fans.