Echoes of Notre Dame Football: Great and Memorable Moments of the Fighting Irish (with 2 audio CDs) (Hardcover)

by Joe Garner (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This retrospective on the history and allure of Notre Dame football includes two CDs of audio highlights from past games strung together by the narration of Regis Philbin, an avowed Irish supporter. The book is an unquestioned feast for ND fans, brimming with scores of photographs and ably written renditions of the team's greatest leaders and triumphs. Garner (And the Crowd Goes Wild; And the Fans Roared; etc.) spices his game reports and profiles with anecdotes and, when possible, interviews with former players and coaches. This is no definitive history it's more like a greatest hits version of Notre Dame's past, enough to keep the spines of the dewy-eyed faithful tingling. The CDs' greatest contribution is the archived audio of famous college football broadcasters like Van Patrick, Al Wester and, of course, Keith Jackson. Philbin, though, is out of place here. Surely the voice of longtime Westwood One radioman Tony Roberts, for example, would have stirred the passions of Notre Dame fans more than Philbin's dry summation of Notre Dame's 1973 national championship: "The Irish had capped a perfect season. What a way to ring in the New Year." Conversely, the production goes over the top occasionally, especially with the voice of Ronald Reagan talking about Notre Dame's magic over a military drum solo. But this is a quality production with much to offer, destined to adorn coffee tables far beyond northern Indiana. (Sept.)Forecast: It's safe to say that this will be a big seller, especially if the Irish do well this year.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review
A quality production with much to offer...destined to adorn coffee tables far beyond Northern Indiana. -- Publisher's Weekly, August 27, 2001

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks MediaFusion (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157071763X
• ISBN-13: 978-1570717635
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 10.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #523,383 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of First Rate Nostalgia, December 30, 2001

By	William Hare (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Echoes of Notre Dame Football," with its superb collection of Fighting Irish football memorabilia, hits on the high points of a storied football tradition. In additon to having a fine text with plenty of stories on the great Irish football hereoes, including a full chapter on the school's 7 Heisman Trophy winners, along with the memorable games, the book also includes CD disks with audio material involving the likes of ND super fan Regis Philbin and memorable coach Ara Parseghian.

The big games are covered in fascinating detail, making them come live again. The disks include audio portions from those great contests with announcers like Keith Jackson and Van Patrick calling play by play. Among the memorable contests covered are the 1935 classic when the Irish upended Ohio State 18-13 in the closing seconds, the famous 10-10 tie at Michigan State in 1966, and the great comeback in the 1979 Cotton Bowl, when a dehydrated Joe Montana, fortified by chicken soup, returned after the second half had already begun, leading the previously overwhelmed Irish from a 34-7 deficit against Houston to win 35-34 as the clock expired, giving football fans a preview of what to expect from the great quarterback when he joined the Forty-Niners in the NFL.

Having formerly lived in Los Angeles, I was fortunate to see many of Notre Dame's class games at the Coliseum against arch-rival USC. This book has a chapter which covers that famous series, which began in Los Angeles in 1926,in comprehensive and exciting detail.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Lesson in Irish History, September 16, 2001

By A Customer

This is the fourth book written by Mr. Garner that I have read. The first three were awesome and this book comes close to matching the standard set by them. For the most part this is a very enjoyable book: an easy-reading text detailing legendary moments in Irish football history, accompanied by tons of great pictures. The CDs are a bonus, but there is too much Regis and not enough actual game audio. My only other complaint regards the choice of what was included (or excluded) from this project. Can anyone really believe that the '92 Sugar Bowl (Cheerios Bowl) or the '92 Penn St. game are more defining moments in ND football lore than the '46 Army game (the most famous 0-0 tie in college football history and included 4 Heisman trophy winners in the lineups) or the '87 Michigan State game, featuring Tim Brown's back-to-back punt returns for TD's (I still get chills listening to this) and the fastest score in NCAA history (ND awarded a safety on the opening kick-off), or even the '75 Orange Bowl win over 'Bama in Ara's last game? And as for including "Rudy", well, the movie should have been enough, OK?

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Legends of College Football, November 28, 2001

By A Customer

I confess...I'm a woman who loves football. Not to mention an Irish-Catholic. So when a football-fanatic friend of mine told me about Echoes of Notre Dame Football, I had to check it out. I read it, I listened to the CDs, and I have to say--this book has it all! Lots of stats for the serious football fan, tons of incredible photographs spanning over 100 years and compelling stories of football legends that will keep you up late into the night reading "just one more" chapter. And the CDs are great! Going back in time and hearing the broadcasters' excitement as Notre Dame football history unfurled on the field before them actually gave me goosebumps. I will admit that it was hard at first to listen to Regis without picturing him on the set of "Millionaire", which was distracting. More of the original play-by-play broadcasts would have been a plus. But any fan of the noble tradition of college football will enjoy this book.