Not Halberstam's Best | The Education of a Coach

Written By A Fan Of The Belechicks, But Still Informative & Enjoyable | The Education of a Coach | David Halberstam

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	• The Education of a Coach David Halberstam Hyperion, 2005 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 57 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Great Insight into a Very Private Man

I read this book several years ago, and reread it recently after reflecting on the "Spygate" drama of the past year. I found the book very insightful the second time around. David Halberstam was an incrediably gifted writer who was able to truly get into the mind of his subjects, and this book is a great example of that. He starts by offering insights into Belichick the boy, and how his formative years, watching his father working for Navy, helped mold the man who heads the New England Patriots today. It offers interesting insights into Belichick's mindset when he participates in his always vague press conferences, his secretive manner, and why he is both respect and hated by his players and his peers. Fascinating read.

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Not Halberstam's Best

Halberstam set a very high standard for himself -- in his sports books as well as in his political books. The "Summer of 1949", for instance, was particularly well researched and written.

This book lacks the depth of "1949." There is little digging into player reactions. Instead of demonstrating character through anecdotes and understatement, Halberstam keeps hitting us over the head with his point about how great Belichick is about "breaking down film" & etc. What in the heck does that really mean? There is very little detail here.

Of course, Halberstam's worst effort would count as someone else's best work. Halberstam is at his best in describing the Parcells/Belichick relationship; the character of the great Giants' teams; any why Brady was the superior quarterback to Bledsoe. Belichick's coaching genius does come through in the description of his approach to all the super bowls. And Belechick's notion of team, building interchangeable parts, and working with the salary cap are explained quite well.

On the whole, though, we are continually told how great Belichick is without really giving much insight into his soul as a man or even as a coach.

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Written By A Fan Of The Belechicks, But Still Informative & Enjoyable

To many pro football fans, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belechick isn't a popular man, but I've always - despite "Spygate" - thought he was a great coach. After reading this book, I'm further convinced. I also understand his personality better, too - why is why who he is, a man with not much personality.

The story of his dad Steve is just as interesting as Bill's football career. How father-and-son are so alike and so knowledgable about this game, is explained well by the book's author David Halberstam. Yes, that's the famous Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

To be honest, Halberstam is definitely biased for Belechick. You have no problem seeing how much regard he has for both he and his father, so this is not as objective as it could be. In Halberstam's eye, the Belechicks can do no wrong. The parts about Steve, I thought, were the most interesting segments of the book, along with the comments about what happened in Clcveland when Bill coached the Browns.

Despite the fanboy attitude, overall, I thought it was a good portrait of a unique man. This is not your run-of-the-mill coach; he's different, and the book will explain why. As a "character study," alone, I found it a pretty entertaining book.

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Good book but a little boring

I'm not sure what the book's intention was, but be prepared to read more about life events instead of football related events. I read this after the Tony Dungy book, and I would recommend that over this book.

Bill Belichick+s thirty-one years in the NFL have been marked by amazing success-most recently, his wins in two of the last three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots. In this groundbreaking new book, David Halberstam explores the nuances of both the game and the man behind it. He uncovers what makes Bill Belichick tick both on and off the field, as a coach, a father, and a son. -I+ve been fascinated by Bill Belichick for more than twenty years, going back to the time when he was a young coach in his early thirties working with the linebackers on the Giants,+ Halberstam writes. -There was, I thought, a certain signature to a Belichick game+I was fascinated by that, and by the fact that he seemed so uncoachlike, or perhaps the prototype for a very different kind of modern coach in what is an increasingly complicated game+.+

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