They were America's Team -- the high-priced, high-glamour, high-flying Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s, who won three Super Bowls and made as many headlines off the field as on it. Led by Emmitt Smith, the charismatic Deion "Prime Time" Sanders, and Hall of Famers Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin, the Cowboys rank among the greatest of all NFL dynasties.
In similar fashion to his New York Times bestseller The Bad Guys Won!, about the 1986 New York Mets, in Boys Will Be Boys, award-winning writer Jeff Pearlman chronicles the outrageous antics and dazzling talent of a team fueled by ego, sex, drugs -- and unrivaled greatness. Rising from the ashes of a 1-15 season in 1989 to capture three Super Bowl trophies in four years, the Dallas Cowboys were guided by a swashbuckling, skirt-chasing, power-hungry owner, Jerry Jones, and his two eccentric, hard-living coaches, Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Together the three built a juggernaut that America loved and loathed.
But for a team that was so dominant on Sundays, the Cowboys were often a dysfunctional circus the rest of the week. Irvin, nicknamed "The Playmaker," battled dual addictions to drugs and women. Charles Haley, the defensive colossus, presided over the team's infamous "White House," where the parties lasted late into the night and a steady stream of long-legged groupies came and went. And then there were Smith and Sanders, whose Texas-sized egos were eclipsed only by their record-breaking on-field perfomances.
With an unforgettable cast of characters and a narrative as hard-hitting and fast-paced as the team itself, Boys Will Be Boys immortalizes the most beloved -- and despised --dynasty in NFL history.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Very choppy, felt like I was reading a tabloid more then a book.:
Book felt very choppy...not a good flow and nothing of great substance. It's an entertaining read if you don't like the Cowboys (I'm an Eagles' fan...I know, it's sad). So, I would just stick with Jeff's articles on ESPN. They are more concise and hard hitting.
Not quite a Super Bowl caliber effort:
This is a pretty entertaining book, but throughout reading it I kept feeling like it could have been better. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but I think fundamentally the book just lacks a certain storytelling quality. It dumps a lot of sensational story lines and episodes on the reader, but it failed to make me feel like I was being told the stories in a high quality manner. Frankly, without the bizarre Charles Haley stories, I doubt this book would get much attention at all. I heard about it on... more info
Funny enough:
Did you know that the alternate title to this piece was "How to do Coke and Act Normal"? I know, pretty cool huh? I liked the book so much that I set it on fire and prayed to the great Nate Newton's a$$. Dolla dolla tip!
Must for any football fan:
Jeff Pearlman, author of a terrific Barry Bonds biography and a book about the 1986 Mets, does a great job of profiling the 1990s Dallas Cowboys. Even if(like me) you hate the Cowboys you should read the book. The characters are far more interesting than in any work of fiction, from the extremely promiscuous Michael Irvin to the square Troy Aikman to heartless but effective coach Jimmy Johnson. This is the best sports book of 2008.
