Huddle Up for Some Must-Read Books About Football 

Phil Steele is the guy to turn to for college football, making his College Football Preview a highly anticipated magazine for fans. Available both online and in our Newsstands nationwide, this magazine is the authority on college football, and it is the ultimate fan’s guide to prepare you for the upcoming season. We’re setting the play in motion, so make sure you take advantage of our handoff and buy your copy before it sells out — we wouldn’t want a fumble on our hands.  

Jason Reid’s “Welcome to the Year of the Black Quarterback” kicked off the series of articles on ESPN’s The Undefeated website (now Andscape), and its exploration of the emergence of Black quarterbacks in the NFL inspired The Rise of the Black Quarterback: What It Means for America. While the articles culminated in a television program in February 2020 — hosted by Reid — his new book gives fans an intimate look at the careers of beloved NFL players. 

Path Lit by Lightning is a bittersweet biography that removes Jim Thorpe from the myth created around him and instead presents a nuanced portrait of a talented athlete and his legacy. Thorpe, a highly-decorated athlete who excelled at every sport — winning gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics, an All-American football player, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s first class and played major league baseball for the New York Giants—yet for every success, he encountered roadblocks.  Pulitzer Prize winning author David Maraniss, known for When Pride Still Mattered, tackles another sports legend in all his complexity. 

We couldn’t talk about football without including Buzz Bissinger’s now classic Friday Night Lights on our list. This book inspired the tv show and film of the same title, and it follows one Texan community as it lives and breathes high school football. Following the team throughout the course of an entire season, this book depicts the effects of the town’s undivided devotion to the community and the players wearing the uniform.   

After diving into its past, Playmakers: How the NFL Really Works (And Doesn’t) will help fans discover more about how the league functions. This book talks about the NFL’s constant scandals that occur throughout each season and why revenue and viewership keep rising anyways. Looking at how this trend keeps happening with new insights, reporting on the scandals and answering the questions many people have, it is a must-have for any NFL fan.   

For decades, Michael Zagaris has been a critically acclaimed sports photojournalist for the NFL, and now he reveals his unparalleled access to teams in the sport. From locker rooms to training camps, he captures the wide range of emotions the teams feel throughout their seasons. With text from Steve Cassady, celebrated Hall of Famers and sociologist Dr. Harry Edwards, discover the sport like you never have before.  

A profound story about talented football players in the Marine Corps, The Mosquito Bowl takes a closer look at the bloodiest battle of World War II through the lens of one football game. When the 4^th and 29^th regiments start trash talking each other over who had the better team, they challenge each other to a game that leaves them bloodied and bruised — and the loss of innocence that these talented college athletes would experience at Okinawa. Full of courage and sacrifice, this is a narrative that will resonate with readers and shine a new light on one of America’s most beloved sports.   

A powerful narrative of self-discovery and overcoming adversity, The Yards Between Us is a memoir by R.K. Russell, the first ever active NFL player who is also publicly bisexual. This is a story of identity and courage as an athlete, that traces the ups and downs of one man’s life both on and off the field — and why he decided the story needed to change. 

Now in paperback, an incredible true story of resilience and the integrity in the face of injustice, The Eagles of Heart Mountain is the story of an underdog football team made up of young Japanese American men incarcerated at the Heart Mountain camp in Cody, Wyoming during WWII.