Rising Tide, Randy Roberts
Rising Tide, Randy Roberts
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Rising Tide
Bear Bryant, Joe Namath, and Dixie's Last Quarter

Author: Randy Roberts, Ed Krzemienski

Narrator: Alan Sklar

Unabridged: 15 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Twelve

Published: 08/20/2013


Synopsis

The extraordinary story of how Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and Joe Namath, his star quarterback at the University of Alabama, led the Crimson Tide to victory and transformed football into a truly national pastime.

During the bloodiest years of the civil rights movement, Bear Bryant and Joe Namath-two of the most iconic and controversial figures in American sports-changed the game of college football forever. Brilliantly and urgently drawn, this is the gripping account of how these two very different men-Bryant a legendary coach in the South who was facing a pair of ethics scandals that threatened his career, and Namath a cocky Northerner from a steel mill town in Pennsylvania-led the Crimson Tide to a national championship.

To Bryant and Namath, the game was everything. But no one could ignore the changes sweeping the nation between 1961 and 1965-from the Freedom Rides to the integration of colleges across the South and the assassination of President Kennedy. Against this explosive backdrop, Bryant and Namath changed the meaning of football. Their final contest together, the 1965 Orange Bowl, was the first football game broadcast nationally, in color, during prime time, signaling a new era for the sport and the nation.

Award-winning biographer Randy Roberts and sports historian Ed Krzemienski showcase the moment when two thoroughly American traditions-football and Dixie-collided. A compelling story of race and politics, honor and the will to win, Rising Tide captures a singular time in America. More than a history of college football, this is the story of the struggle and triumph of a nation in transition and the legacy of two of the greatest heroes the sport has ever seen.


About Randy Roberts

Randy Roberts is a distinguished professor of history at Purdue University. An award-winning author, he has written biographies of iconic athletes and celebrities, including Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Bear Bryant, and John Wayne. He lives in Lafayette, Indiana.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nick on July 09, 2015

torn on how to review this--it was exceptional sportswriting and even well-cited (a rarity among most non-fiction these days, let alone longform sports), the principals were richly developed, no gross failures in editing were present (at worst, a few repetitions of phrase); this was a well-executed......more

Goodreads review by David on April 29, 2015

I haven't read much about Bear Bryant. Interesting coach. Namath got away with a lot of things at Alabama. Good and concise story of Namath's time at Alabama with Bryant.......more

Goodreads review by Ashish on January 17, 2014

This is one of my favorite sports books. Randy Roberts, Ed Krzemiensk do a great job on this, in a lot of nonfiction sports books the authors just drone on and on about one game then the next then the next. This book details the the players lives and the problems facing America in those times just a......more

Goodreads review by David on November 26, 2013

Rising Tide: Bear Bryant, Joe Namath, and Dixie's Last Quarter by Randy Roberts (Twelve Publishing 2013) (796.33263)was not, to my surprise, the usual paean to "all things Bear" that is often ginned up in Alabama. The author explores the period in the early 1960's when integration came to college sp......more

Goodreads review by Lane on October 08, 2013

a very good book that uses alabama football to examine the times in the 1950 and 60's. even with all of the books etc about these times, bear bryant, joe mamath and alabama football, this is an interesting read.......more