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The Ones Who Hit The Hardest: The Steelers, The Cowboys, The '70s, And The Fight For America's Soul (2010)

by Chad Millman(Favorite Author)

3.84 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1592405762 (ISBN13: 9781592405763)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Gotham

review 1: A great idea and concept that falls short a little bit. It was nice to get some background history on the steel industry, the Steelers, the Cowboys, and Dallas in general. However, it felt like there was a general lack of historical evidence that would have given the book more meat. I am always a fan of the Cowboys serving as villains, but I felt that the authors told some pretty sympathetic stories for the Cowboys' case that did not deliver the villain status they had promised. I also hoped that there would have been more discussion on the steel industry and the stories of those men. Instead, the longer chapters dealt with football. Nevertheless, an interesting read...one that all Steeler fans will enjoy.
review 2: It's the story of the blue collar Steel... moreers of the 1970s against the white collar Dallas Cowboys and probably my favorite book of the year for that reason alone. This book does a lot to explain the rise of the NFL in popularity from its humble beginnings, the way it played to television, the AFL/NFL rivalry and merger, and how the games identified with the cities while the people identified with the teams. At the same time, it touches on the steel industry in Pittsburgh and the ongoing labor issues as workers achieved higher standards of living, could afford televisions to watch the Steelers just as they were starting to finally become good, and connected with the tough as nails team. Even the most ardent Steeler hater would have to like and respect the Rooneys after the stories in this book, and even the biggest Cowboys hater would have to respect a lot of the players and how they changed the game as well. While I'm interested in labor issues and the history of Pittsburgh, the story of the steel workers never fully developed to tie into the Steelers and this book really could have used some epilogue to connect the city and the team better than just the people having something to root for despite the job losses. Also, it could have done more to talk about the Cowboys in the end, who became a bit of an afterthought until the final Super Bowl rematch. Still, a great read and I definitely recommend it for any football fan. less

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