Michigan Football Books
I've been looking for some new books to read, and the recent Jon Falk post got me thinking. I've read the more recent Michigan football books, If These Walls Could Talk, I Wore 21, Three and Out. I figured if there was anywhere that could point out a few more good UM books, it was you guys. Any advice?
February 27th, 2014 at 8:49 PM ^
February 28th, 2014 at 11:07 AM ^
I re-read it every two or three years as a refresher. Co-written by John U., this book is Bo Schembechler from cover to cover. Recommended reading for any Michigan Man!
February 27th, 2014 at 8:50 PM ^
February 27th, 2014 at 8:51 PM ^
Do the trifecta of Joe Falls-Bo Schembechler: Man in Motion, Mitch Albom and Bo-Bo, and Bo/John Bacon-Bo's Lasting Lessons.
I'm also a big fan of Tom Hemmingway's Live Among the Wolverines, as well as Canham's memoir.
February 27th, 2014 at 8:57 PM ^
- Natural Enemies: Michigan vs ND
- Tales From Michigan Stadium Vol. 1 & 2 by Jim Brandstatter
- What It Means To Be A Wolverine
- Michigan Football Vault- it's a large book that comes in a box with reprinted inserts such as ticket stubs, scoring sheets from a 19th century game and much more. Got it when I was 12 and it was one of the books that inspired me to make my Michigan Football SuperGuide. I started it when I was 12 and finished it this past summer at 18.
- Michigan Football: Yesterday and Today
- From The Inside by Don Canham (as mentioned above)
Some great non-football Michigan books
- Mitch Albom's "The Fab Five"
- Blue Ice: The Story of Michigan Hockey by John U. Bacon
- Baseball at the University of Michigan. I really love this one because it's really one of the only sources out there for old stories and history of Michigan Baseball not in the recordbooks.
February 27th, 2014 at 9:17 PM ^
February 28th, 2014 at 12:50 PM ^
Albom's The Fab Five is one of my favorites. Written long before the Webber/Martin allegations came out, it obviously focuses only on the players/team/culture of Michigan basketball at the time. A great read which I would highly recommend to any fan.
February 27th, 2014 at 9:00 PM ^
Also, if anyone can suggest a book to me that consists of stories from past players, I'd love it. I absolutely love the stories of Bo and what went on in practices.
In Bo's Lasting Lessons, the story about him meeting Dierdorf again at Michigan after Dierdorf skipped out the back door from a recruiting visit in 1967 with Bo at Miami is HILARIOUS.
Bo grabs him by the gut and says, "You're fat, you're mine, and I never forget!"
February 27th, 2014 at 11:34 PM ^
What It Means To Be A Wolverine is filled with player stories, by decade. There are too many to list, this is a link to the Amazon Reader, you can view the Table of Contents.
February 28th, 2014 at 11:09 AM ^
Dierdorf owned it... What a great story!
February 27th, 2014 at 9:03 PM ^
February 27th, 2014 at 9:09 PM ^
February 27th, 2014 at 9:20 PM ^
But read the reviews on Amazon. LOL
February 27th, 2014 at 9:15 PM ^
February 27th, 2014 at 9:53 PM ^
February 27th, 2014 at 10:30 PM ^
The best book I've EVER read having to do with Michigan Football was "Three and Out", it was about Rich Rods three years here at Michigan and basically how the program started to crumble. John U. Bacon got all-access during those three years so it was actually really insighting and I read things I never knew even took place during his time there.
February 27th, 2014 at 11:24 PM ^
that I haven't read cover to cover.
I haven't seen "Tradition" By Bo Schembechler with Dan Ewald mentioned. The forward is by Gerald R,. Ford, it includes a lot of pictures and the Michigan Memories DVD.
I didn't see this one, either.
The Big House - Fielding H. Yost and the Building of Michigan Stadium, by Robert Soderstrom.
February 27th, 2014 at 11:30 PM ^
The 100-Yard War: Inside the 100-Year-Old Michigan-Ohio State Rivalry (Greg Emmanuel). It was actually required reading for an introductory sports class during my time at Michigan. Quick read, entertaining enough.
February 27th, 2014 at 11:41 PM ^
Go Blue! Michigan's Greatest Football Stories by Steve Kornacki was a very fun read. After this season, it was the perfect boost to the spirit because it focuses on the positives. It is also very recent.
98-21-2 The Story of the Heisman and the Michigan Man by Martin John Gallagher was interesting too. It talks about not only the guys who won but the guys who finished in the top ten of voting.
100 Yard War is also great if you like something different and gives a historical aspect to Michigan-OSU. It goes into the Toledo War, gives descriptions and explanations for our fanbases and has some very entertaining stories to tell.
February 28th, 2014 at 12:33 AM ^
February 28th, 2014 at 8:58 AM ^
But definitely seconding The Big House, Bo's Lasting Lessons, and especially From The Inside, which is Canham's memoir.
Natural Rivals is great and it is my understanding that John Kyrk is currently working on a book on the Yost/Stagg rivalry, which pretty much defined college football in the early 1900s.
February 28th, 2014 at 11:28 AM ^
"Passing Game" by Murray Greenberg. It's about Benny Friedman. He pioneered the forward pass and was one of Yost's players. We always talk about our history and tradition at Michigan but too many people don't know who this great player is. Time to change that.
February 28th, 2014 at 11:52 AM ^
I was just going to post the same thing. Not only is it an insight into Michigan football in the 20s, but it highlights perhaps the best qb in Michigan history and a qb who tends to get short shrift on this board.
February 28th, 2014 at 12:22 PM ^
Blue Ice by John U Bacon - The definitive history of the Michigan Hockey program.
Natural Enemies by John Kryk - History of the rivalry between Michgan and Notre Dame
and the last one isn't a Michigan book per se, but it's a nice jab at ND...
Under the Tarnished Dome by Don Yaeger - Uncovers the seedier side of Lou Holtz's tenure as Irish head coach.