ice man said:
Not too much about last season, really. It's a great look at how he developed into the coach that he is, particularly the influence of his dad. His dad was a longtime college assistant and spent almost 30 years at Navy. When I was stationed at Navy, I used to hear folks talk about Steve Belichick and people made a big deal about him showing up on campus. I thought it was only because he was Bill's dad, but he had quite a career of his own.
This is not a Rick Pitino or Lou Holtz "let me tell you what you need to do to be successful" kind of thing. It's almost like a case study--this is how Belichick did what he did and how he got to where he is. Unbelievable work ethic kind of stuff.
Despite the exchange that Pat Patriot and I had earlier about the author, David Halberstam is one of the best writers of our generation. He's written some great books. His sports books are excellent, too ("Summer of '49", "Teammates")
I also picked up John Feinstein's book. I forget the name of it, but it's a year spent behind the scenes with the Baltimore Ravens. So far, so good but it's a slow read. I remember Feinstein from my Navy days as well and he seems to be a good guy. His book ("Season on the Brink") where he spent a year with Bobby Knight at Indiana is a must read as well. I'll let you know how that turns out.
ice man said:
I didn't like Pitino's second book, but "Success is a Choice" is excellent. I give a copy to every manager that comes to work for me and it is the only book on tape that I have in my car. It is very good, but the book on Belichick (and not BY Belichick) is a different sort of read. You gotta give it up to a guy who was willing to work for the Colts for free and sleep on a cot in Ted Marchibroda's motel room to get a start in coaching.
I'd be curious as to what you--or any other posters--think.
