The All Americans
From the Football Field to the Battlefield
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
On November 29, 1941, Army played Navy in front of 100,000 fans. Eight days later, the Japanese attacked and the young men who battled each other in that historic game were forced to fight a very different enemy. Author Lars Anderson follows four players-two from Annapolis and two from West Point-in this epic true story, The All Americans.
Bill Busik: Growing up in Pasadena, California, Busik was best friends with a young black man named Jackie, who in 1947 would make Major League Baseball history. Busik would have a spectacular sports career himself at the Naval Academy, earning All-American honors as a tailback in 1941. He was serving aboard the U.S.S. Shaw when it was attacked by Japanese dive-bombers in 1943.
Hal Kauffman: Together, Busik and Kauffman rode a train across the nation to Annapolis to enroll in the Naval Academy. A backup tailback at Navy, Kauffman would go on to serve aboard the U.S.S. Meredith, which was sunk in 1942. For five days Kauffman struggled to stay alive on a raft, fighting off hallucinations, dehydration, and-most terrifying of all-sharks. Dozens of his crewmates lost their minds; others were eaten by sharks. All the while Kauffman wondered if he'd ever see his friend and teammate again.
Henry Romanek: Because he had relatives in Poland, Romanek heard firsthand accounts in 1939 of German aggression. Wanting to become an officer, Romanek attended West Point and played tackle for the Cadets. He spent months preparing for the D-day invasion and on June 6, 1944 - the day he would have graduated from West Point had his course load not been cut from four years to three-Romanek rode in a landing craft to storm Omaha Beach. In the first wave to hit the beach he would also become one of the first to take a bullet.
Robin Olds: The son of a famous World War I fighter pilot, Olds decided to follow in his father's footsteps. At West Point he became best friends with Romanek and the two played side-by-side on Army's line. In 1942, a sportswriter Grantland Rice named Olds to his All-American team. Two years later Olds spent D-day flying a P-38 over Omaha Beach, anxiously scanning the battlefield for Romanek, hoping his friend would survive the slaughter.
The tale of these four men is woven into a dramatic narrative of football and war that's unlike any other. Through extensive research and interviews with dozens of World War II veterans, Anderson has written one of the most compelling and original true stories in all of World War II literature. From fierce fighting, heroic rescues, tragic death, and awe-inspiring victory, all four men's suspenseful journeys are told in graphic detail. Along the way, Anderson brings World War II to life in a way that has never been done before.
Includes sixteen pages of black-and-white photographs.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
War and football are often used as metaphors for each other, and there is a rich legacy of connections between the gridiron and the battlefield in American history. Taking this legacy as his starting point, Sports Illustrated journalist Anderson uses the 1941 Army vs. Navy game as the anchor for a number of stories: of four American servicemen, of Annapolis and West Point, of the early history of college football and of America's armed forces during the 1930s and '40s. Not surprisingly, the soldiers' experiences during WWII are gripping, but the book is more than just a chronicle of the war's events. Readers will be inspired by the sacrifices boys made just for the chance to attend America's premier military academies, the difficulties that faced them once they arrived and the glory that attended success on and off the playing field. Most football fans will be amazed at the oddities of how the game was once played; Anderson's meticulous recreations of famous matchups illustrate the importance of the quick kick (punting), the common practice of using the same squad for both offense and defense (and often for extended periods of time), and the central role of the tailback, who got the ball most often and could run, pass or punt on any down at his discretion--"the quarterback," Anderson points out, "rarely touched the ball." And the muddy, blood- and sweat-soaked game-day heroics take readers back to a time of "real" football: leather helmets, broken noses and screaming fans pulling down goalposts after a win. Although the multiple narrative threads can at times make it difficult for the reader to settle in to any one story, on the whole, the book is an engaging tribute to the soldier-athletes of WWII.
Customer Reviews
The All Americans by Lars Anderson
I was listening to an interview with Mr. Anderson on a Bham, AL sports talk station in early June '13 and his book was mentioned. It sounded like an interesting story, so I thought I would give it a try. An absolutely wonderful read. Great stories, great men/characters and a very exciting book. I enjoyed The All Americans as much as I've enjoyed any WW II book. Thank you Lars Anderson for detailing the history of some classic Army-Navy games, but more importantly, some inspiring stories from some of our countries heroes. Thank you servicemen and thank you Lars. Excellent book that I would recommend for everyone.
Excellent!
Great book, Lars weaves football stories and war stories from some American heroes. I recommend this book