Friday Night Lights Mass Market TV Tie-in
by H. G. Bissinger
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Book Summary Information
Author: H. G. BissingerEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-08-21
ISBN: 030681529X
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780306815294
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Friday Night Lights Mass Market TV Tie-in
Book Review: Inspiration For All
Summary: 5 Stars
Friday Night Lights is NOT just a sports story. It is something more---it details the true story of a small Texas town...the story of a dream. The town of Odessa is situated in the west part of Texas. It does not have a big-city feel nor does it have a large population. The author, H.G. Bissinger, moved from his hometown of Philadelphia to Odessa, in hope of chronicling the football team. While living in Odessa, Bissinger took on the story of the 1988 Permian High School football team. He brilliantly spent almost the entire season with the team, gathering real-life information from coaches, players and family members, all of whom he eventually used in his novel.
The Permian Panthers are known for their football team, which is one of the best in the state. The year Bissinger followed the team was the year that Permian, lead by Coach Gary Gaines, was expected to win the Texas state football championship. The team goes through a rough journey, battling numerous problems originating from within the core of the team. One of the great things to keep in mind while reading this book is the fact that it is based on a true story. The coaches, players and family members are all real people, which makes the book that much more touching.
The ending of the book tells gives a deeper interpretation of the team, which is actually a microcosm of Odessa itself. The town is so wrapped up around its football team, and these players are looked upon only for their football abilities, and not really anything more. Many of these young kids do not realize the harsh realities behind their world. Football, for them, is life. Bissinger does a great job at capturing this fact. One thing that Bissinger brings up in this book is the lack of academic standing that these players have. For these players, football was all that mattered, but unfortunately, only one player went on to play college football. This is something for high school athletes to keep in mind. Because the football team is so important to the town, we see Coach Gaines simply taking their names off the board, as if they are worth nothing more than merely football players. This is a downside of the town, which Bissinger captures incredibly. One possible weakness of the book for some people would be the fact that Bissinger spends a lot of time describing the events in the town and how people view the football team, rather than actually describing the events of the games themselves. On a positive note, Bissinger not only allows us to see into the eyes of these players, but also digs deep into the ethos of the town, which incorporates some heavy racism. This aspect of racism can be seen in the Dallas Carter game, where Permian, a predominantly white school, plays Carter, which is a mainly black school.
One of the greatest things about this book is its inspirational qualities. You do not have to be a football player, or even a sports player, to get something positive out of this book. This book is about pride, not only of a football team, but that of an entire town, a community of closely-knit individuals focused on a single goal---winning the state championship. Regardless of what your goals are in life, this book is sure to inspire, showing that perfection is not all about winning.
Summary of Friday Night Lights Mass Market TV Tie-in
Return once again to the enduring account of life in the Mojo lane, to the Permian Panthers of Odessa -- the winningest high school football team in Texas history. Odessa is not known to be a town big on dreams, but the Panthers help keep the hopes and dreams of this small, dusty town going. Socially and racially divided, its fragile economy follows the treacherous boom-bust path of the oil business. In bad times, the unemployment rate barrels out of control; in good times, its murder rate skyrockets. But every Friday night from September to December, when the Permian High School Panthers play football, this West Texas town becomes a place where dreams can come true. With frankness and compassion, Bissinger chronicles one of the Panthers' dramatic seasons and shows how single-minded devotion to the team shapes the community and inspires-and sometimes shatters-the teenagers who wear the Panthers' uniforms. Includes Reader's Group Guide inside. Now a an NBC TV weekly drama series.
Secular religions are fascinating in the devotion and zealousness they breed, and in Texas, high school football has its own rabid hold over the faithful. H.G. Bissinger, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, enters into the spirit of one of its most fervent shrines: Odessa, a city in decline in the desert of West Texas, where the Permian High School Panthers have managed to compile the winningest record in state annals. Indeed, as this breathtaking examination of the town, the team, its coaches, and its young players chronicles, the team, for better and for worse, is the town; the communal health and self-image of the latter is directly linked to the on-field success of the former. The 1988 season, the one Friday Night Lights recounts, was not one of the Panthers' best. The game's effect on the community--and the players--was explosive. Written with great style and passion, Friday Night Lights offers an American snapshot in deep focus; the picture is not always pretty, but the image is hard to forget.
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