Everybody's All-American

by Frank Deford

Book Overview

Gavin Grey is everyone's All-American. A star running back at the University of North Carolina in the late 1950s, he graces the covers of Time and LIFE magazines and appears on the "Ed Sullivan Show." Everyone wants a piece of him or to be around him to bask in his glory, including his nephew Donny, who narrates the story and is Gavin's only real confidant.After college, Gavin goes on to the NFL where he has a solid career. As his playing...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0306813750
• ISBN13: 9780306813757
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 366 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A study of the superstar athlete

If you read this book, you'll better understand why athletes are revered in our culture. You'll better understand why some hang on to their careers well past their prime, and why some can never accomplish anything that matches their on-field glory.The book's funny, too, as well as touching and poignant. It's a really good read. One of my favorites--and one I think of every time I see an athlete that can't leave the game.

The best novel ever written about college football.

This is a novel that I read every other year or so just before the start of the college football season. It is a story of a mythical player at North Carolina in the late 50's that is "everybody's all-american" and the impact that the game has on his life as well as those around him. It is written with wit and style from the perspective of a character that is our hero's adoring nephew. There are some great comparisons drawn between our hero and another young hero of an earlier time, J.E.B. Stewart, and the impact that their greatness had on their lives. The author also shows a social conscience in his treatment of the subject of race relations in the 50's American South. Deford is a superb writer and if you love college football this is a must read.