Nobody's Hero

by Paul Hemphill

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1579660290
• ISBN13: 9781579660291
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: River City Publishing
• Length: 330 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

Better Than Long Gone

Hemphill's hilarious Long Gone was made into a movie, but Nobody's Hero is better. A former award-winning sports writer and a southerner, Hemphill's description of the relationship that develops between a down-and-out ex-jock from AL and a young African American athlete is beyond believable. You KNOW these guys and pull for them. And, their story is seasoned by the insertion of two salty female characters who are completely captivating. The reader can't help wondering what happens to these characters next so, Paul, how 'bout a sequel?

Nobody's Hero

Paul Hemphill is one of a very, very few writers who can craft a a realistic novel meshing Southern racial transition into a delightful sports story. His success is no doubt because Hemphill knows the South. He has made a career writing about the South's best and worst of times. Moreover, he has an uncanny grasp of the emotions of human beings. And as a former athlete and sports writer, he knows how to describe sports so you feel the sweat of the locker room and the giddy excitement under the lights. Nobody's Hero in this case is Billy Ray Hunsinger, a big winner on the field in college and the Pros, who becomes a failure in his middle age---until he gets a chance to redeem himself coaching the offense for an all-black inner city team led a flashy quarterback with all the developing skills of a young Billy Ray. This may be Hemphill's warmest, most humorous book yet. It has to score as one of the most entertaining sports novels of recent years.

FUHBAW BABY!

Another great one by Hemphill!"Nobody's Hero" weaves a excellent tale about life's second stringers, who came together by building a kinship through their tribulations. Like all families, this one has its moments of honesty, pain, joy and redemption. Their victories on and off the grid iron will easily resonate with your own.Truly a wonderful work!

Don't overlook this terrific novel

For many years, Paul Hemphill has chronicled what, for lack of a better term, might be called "redneck culture." He's written in his books about country music, minor league baseball, NASCAR racing, politics, the Southern countryside, SEC football, and so forth with wit, grace, and stunning insight -- all delivered in a memorable style. Lately, Hemphill has turned his attention to the issues of race, with recent titles about the historic racial tensions in Birmingham and about the more recent burning of an African-American church in the Deep South. Now he's using his considerable talents as a novelist to deal with the issues race in his adopted hometown, Atlanta. Nobody's Hero is the story of a former college football star, Billy Ray Hunsinger, who winds up in middle age with whiskey and woman problems and burdened by racist attitudes he never got around to questioning. Burned out and at the end of his rope, Billy Ray abandons his suburban retreat and returns to the inner city Atlanta where he grew up. It's a different place now, one that's predominantly African-American, and Billy Ray has a lot to learn. Acting as Jim to Billy Ray's Huck is a young, gifted African American athlete, Mavis Jackson. It's an amazing story of growth and redemption. And a hell of a lot of fun to read, too.

It's A Touchdown!

Once again southern author Paul Hemphill scores big with a telling story about about an old football star from the south, redemption sought and changing times. Billy Ray Hunsinger is a washed up all-star quarterback and person.His own worst enemy. A black teenage phenom named Mavis Jackson now quarterbacks Bill Ray's high school team. Coming from Atlanta's inner city, the kid needs a mentor and a father figure. Enters Billy Ray, from another era of Dixie. You can tell Hemphill was born, raised and lives the south. He knows how to write southern and clearly weave in its social barriers. His characters are well detailed. It's a touchdown!