The Best There Ever Was

by John Ed Bradley

Book Overview

A second novel by the author of "Tupelo Nights" which is set in a Southern city where football is the only game and Harold Gravely, the football coach is dying but refusing to leave his job. The novel... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0871133849
• ISBN13: 9780871133847
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Fierce look at immortality

Truly the Old Man is one of the great fictional sports figures. We see a guy clinging to his image with all fingernails. What other film shows a man delighted to get cancer for it will force his enemies to retreat? I'd place the Old Man up there with Elmer Gantry and Andy Griffith in A Face In the Crowd as great Southern figures. The book never backs off and pays off royally.

Thanks, John Ed, for not taking the easy route...

It would have been simple for the author to take the easy, obvious route here, telling a straight-ahead story about a washed-up football coach on his last legs who wins the big game at the end and everything ends happily ever after. Instead, he turned it into a funny, insightful tale that works on so many levels and rings totally true. It is NOT a football book! It's a story with fascinating characters (go deeper than what might appear to be stereotypes at first read) and so much local color it almost reads like a movie script. I've enjoyed Bradley's work in Esquire and SI and I'm glad I found this book.

One of The Best Page-Turners Ever

The BEST find in recent years. I found this book at a discount store which sold over-runs. The title caught my interest, and the dust jacket synopsis sold me. I covered the 336 pages in only 2 days.John Ed Bradley has done a fantastic job of bringing very complex and interesting characters to life. His writing is so fresh and visual. Mr. Bradley's style is very unique and wonderful to read. This is a "must read" for any football fan. But it's more than a football story. Actually, very little occurs on the field. John Ed provides a very human look into a man who is larger than life and seems willed to self-destruction. It is an excellent character study with elements of drama and comedy which manages to hold your attention and fascination.The Southern tones and dialogue add a rich texture to Coach's story. It is very a bittersweet story that you will not forget for some time.