Book Review
Complete Illustrated History of the New York Giants
Author: Lew Freedman
Review by Michael E Lawrence
6/11/2009
Up for review this week is a tremendous - and enormous - copy of Lew Freedman’s New York Giants, the Complete Illustrated History. Friends, this is a BIG book, and when it landed on the Diner desk one of the legs gave way, sending my in tray south. Nonetheless, this is what a football fan wants a potted history of their team to be - hardbacked, bold, colourful, brash and chunky, just like the New York Football Giants themselves. Freedman has done his research, painstakingly detailling each and every turn of the Giants’ fortunes since their inception in 1925, and better still Complete Illustrated History is decked throughout with cracking photos of everything from icy 1950s games in the Polo Grounds to David Tyree’s legendary Super Bowl XLII catch. If this isn’t the last word on the Gints’ past, present and future, then I don’t know what else there is to say.
This reporter has never seen a history quite so thorough, and if you don’t happen to be a Giants fan, the series also includes equally sterling efforts for the Packers, Vikings, Bears and Steelers. Clearly, it’s concerned with covering off teams with the longest - and most storied - histories to narrate, but you won’t need to be a fan of any of the teams involved to enjoy this bumper read.
Our take? Buy it, it’s $30 - or £18 or so - well spent. Just reinforce your bookshelves first.
Diner Rating 8/10
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