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Title: Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football by Murray A. Sperber ISBN: 0-253-21568-4 Publisher: Indiana University Press Pub. Date: September, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Family history
Comment: Dr. Sperber unearthed Knute Rockne's personal and athletic department correspondence in the basement of Hesburgh Library and relied heavily upon it to create this insightful account of the times and tenure of Knute Rockne. Anyone who longs for the old days but wants to know what they were really like will find this book fascinating. Over time, the world has forgotten the way the nation mourned the passing of the great coach. It has also forgotten the genius, showman, businessman, and competitor that produced football's greatest record of achievement.
This book relies upon primary documents to breathe life into old attendance figures, names enshrined in Monogram Hall, and won-loss records. Newspaper accounts of the time and Rockne's correspondence reveal the corruption of the officiating, eligibility rules, and recruiting of his contemporaries but does not absolve him from his role. Preview: "Pop Warner football" should bear a different name.
Shortcomings include the meandering accounts of coaches, trends, and University presidents that can quickly become confusing. I strongly recommend "The Notre Dame Football Encyclopedia" (Marder, Spellen and Donovan, Citadel Press, 2001) as a companion to put the results of critical wins, losses, and seasons into perspective. The author's treatment of individual topics (the Rockne biopick, Geoge Gipp, etc.) separately tends to make the context of the seasons and their results hard to follow.
Dr. Sperber also shows his opions about big-time college athletics too boldly. He describes the "reform" movement of Rockne's era deftly but cannot help editorializing from his own campaigns at Indiana University, going so far as to name Coach Bob Knight in a footnote as an example of sport gone awry. Although his distinguished American Studies background serves him and the reader very well, his views come through clearly.
This book is excellent and provides wonderful insight into how Notre Dame football came to life.
Rating: 5
Summary: Shake Down the Thunder
Comment: All ND fans should read this book and keep it in their library.
The most comprehensive history of the early days of ND football.
Rating: 4
Summary: Lee Marvin Playing The Role Of George Gipp
Comment: SHAKE DOWN THE THUNDER is a scholarly look at a sports phenomenon - the creation and early development of football at Notre Dame to 1941 and the hiring of Frank Leahy as coach. Much of the book is devoted to the politics within the university community among the coaches, administrators and influential alumni. It is also a story about the rise of Notre Dame football during a period when Catholics were striving for more influence politically and more acceptance in general in the United States.
The author makes much use of the private correspondence of Knute Rockne and paints a very unromantic picture of the great coach and some of his star players. Based on this book Lee Marvin or Robert Mitchum instead of Ronald Reagan are the best choices to play the part of George Gipp in a movie.
SHAKE DOWN THE THUNDER is more of a cultural history than a football story. It contains very little football action. The book is well-researched and shows how both the urge to overemphasize college football and the resulting forces trying to contain it have been in existence for a long time.
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Title: Talking Irish : The Oral History of Notre Dame Football by Steve Delsohn ISBN: 0060937157 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 04 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Notre Dame Football Encyclopedia: The Ultimate Guide to America's Favorite College Team by Keith Marder, Mark Spellen, Jim Donovan ISBN: 0806521082 Publisher: Citadel Trade Pub. Date: December, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Return to Glory: Inside Tyrone Willingham's Amazing First Season at Notre Dame by Alan Grant ISBN: 0316607657 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: 02 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Notre Dame Game Day: Getting There, Getting In, and Getting in the Spirit by Todd Tucker, Lou Holtz ISBN: 1888698306 Publisher: Diamond Communications Pub. Date: 30 November, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Leahy's Lads: The Story of the Famous Notre Dame Football Teams of the 1940s by Jack Connor ISBN: 0912083905 Publisher: Diamond Communications Pub. Date: September, 1997 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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