3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Al Davis Behind the Raiders Shield is a biography of Allen Davis. He was considered by people to be a football legend. This biography was written by his former employees Bruce Kebric and Jon Kingdon, with Steve Corkran, a sports writer. Al Davis, as he was fondly called, was the owner and the general manager of the Oakland Raiders football team. Al grew up in Brooklyn, New York, he often bragged about how tough his neighborhood was growing up. He extremely loved the football games, and he was passionate about his team, the Oakland Raiders. He was a man who recognized who he was and commanded respect everywhere he went. He generated the image he wanted the public to see. He was highly respected and feared by many people in the NFL.
He mastered the art of getting information from people without giving up any information. He led the Oakland Raiders to many victories. The Oakland Raiders also suffered a considerable amount of loss. Amidst all the victories and losses the Raiders endured, Al always held his head high, he stuck to his pattern no matter how outdated or illogical they were. He demanded the loyalty and respect of his employees and players. He never hesitated to fire anyone who would not exhibit these traits. He never forgot a grudge. As he became older, although his passion for football increased, his health diminished. He remained mentally resilient. Al carried out many decisions as the owner of the Oakland Raiders. He had many brilliant ideas, but some of his decisions led to the defeat of his football team. The authors of this book clearly admired and highly respected him.
This biography is narrated in a third person point of view. The narration shifts to the first-person point of view at several times. The authors vividly described their opinion of whom they believed Al Davis was. It was clearly evident that although they respected and even revered him, they disagreed with his believes and his method of leadership. He was superstitious at times. He was mostly autocratic in his leadership. He frequently ignored his scouts and his coaches. He implemented decisions he thought was best and he never settled for less. He didn’t follow their advice. I admired Al’s strength and determination. He had many inspirational quotes like, “All I do is win” and “Just win baby win”. He never discriminated against anyone based on their sex or color or background. He was the first NFL owner to draft an African-American quarterback, the first to hire a Latino coach and the first to hire a female as his chief executive. It was evident that he was not racist or sexist. I learned some terms used in football like “running back” and “quarterback.”
However, there was much repetitive information in the book. I felt the authors kept on repeating information over and over. There were, on top of that, many profane words used in this book it felt so uncomfortable to read it out loud.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I feel the book is not properly organized; the story seemed to go back and forth without any known pattern. I detected a few errors, but it did not detract from the book. I would not recommend this book to those who are unfamiliar with football or those who don’t like football. I also would not recommend this book to younger readers and those who are uncomfortable with profane words because this book is stacked of them. I would recommend this book to football fans and fans of the legendary Al Davis.
******
Al Davis Behind the Raiders Shield
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like nikkyteewhy's review? Post a comment saying so!