Gary M. PomerantzRezensionen

A bit long but covered an interesting time period. In the background, football transitions from a family sized business into a giant trillion dollar business dealing with how damaging playing was (CTE); from a time when players were a part of Pittsburgh -- Franco's Italian Army, starting charities, business, etc. I was also surprised that everyone but Bradshaw loved the Rooney family and that Franco Harris started a defense contractor business after he retired.

The 1970's Pittsburgh Steelers are an iconic dynasty in the modern era of professional football. Typically defense wins championships and Pittsburgh had some of the best defensive players ever to don pads and cleats. But they also had some playmakers on the offensive side of the ball like Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, and John Stallworth. And let's give Terry Bradshaw his due for slowly becoming a team leader and competent enough quarterback to lead the Steelers to four Super Bowls in six years.

Gary Pomerantz has gone back and takes a look at this dynastic team from the point of view of the players who made it all happen all those many years ago. You can truly see the deep bond many of the players developed for a lifetime, particularly on the defensive side the ball, and the importance of that team's legacy to the not just the players, but the city of Pittsburgh itself.

Central to the book is how Franco Harris became so deeply ingrained in the community becoming a local hero, philanthropist, and businessman. He also talks about some of the more tragic stories such as the unfortunate decline in health, both physical and mental, of Mike Webster, one of the best centers ever to play the game. And the great affection and brotherhood that marked the best defensive line in NFL history - Mean Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Dwight White, and Crazy Ernie Holmes comes to life as they remember the glory of the past.

Pomerantz was a journalist who covered the Steeler's in the seventies. One of the oddest comments in the books introduction is this disillusion with professional football because of brain trauma and the recent studies about the plight of many former players. Fair enough. Thankfully the book is well balanced and doesn't drone on about this topic other than when discussion Mike Webster.

For any football fan this is a book well worth reading and it is a must read for Pittsburgh Steeler's fans.

THE LAST PASS, by Gary Pomerantz, is at it's core about Bob Cousy. The book looks at the Celtics and their winning dynasty in the 1950's and 1960's and it's unique and polarizing leader, Arnold "Red" Auerbach. It looks at Bill Russell, the amazing athlete and passionate advocate for equality in the NBA and the turbulent sentiments of the country during that same time. But it all comes back to Cousy, who is the through line of it all. He is one of the most revered NBA players ever; one of the first real greats of the game, and yet he still struggles with how he could have been a better teammate, better NBA personality, and better moral leader in the emotionally charged 1950's and 1960's.
Pomerantz clearly has an affinity for Bob Cousy, but does an admirable job of looking at both sides of him, mostly by how different people (teammates, journalists, etc) perceived him. Some revered him, some found him aloof and self-centered, but few could say he was anything less than a talented and one-of-a-kind player. Pomerantz goes deeper, interviewing Cousy and challenging him to talk about things he doesn't want to talk about, like his relationship with Russell and how he was perceived in the public eye. Pomerantz also weighs heavily how race equality and the nation's shifting view of that racial equality affected the NBA, the Celtics, and each of the players. The story of the Celtics is so much more than Cousy and the book recounts how the team came together, grew, and thrived year after year. The stories Pomerantz has collected are wonderfully fascinating and quite informative at the same time. He involves so many of the major components (players, coaches, executives, journalists) of those championship teams and how each of them were part of the greatness, giving as balanced of a look at that time as possible.
As an avid sports history reader, THE LAST PASS is among the best I have ever read. The novel tells the story of a special man, chronicles one of the greatest sports dynasties, and touches the reader with the humanity of the game, the people, and the special time in our country when this all was taking place.
Thank you to Penguin Press, Gary Pomerantz, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Interesting but ultimately trivial. Two main strands, both from the 1930s: the story of a woman who shot her husband over a bridge game, and the story of Ely and Jo Culbertson, a married couple who apparently revolutionized contract bridge. The murder strand was actually the less tragic of the two. All in all, reminded me forcefully of why I don't play card games that require partners. (Although as a child I used to watch my parents play a partnership game--not bridge, something else--with my mother's cousin and her husband. People don't seem to do that anymore. When we see our friends we mostly drink wine and gossip about the school and the synagogue.)

I was in junior high during the early glory days of the 70's Pittsburgh Steelers and I remember their dominance of the game during that time. I'm not a big football fan, but I remember the names Terry Bradshaw, Joe Greene, LC Greenwood, Lynn Swann and Franco Harris. And I enjoy a good yarn - at that same age I usually read the long pieces in Sports Illustrated for the human interest theme, not for the technical aspects of the game. I'm pretty sure I skipped paragraphs. I was intrigued by the story of these men who came together and became more than the sum of their parts.

Gary Pomerantz tells an engaging story about not just the players, but the Rooney family as well. It was the story of a business that was always changing (owning the football team) in a growing market (the NFL) which was being changed by various forces (the rise of the players' union, the influx of cash from television, the physical toll the game takes on the players). What they accomplished was incredible, but the costs were also incredible.

He concludes the tale by recounting how they've spent their retirement years, including the impact the game had on them physically and mentally. Predictably some have fared better than others. The recent discoveries of the impact of playing football on the brain really chills my enjoyment of the game. It was bad enough to sacrifice joints and backs to the gridiron, but to also lose their mental faculties as well - resulting not only in their own early demise, but also destroying families because of behavioral changes, seems to me a price far in excess of the benefits of the sport.

This is probably THE defining work on the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers. Pomerantz tells the very personal story of the 70s Steelers through the eyes of the players, coaches, personnel, and fans. In addition to reliving the great moments and games during this period, we get a glimpse into the challenging and sometimes horrifying personal stories of some of the games greatest players. The chapter dedicated to Mike Webster will make any football fan think twice about the consequences of playing this very violent game. A must read for all Steelers fans and NFL fans as well.

Interesting but ultimately trivial. Two main strands, both from the 1930s: the story of a woman who shot her husband over a bridge game, and the story of Ely and Jo Culbertson, a married couple who apparently revolutionized contract bridge. The murder strand was actually the less tragic of the two. All in all, reminded me forcefully of why I don't play card games that require partners. (Although as a child I used to watch my parents play a partnership game--not bridge, something else--with my mother's cousin and her husband. People don't seem to do that anymore. When we see our friends we mostly drink wine and gossip about the school and the synagogue.)

This is an essential book for any history of Atlanta, race relations, and urban history. Remarkable

Very entertaining and well-written. Good background coverage of the Rooney family and excellent individual profiles of the players who made the 70s Steelers the greatest dynasty in the game's history. A mix of tragedy too. The story about center Mike Webster is testimony to the cost players paid for the commitment to their craft. A must-read for any football fan, Steelers or otherwise.

I'm waffling between 2 and 3 stars. It doesn't help that when I read stories like this I'm reminded of [b:The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America|21996|The Devil in the White City Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America|Erik Larson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312066724s/21996.jpg|3486041]. It simply pales in comparison to Erik Larson's book. Or maybe it's just that I felt like I've read this before and it no longer seems fresh. Two narratives and the connection merely incidental. Oh well, two stars it is then.

Sidenote: I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

My mother who was about the age of the central characters of this book dearly loved to play bridge and now I know why. I had no idea that bridge was such a involved craze during the 20's - 40's, and I never thought about it as a battlefield of the sexes, but it certainly was one place where a woman could exhibit intelligence and be in control. I truly enjoyed learning that kind of history about the game of bridge. And the personalities of Ely and Jo Culbertson are so interesting.

And, as a huge fan of Kansas City, I truly enjoyed the story of the KC mayor and presidental candidate James A Reed, Nell Donnelly, the Pendergast influence, Harry Truman, and on and on. For those not familiar, the story of Nell Donnelly (one of the first successful business women in the fashion industry) is totally fascinating -- a blend of politics, fashion, mafia, love, and business. Do check out this DVD: Nelly Don: A Stitch In Time

Now, blended with all those fascinating facts and tales is way too much about the technicalities of the game of bridge and for that matter the legal sparrings of Myrtle Bennett's trial. Sometimes I just had to "skim through" to get to the more interesting parts.

I did appreciate, however, the ending of the book which explores the life after bridge and murder of the main characters. However, it almost felt voyeuristic as family members of the Culbertsons, Reeds, and Bennetts are still living. I wonder what their reaction is to this book.

In short, if you are at all a bridge player, this is one you must read. If you love Kansas City, this is a must. If you just love interesting and rather obscure facts about the culture of the 30's, this is a must.

I really enjoyed this book, once I accepted the fact that I didn't need to know how to play bridge to understand the social commentary and the events therein. I thought that the interweaving and back and forth between the rise of bridge and its stars and the 'bridge table murder' was very well done.

This is not just a book about an airplane crash. It is a story about humanity in the face of adversity -- indeed, sheer terror.

On August 21, 1995, ASA flight 529, a commuter plane with a total of 29 people aboard, experienced catastrophic engine failure, due to a broken propeller blade, after takeoff from Atlanta. (Not only was the engine useless, its displacement and disfigurement destroyed the aerodynamic properties of the airplane's left wing, rendering the plane almost impossible to handle.) Nine minutes, twenty seconds later, ASA 529 crashed into a Georgia hayfield. This book is the story of those precious minutes, as well as the circumstances leading up to them and the aftermath of the crash. More importantly, it is the story of the people involved, and how their lives were changed in an instant.

I found this book difficult to put down, even in the midst of a very hectic week in my life. Author Pomerantz introduced me to the people on and connected to this plane, and made me actually care about these total strangers. (I was tearful as I read of the eventual deaths of passengers who initially survived the crash.)

Pomerantz also dscribed, clearly and understandably, the technical issues involved in the airplane's crash. He begins the book by introducing us to the technician who -- following to the letter the (flawed) company procedures he'd been taught, and using to the best of his ability the (inadequate) equipment provided by his employer --inspected and serviced the fatal propeller blade over a year prior to its ultimate failure.

The crash and the moments immediately preceding and following are described in vivid detail. Later, we watch the crash investigation process. We glimpse the terrible suffering of burn recovery; we witness survivor guilt as it drains the spirit of many who made it out alive. We are also introduced to the seamier side of air disasters -- shameless attempts by insurers to limit their liability, and shady tactics by lawyers to snare clients from among the crash survivors and the victims' families. (About a year after this crash, legislation was passed to limit unsolicited contact with aircrash vicitms/families by lawyers for either side.) We also see how, despite the pain, some people manage to take full advantage of a "second chance" at life.

I found this book to be a riveting look at the "big picture" of what's involved in a plane crash.

The book follows 2 couples during the bridge craze of the Depression. One couple is considered the king and queen of bridge, writing books, participating in celebrity tournaments, going on tour, etc. The other couple lives a upper middle class life in suburban Kansas City until an argument over a bridge game escalates to a death (no spoiler there). Pomerantz is a journalist, and I enjoy his style. The book is a quick read, and the people featured are truly characters. I give it 3 stars--definitely not a must read, but it was enjoyable.½

Good book. Has good background and crash info as well as the human factors side.

Gripping book, which came out just before 9/11. I always thought that it would have done better with different timing. Well-reported and reads like a novel.