BO
By Bo Schembechler & Mitch Albom
Grand Central Publishing, September1989
His name is legendary in college football, synonymous with championships, crushing defense, showdowns between his Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State, Rose Bowl agony, sideline explosions, self-deprecating humor, and brash opinions on the way the game should be played. They call him “the Dean of college football.” Now finally, the Dean speaks out—on the great coaches (Bryant, Parseghian, Hayes) who inspired him, his secrets to motivating players in the pursuit of excellence, and the current woes of college football from steroid use to the shallow new breed of “face men” coaches.
Most of all, here’s the story of one older man—the man Bobby Knight called “the greatest coach of anything in America”—trying to create lifelong memories for a team of younger men, year after year, with blood, sweat, screams, and undying love.
Critical Praise
“This book is just like Bo—hard hitting, direct, funny, and exploding with color. I’m surprised it doesn’t jump up and tell you to take a lap.” –Dan Dierdof,ABC’s Monday Night Football
“The ‘Straight Talk’ section is a masterpiece of sound thinking and should be required reading of every college coach in the country. BO may be the most important sports book in a long time.” –Bobby Knight, Head Coach, Indiana Basketball
“What strikes me about Bo is what struck me about Bear Bryant. He’s old-fashioned, gruff, and maybe the best darn coach in America.” –Keith Jackson, ABC Sports
“This book is an inspiration to those of us who still believe you can win by doing things the right way. Bo the man is a cherished friend; BO the book is a winner.” –President Gerald Ford
“If you like Michigan, you will love this book. If you hate Michigan . . . borrow the book. It will give you a better insight into the man . . . and respect for the things he has represented for so many years.” –Ann Arbor News
FAB FIVE
By Mitch Albom
Grand Central Publishing, November 1993
They were too young. They were too outrageous. And you couldn’t keep your eyes off them. FAB FIVE is the story of the most popular—and controversial—college basketball team ever.
Talking trash and wearing long, flapping shorts, the Fab Five of Michigan shocked the world by reaching the NCAA championship games as freshmen, then repeating that feat as sophomores. They were hailed like NBA pros, cheered like rock stars. But their spotlight life was filled with demons and challenges. FAB FIVE is the inside account of the making of a legendary team, one kid at a time:
- Chris Webber, the superstar, whose infamous time-out in the 1993 championship marked the end of one dream, but the start of another.
- Jalen Rose and Juwan Howard, the Boyz in the Hoop, two city kids who learned to cope with an alien college life.
- Jimmy King and Ray Jackson, the Texas heroes, far from home, quietly staking their claims on the nation’s most celebrated roster.
- Steve Fisher, the gentle coach who pulled in this mother lode of talent—and never knew what he was in for.
FAB FIVE is a riveting story of fame, youth, dreams, and heartbreak. Expertly reported and written with grace and a dab of humor, FAB FIVE is more than a sports story. It’s an American tale.
Critical Praise
“This book is both an indictment of the hypocrisy and greed of big-time sports and a breathless rendering of its addictive excitement.” –USA Today
“What the reader can expect is a sports book that transcends sports. It’s about dreams and perceptions . . . Mitch Albom accomplishes the most difficult of tasks: He makes a sports book seem like a book about real people, one you should read whether you like sports or not.” –Boston Sunday Herald
“This books is an excellent portrait of a team teetering on the brink of triumph or disaster, and an entertaining glimpse into the hyperbole that’s made college basketball such an emotional sport.” –San Francisco Chronicle
“The tale of fame, youth, money, friendships and broken promises is much more than just a sports story.” –Basketball Digest
“Albom gets close to all the principles in the book and shows how they matured, how their loss taught them that the game they played wasn’t all winning and losing . . . he gets to the point in a high eloquent and understandable manner and writes with spectacular precision.” –Miami Hurricane
“Up close and personal . . . Grab a copy!” –Chicago Sun-Times
LIVE ALBOM
By Mitch Albom
Detroit Free Press, 1988
The best of Detroit Free Press sports columnist Mitch Albom, 1985-1987. For more than two years, Mitch has been commenting on a variety of people. Now the tables are turned:
“Albom has aplomb. Albom is a balm. Albom is not a bum. I have been reading Mitch Albom ever since he was the writer to be named later in the deal that sent me to Los Angeles. Most people, me included, think Detroit got the best of it.” –Los Angeles columnist Mike Downey
“Mitch Albom has style, a nice attitude in his point of view, never pretentious, the mark of a pro in that he makes it look easy.” –Birmingham novelist Elmore Leonard
“Mitch is one of two writers in Detroit who might kill the Lions, but he does it with class.” –Lions defensive tackle Eric Williams
“He’s the best I’ve seen over the 16 years that I’ve been in pro hockey. He writes with such great personal feelings. When he writes a story it touches you and it stays with you . . . He’s your (the Free Press’) Stevie Yzerman. He’s your star . . . I think he’s a genius.” –Red Wings coach Jacques Demers
“This young guy is clever, interesting and very knowledgeable. All of his writing has been enjoyable. And for me to say something nice about a sports writer is rather unusual.” –Michigan coach Bo Schembechler
“There aren’t enough adjectives to describe Mitch Albom as a columnist, but to use a few—humorous, intelligent, compassionate, insightful. He’s easily one of the country’s top ten.” –Pistons coach Chuck Daly
LIVE ALBOM II
By Mitch Albom
Detroit Free Press, 1990
Loaded with laughs, controversy, and always a strong yet compassionate voice, LIVE ALBOM II features nearly 100 of Mitch Albom’s most memorable columns from the Detroit Free Press (1988-1990), a smorgasbord of sports stories and the people who made them unforgettable.
Critical Praise
“Mitch Albom writes with insight and compassion He is one of America’s best young sports columnists.” –Bob Costas, NBC Sports
“Mitch Albom is the best writer I’ve ever met. He’s awesome—end of story.” –Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons guard
“He’s almost as good in the newspaper as I am on TV.” –Don Cherry, “Hockey Night in Canada”
“Mitch does more than a sports column. He gets involved in the event and gets you closer to the people.” –Walt Terrell, Detroit Tigers pitcher
“Now I know what sports editors mean when they tell writers, ‘Make it sing.’ ” –Scott Ostler, The National
“Not only do I hate him because he wins all the awards every year and is much younger than I, but he’s also the best piano-playing sports writer since George Gershwin’s younger brother, Bubba.” –Tony Kornheiser, Washington Post
LIVE ALBOM III: Gone to the Dogs
By Mitch Albom
Detroit Free Press, 1992
Imagine a veteran sports writer trapped in Alaska with a band of crazy dogsled mushers. Or wandering the streets of Italy in search of long-lost basketball players. Imagine him racing around the Olympic Games of Barcelona, or personally taking the three biggest and richest sports stars in Detroit to a baseball game and buying them hot dogs.
Imagine laughs and chuckles and head-nods and more than 100 thought-provoking columns (1990-1992) on everything from locker-room secrets to a Malaysian badminton team—imagine all this, and you have GONE TO THE DOGS, the third installment of Mitch Albom’s enormously popular anthology series.
Albom, chosen the top sports columnist in the nation for six years in a row, takes the reader all over the globe in GONE TO THE DOGS. From a bullring in Spain to the World Series in Atlanta, from Wimbledon to the Masters. This edition also includes the entire Iditarod Sled Dog series, where Albom was the only reporter from the lower 48 states to ride along with “The Last Great Race on Earth.
LIVE ALBOM III follows the highly successful LIVE ALBOM and LIVE ALBOM II, both of which were No. 1 best-sellers in Michigan. If you haven’t already sampled Mitch Albom’s work, hang onto your ski hat. GONE TO THE DOGS is a wonderful ride.
The third installment of Albom’s enormously popular anthology series, “Live Albom III” is full of laughs, tears, big moments and those magical small moments. No matter what the adventure, Albom’s award-winning style will have you flipping the pages for more.
Critical Praise
“Mitch Albom’s style grabs you in the opening sentence and doesn’t let go.” -Elmore Leonard
LIVE ALBOM IV
By Mitch Albom
Detroit Free Press, 1995
For years, sports fans across the country have run to their morning newspapers to read Mitch Albom. Here, in his fourth superb collection, the nation's No. 1 sports columnist tackles everything from Tonya and Nancy to O.J., from the Lions foibles to the Red Wings' Stanley Cup final. In LIVE ALBOM IV, Albom—also an ESPN analyst, WJR radio talk showhost, and author of the national best-sellers BO and FAB FIVE—gives a full plate of his lyrical column style, which has been hailed by his peers as the best in the business. Touching, insightful, hard-hitting and often hilarious, Live Albom IV also features, in tis entirety, the award-winning Secret World Series, Albom's fictional account about the greatest Fall Classic never played. And, of course, there is a full helping of Albom's non-sports columns from the Comment section of the Detroit Free Press.
Critical Praise
“Mitch Albom is a Hall of Famer.” --Dick Schaap
