A War in Dixie: Alabama v. Auburn - Softcover

Maisel, Ivan; Whiteside, Kelly

3.86

36 ratings by Goodreads

9780060957759: A War in Dixie: Alabama v. Auburn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060957751 ISBN 13: 9780060957759

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2002

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Each year, on a Saturday in November, the state of Alabama comes to a halt as the oldest and most feverish football rivalry in the nation turns family members, friends, and couples into bitter enemies for the Iron Bowl.

With remarkable access to both schools, their players and their coaches, A War in Dixie reveals the temporary insanity that grips fans, alumni, players, and families of Alabama and Auburn. Both head coaches -- Tom Tuberville and Mike DuBose, in his last game at Alabama's helm -- opened their doors to every activity and meeting as they prepared for the Iron Bowl. Looming over the proceedings are the long shadows of history: Paul "Bear" Bryant, whose Crimson Tide dominated during his reign by winning nineteen of twenty-five contests; and Ralph "Shug" Jordan, who went head-to-head against the Bear for almost his entire career.

Hour by hour, day by day, we see what the athletes and staffs endure in order to win. A War in Dixie is hard-hitting proof of a bit of local wisdom: This isn't life or death, it's more important. It's Alabama-Auburn football!

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About the Author:

Ivan Maisel covered the Alabama Crimson Tide. He is a senior writer at Sports Illustrated and a correspondent for CNN/Sports Illustrated. A native of Mobile, Alabama he lives in Fairfield, Connecticut.

From Publishers Weekly:

The 110-year-old football rivalry between the state university and the land grant college exerts a powerful gravitational pull on Alabama's deep-seated football culture, requiring most state residents to choose sides at birth (as "Tide" or tiger fans) and to demonstrate their loyalty every November. The rivalry these two Sports Illustrated writers describe outdoes other cross-state competition like the one in Michigan, overflowing the common-sense limits of even Southern fandom. As the two Alabama powers drift toward each other in their Southeast Conference orbits, Maisel and Whiteside recount the seven-day countdown to Iron Bowl 2000 from deep inside the coaching offices Maisel in Tuscaloosa, Whiteside in Birmingham. Though recent Iron Bowls have been newsworthy football, this runup to last year's ground-out Auburn victory isn't as dramatic as Maisel and Whiteside want it to be. Apparently their credentials from SI (Whiteside has gone on to USA Today's football page) gave them complete access, but Maisel, especially, might have done better in the company of a native guide who could provide some color commentary. Even the short intro by Ken Stabler seems like an admission that the secret Southern football society remains impenetrable to the authors. Presenting players' bland gridiron sentiment, training table details and family trivia is no substitute for reporting or sports writing: the game itself is described in nine pages, and by that point its significance in the tradition of Alabama football is awash in background. For local fans only. B&w photos not seen by PW.

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