Alabama Showdown: The Football Rivalry Between Auburn and Alabama

Examines the pride, humor, politics, and traditions of the South, as reflected in the football rivalry between Auburn and the University of Alabama

An Alabama native and contributing editor of Esquire, Norman uses the traditional rivalry between the state's biggest schools to show how pervasive a religion football has become thereand, by extension, elsewhere in the South. His book focuses on the two weeks before the 1985 contest, a particularly significant one for both colleges and their coachesAlabama's Ray Perkins, trying to continue the tradition established by his legendary predecessor "Bear" Bryant, and Auburn's Pat Dye, hoping for a third straight win over his toughest competitor and aided by future Heisman Trophywinner Bo Jackson. The game itself gets little space, but Norman carefully places it in its historical context, as a reminder of a time when Alabamians had little to be proud of except their university gridiron teams. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

An Alabama-born writer gives a close look at the fierce rivalry, dating from 1893, between the two football powers. Their followers' intense partisanship parallels the strong competition on the field. Norman recounts the games and personalities of such players as Joe Namath and Bo Jackson, while giving Olympian status to such coaches as Bear Bryant and Pat Dye. Unlike James Kirby in the recent Fumble: Bear Bryant, Wally Butts, and the great college football scandal ( LJ 9/1/86), Norman gives little attention to the charges or the suit against the Saturday Evening Post. The book's climax is the exciting 1986 game. Southeastern area libraries should consider; optional elsewhere. Morey Berger, Monmouth Cty. Lib., N.J.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.