Items related to Kickoffs and Kegs: Small College Days
Synopsis
It's 1967. The air at Augusteum College, a small liberal arts school in Western Pennsylvania, is filled with the excitement of the upcoming football season. A few contrasting young men form the team's offensive line-each with his own issues and baggage. Only two of them arrive at football camp with starting positions in hand, and the rest must start from scratch. On the surface, all of the players appear to have different degrees of talent and ability and... ...in at least one case, enthusiasm. These were the days just prior to the antiwar fever and bedlam that took over many colleges and universities, beginning in places like Berkley and Columbia, and finally working its way down to backwaters like Augusteum. In the meantime, it was the beginning of the twilight of the fraternity and sorority systems. An inordinate amount of time was spent partying and drinking, and... ...beer was king. Social mores had begun to change and romance was beginning to take a much more torrid form. A number of female characters begin to change the landscape; and, in most cases... ...more than hold their own with our heroes. The football season plays out against eight schools which, like Augusteum, are composites of existing small colleges in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. In a couple of cases, opposing players will be familiar to football fans, as these "characters" are based on real-life NFL stars and provide serious problems for Augusteum's Norsemen when their schools finally clash late in the season. Not spend much time is spent on causes and crusades, although the elephant in the room is Vietnam, largely spoken of only in the way it affects the lives of two players. One of them is returning from that odious place-and another is looking unhappily at this being his almost guaranteed destination after graduation. The racial aspect of the day plays a part when one of the players realizes the ramifications of being one of but-a-handful of black students surrounded by a thousand kids from "hard hat" Ohio and Pennsylvania suburban-white neighborhoods. And this fortunate player is helped through his uncertain first semester by an unlikely best friend.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From the Author
An interesting review from the Twenty-third Annual Writer's Digest Self Publishing Competition.What happens when your book ends up before a judge who has a patent dislike for the subject matter!
Jeff Brooks' KICKOFFS AND KEGS: SMALL COLLEGE DAYS is, unsurprisingly, about exactly what the title suggests - football and drinking, in this case in 1967. As a college professor myself, I can vouch for the fact that the year in which it is set does not make KICKOFFS AND KEGS a period piece - college is still pretty much like this for a great number of students. Brooks does quite a good job of conveying the period; I would assume this was an era that he actually lived through. The characterization is surprisingly deep, given the subject matter - it would've been all too easy for Brooks to rely on types and clichés. And the writing itself is often quite good. The thing that holds the novel back for me is the fact that there are vast swathes of the book that are about the minutiae of football, and thus, to my mind, it narrows the appeal of the book to football fans alone. I don't happen to be a fan, and was willing to give the book the benefit of the doubt, but there came a point when I was overwhelmed by plays and stats and depictions of games. However, I can recognize the quality of the writing and the book's other merits, of which there are many.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
(No Available Copies)
Search Books: Create a WantCan't find the book you're looking for? We'll keep searching for you. If one of our booksellers adds it to AbeBooks, we'll let you know!
Create a Want