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Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream description Secular religions are fascinating in the devotion and zealousness they breed, and in Texas, high school football has its own rabid hold over the faithful. H.G. Bissinger, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, enters into the spirit of one of its most fervent shrines: Odessa, a city in decline in the desert of West Texas, where the Permian High School Pa ... review details |
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| ♥♥♥♥♥ | Well-written, but flawed, look at Texas high school football |
| First, let me say I've enjoyed "Friday Night Lights." Mr. Bissinger is a talented writer, and this is a very interesting take on football at a large Texas high school (although there's a lot of sociological analyses of the city and people of Odessa). I do recommend it.
This is a good read that shows the effects of overblown boosterism towards high school sports. I'm not sure the case of the Permian Panthers is entirely realistic because they are an extreme case used to illustrate Mr. Bissinger's overall point (this is not some backwoods small school prep team as in "Eagle Blue" or "Counting Coups," which I consider better books), but there's enough reality that you'll recognize the athletes, cheerleaders, coaches and boosters from your own high school days. Mr. Bissinger is not shy about putting his personal politics on center stage at various points, so be prepared for your share of conservative bashing. This is not to say I disagree with all his points, but I don't need simplistic knee-jerk reactions from either Democrats or Republicans to complex social problems that require more than a one-sided approach, including books about prep sports. Just be aware of its presence. I can understand why so many people in Odessa had such a virulent reaction to "Friday Night Lights," but there's truth to what Bissinger wrote about turning teenagers into throwaway heroes. It makes no sense to blame the mirror for what is reflected. |
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