Rich Cohen

Written in the midst of the concussion crisis in Football--which 1985 Bears great Duerson's suicide in many ways kicked off--this is a serious and superbly fun memoir, meditation, and biography of a sport, a team, and an era. I wish I could recommend this book more highly, but five stars is all that I'm allowed. From Jim Thorpe and George Halas to Mike Ditka and Walter Payton to Jim McMahon and William "the Refrigerator" Perry, this book traces the entire sport through the apogee of the 1985 show more Bears, a team still widely considered to be the best team to ever play professional football. None of the pieces would ever really work the same way again, and many would be destroyed or undermined by the very season that gave them everlasting glory. This is one of the top two or three sports books I've ever come across. Can't recommend it any more than I already have! show less

When the Game Was War: The NBA's Greatest Season, by Rich Cohen, makes a compelling case for 1987 being the best season. I don't believe there is a single season that is "the best," too many variables and ways to define it, but 1987 was certainly one of the best. And Cohen convincingly shows why.

The mix of established stars and ones on the way up, teams at the beginning or end of dynasties, there is a lot to love about the 1987 season. As the title suggests, this was when hard fouls were show more common, players played through injury far more often, and what we called basketbrawl where I grew up was not an uncommon feature of the pro game. While many of us who loved basketball during this era miss those elements, it is probably better for the players' long term health that some of these features have been curtailed. But man were those some awesome games!

Since my interest wasn't in whether I agreed that this was the greatest season (I don't believe there is a single season that can hold that distinction) but in learning why this should be considered as among the greatest, I came to the book largely for the nostalgia. By 1987 I had been following the NBA fairly closely for about 20 years, so while I hadn't placed every memory into their correct year I certainly remember the events covered here. If you happen to believe in a "greatest season," this may well convince you, I definitely came away with a better appreciation.

For those who remember the season, this will be a fun trip down memory lane. For those for whom many of these names are stars of the past, you may come away with both a better appreciation for what came before as well as a better understanding of how today's game built on the foundation these players laid.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. show less

Books, movies, and the history I was taught in school all gave me a clear impression of what Jewish people did to fight against the Holocaust: nothing. This book is fascinating because it gives the lie to this perception: the true account of a small group of underground Jews who blew up bridges, derailed trains, and fought Germans. The book focuses on the actions and lives of three fighters in particular: Ruzka, Vitka, and Abba. How they survived the ghetto, how they fought the Nazis, and show more how they worked to create the great nation of Israel. show less

Like a slingshot pulling back for the attack, Cohen pulls us back in history to preface Israel as a reality. You expect Israel is Real to be a dry, potentially boring account of Jewish history when in reality Cohen is the storyteller with the sparkle in his eye. It is as if he is telling you a bedtime story by an open fire; urging you to lean in and listen close. He makes historical figures seem like old friends, historical events seem like he participated in them.
As an aside, my least show more favorite part of reading Israel is Real was stopping to read the extensive footnote at the bottom of nearly every page. While the footnotes contained interesting information, it was like hitting every single red light and getting behind every student - laden school bus on the way to work. show less