Autumn Thunder Book Club: To Hell With Calories.

There's no excuses for not reading this.

Sorry for the lack of posting this week. I got caught up in a great new book and I just couldn't seem to put it down. What was the captivating material, you ask? It's "To Hell With Calories," a new book written by Charlie Weis describing his exceptional diet and lifestyle. Some people may find some of Weis' favorite recipes unconventional. Take for example, the triple Butterfinger cupcakes topped with melted Swedish Fish (p.47) While the calorie count is nearly 900 per serving, they do sound scrumptious. Other tasty, yet potentially dangerous recipes include the deep-fried M&M encrusted butter sticks and licorice battered in chocolate syrup.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is the exercise regimen that accompanies the recipes. Not being one to waste time, Weis advocates doing chin-ups to speed up the workout. "For every chin you have, you get that chin-ups many done per rep. So every time I pull myself up, I count six reps. It really gets you to that post-workout snack much more quickly."

Buy or skip? I say skip. Even though the things Weis says do sound nice, it will probably just get you really bloated, fat, lazy, and let you down in the end.

AT Book Club: Every Week A Season.

Every Week I'm Snoozin'!

In the latest installment of the Autumn Thunder Book Club, I will be reviewing "Every Week A Season," a book by Brian Curtis that chronicles his journey across America during the 2003 football season while he hung out for a week with some of the biggest programs in the nation, such as Wisconsin, LSU, Georgia, Tennessee (you can see all the teams on the cover!), and a host of others. Lloyd Carr wrote the forward - that's probably the most appealing part of the book to a Michigan fan, since Michigan was not chronicled during any of the weeks. I wonder why ([cough cough] Lloyd Carr hates the media [cough cough])?

The potential for this book was huge - but it fell short of what I hoped it would be. I wanted interesting team gossip, a really good description of what the players were like, and something other than the usual cookie cutter "this team is great - rah rah rah" writing that most sports writers are forced to do in exchange for inside access. Every week is presented in the same predictable order:

1) Intro about team and season for team thus far.
2) Talk about coach.
3) Talk about University and surrounding areas.
4) Describe what coaching staff does for a week in meetings and practice
5) Throw in some colorful quotes from media or players.
6) Really boring game recap
7) Conclusion with moral from the coach at the end.

There was nothing really notable in this book, and nothing of substance stayed with me after I finished reading it. It was a literary version of an ESPN "inside look" they play during halftime - semi-interesting for the time being, but completely forgettable when its through.

After the third week, I was ready to put this book down because it was so pedestrian. But dammit, I paid a nickel for it, and I was going to get my money's worth. I chugged through it for a few more subway rides.

Buy or skip? If you're a commuter, are missing football as much as I am, and have a nickel, it can't hurt. Don't buy it if it costs more than a buck.

Autumn Thunder Book Club: What It Takes To Be Number One.

More like Vince LomBOREdi.

I know the Autumn Thunder book club has been dormant for a while, and I apologize for that. Anyway, the latest installment of the ATBC is "How To Be Number One" by Vince Lombardi, Jr., a book about the values and mottos of his father, Vince Lombardi, Sr. As most of us know, Lombardi was one of the most successful coaches in NFL history, and he had amazing success in Green Bay as he turned around one of the NFL's most hopeless programs into a yearly juggernaut.

He may have been an outstanding coach - but this book suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks.

Compared to "Bo's Lasting Lessons," the Lombardi book is long-winded, dry, and preachy. It is somewhat impersonal, which is an iceberg which can quickly sink any leadership/motivational book. After reading it, I felt like I just got out of one of those company meetings where the boss tries to pep us up, we all clap at the end, but under our breath we all say "what a load of empty fluff."

Mikey knows "what it takes to take a number one" on my floor quite often.

Buy or skip? Definitely skip. If you want, you can avoid Lombardi Jr.'s cardboard writing and read the speech which made Lombardi famous as a corporate speaker (see thoughts above). If you really want a good leadership/motivational with football anecdotes, my number one choice is still "Bo's Lasting Lessons." I'm not shilling for Bo, John U. Bacon, or Michigan - it's just better in all aspects.

Autumn Thunder Book Club: If I Don't Six.

Not Bad.

"97Alumni", an AT reader, turned me on to this book via the comments section of my review for Meat Market. I bought "If I Don't Six" for a penny off Amazon.com, and for a penny, if nothing else, it was an interesting read for a few subway rides.

The author of this book, Elwood Reid, played for Michigan in the 1980's. Apparently disenchanted with the program, in 1998, Reid wrote a fictional (and possibly disguised, exaggerated, transfigured personal) account of a freshman's first year with The Wolverines.

The main character, Elwood Riley, is an interesting mixture of intellectual, brute, and hoodlum. Riley prides himself on reading philosophy and doing excellently in school, and accordingly never quite fits in with most of the Michigan football team, who Reid depicts as meat-headed jocks with names like Napalm and Kong.

After a few weeks in the program, Riley starts to wonder if there is more to life than football. He starts to gravitate towards a small camp of players who realize that they can't quit the team, but long to escape the program's clutches because they believe they fail to see the benefit from the daily grind. From there, Riley starts making bad decisions like getting in fights with teammates, partying before games, acting insolent towards coaches, and stealing from the locker room. It's not long before his freshman year is filled with turmoil and conflict which ultimately ends with a physical confrontation with one of the coaches.

I thought this would be an inside look at the dark side of Michigan's football program. But, that's not what this book turned out to be. While an interesting and entertaining work of fiction, anyone with hopes to see the program's dirty laundry aired will left wanting. While Riley's character does come off many times as an ungrateful, selfish jerk, at his core, he very well may be representative of some of the feelings freshman college football players have towards life and the game.

Should you buy? It's a penny. Give it a shot if you can find one for less than a quarter.

Autumn Thunder Book Club: Meat Market

Definitely a must-buy you're a recruiting junkie. If you're not, it's a loaner.

The latest installment of the Autumn Thunder Book Club is "Meat Market" by Bruce Feldman. This book chronicals the 2006 recruiting season of Ed Orgeron and the Ole Miss coaching staff. If you are a hardcore recruiting junkie, you'll get a real kick out of this book. It provides in-depth details of how Orgeron, a master recruiter, evaluates players, picks his prospects, and goes after the prize. "Meat Market" also gives great insight into Jerrell Powe's unfortunate troubles with the NCAA clearinghouse, and provides tasty tidbits about some of 2006's hottest recruits (one emu-lookin' quarterback in particular!).

To be quite honest, I was hoping for some more anectodes about Ed Orgeron's cajun caveman personality in this book. I wanted some ridiculously hillarious shirt-ripping yaw-yawing tales that would make me laugh out loud. While I did get a few chuckles while reading this, I thought Feldman could have capitalized on this aspect of Orgeron to make the book much more entertaining.

It you really love recruiting, are a member of either Rivals or Scout (like me!) and want to get a closer look at how all this madness truly works, "Meat Market" is a must-read. For the average recruiting fan, this book might be a little disappointing - a lot of time is spend describing the high-school recruits, which takes away from the plot and development of the book's major characters.

I'd say give this book a whirl. If nothing else, the story about how Orgeron wrestled a recruit and how the wrestling became a major factor in his commitment makes this book entertaining enough to read.

Nice work, Mr. Feldman.

Autumn Thunder Book Club: What It Means to Be A Wolverine.

A truly average book.

In my quest to read every book published about Michigan football, I picked up a copy of "What It Means To Be A Wolverine."

'Michigan's greatest players talk about Michigan football? Surely this book has to be sweet.' I thought to myself. The book was OK, but certainly not worth buying at full price.

There are a few notable names in this book, but there not very many high-quality anecdotes to make the book worth purchasing. It was interesting to read the stories of guys who played in the thirties and forties, but there was little substance for a reader to take with them after book was over.

In short, this book was like a sandwich from Zingerman's. It looks good, costs alot, but when you're done, you think 'I could have gotten something way better with the money I paid for this.'

Buy or pass? Pass. Mooch it off a friend or peruse it at the bookstore...but your personal Michigan football library will be fine with out this one.

Autumn Thunder Book Club: Friday Night Lights

I know that this book has been on the shelves for a while, but I just got around to reading it. Let me tell you, if you have not read this yet, stop whatever you're doing (except if you're actually watching football) and go get it. It is absolutely riveting.

I have seen Friday Night Lights in the past on TV, but only after reading the book could I appreciate how deep the football tradition at Permian High goes. The book gives you a great look at how a powerhouse high school football dynasty lives on a a day-to-day basis. Aside from fantastic character development, excellent prose, and exciting sports action, there is also the extremely though provoking story of the racial, economic, and personal tensions within Odessa, Texas.

If you've seen the movie and think you got the whole story, think again! Do yourself a favor and read this. If you played football back in high school, it will make you wish you could go back in time and be 18 again.

Autumn Thunder Book Club: Bo's Lasting Lessons.

On a ten and a half hour car ride, you need something to do! Knowing I would have lots of free time during my drive to Ann Arbor, I brought along a new copy of "Bo's Lasting Lessons" by John U. Bacon and Bo Schembechler. This book was worth reading every page. It almost feels like Bo is right there next to you, recounting his adventures in coaching and how they can be applied to life and leadership. Plus, you get a lot of new Bo stories that haven't been recounted in previous books about Michigan football. I learned a lot about leadership while reading this, and I got to rethink the way I work with people and how I could be a more effective motivator at work.

If you have an extra $25, a few hours, and an irresistible urge to read anything and everything related to Michigan football, this book is perfect for you. At least rent it from the library if you don't want to own your own copy for your Michigan book collection!