The Last Coach: A Life of Paul "Bear" Bryant

This will be a perfect Christmas gift!

The definitive biogaphy of a College Football original...a one-of-a-kind college football coach, and,unfortunately, perhaps the last of his kind.. That Paul Bryant came from where he did and accomplished what he did makes this a story of the American Dream in the flesh..the flesh and blood of Paul "Bear" Bryant...Thoroughly researched, well written, a fitting tribute to the coach and the man Allen Barra admires...it is not perfect, as Coach Bryant was not perfect, but it's pretty close...Unfortunately, at times, Barra becomes an apologist for Coach Bryant rather than a true biographer..his colors and his admiration come through a bit too much at times, and that's unfortunate because Coach Bryant needs no one to apologize or defend him. His record and his legacy of contribution do that far better than a biographer, even a biographer as good as this one, could ever do...Those few occasions, however, do little to affect the quality and accomplisment of this book. It's a winner, a big winner,and even people who not enjoy or appreciate college football, can enjoy this book because of its heroic and epic American Dream qualities. Good job, Mr. Barra. As Coach Bryant would say, "You've made your Mamma proud..." And he would be proud, too. Good job. Not perfect, but very, very good. A winner as he was a winner...

We get plenty and a lot more in "Last Coach." My gracious, it seems like every major game in Paul "Bear" Bryant's sensational career is documented. We understand Bryant's brilliance as a coach, and that covers page after page, but we also read of his flaws. Four head-coaching stops for Bear--Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Alabama--after a big career as a player at Bama--are so well-detailed with numerous interviews. You not only learn a lot about timely moments in a coach's life, it's like you're sitting in the room with the participants. Art Dlugach

Allen Barra takes the reader to a different time and place so that we might better understand the phenomena that were Paul "Bear" Bryant and Alabama football; to a time before college football was a money-generating behemoth, and to an era when it had occurred to almost no one that black athletes could play this game as well as anyone, and better than most. Read this book if you enjoy college football or biography, but also read it if you enjoy modern American history or tales of social (in) justice. This is the story of a man who never should have been successful, and likely never even should have learned to read, but somehow became an American icon.

Great book. Allowed me to learn about a football coach whose team I was watching as a boy on TV. One minor discomfort about the book, Allen Berra made one or two mistakes in some statements, like placing former Alabama player Mike Clements, on the 1973 and 1978 team (6 years apart, and a few editorials mistakes that have more to do with the editors than the writer.This book was put on the market in 2005 and one line from stood out out to me on as I read it and it was on page 499 and it's attributed to Paul Finebaum about the post-Bear era at Alabama and it goes like this ""I think it's a biblical thing," says Finebaum. "Twenty-five years of glory followed by twenty-five years of plagues." If the plague era began with Bryant's death, then a new goldent age should be dawning for the Crimson Tide around 2007".As faith would have it, 2007 was Nick Saban's first year at Alabama. Time will tell if Finebaum was right.

I have read quite a few books on Paul "Bear" Bryant (including his audobiography) so I wasn't sure if the information in this book would be facts I already knew or information I was not aware of. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. Yes, there was all the well-known facts about his life, but to my surprise there was quite a bit of information that I was reading for the first time.The author has done an outstanding job of detailed research and brings a clear steady style to the book. It is without question the most comprehensive book on Coach Bryant's life that I have ever read.If you're an Alabama football fan, this is a must read.

This book was one of the best sports biographies I have ever read. Not only a great story on one of the greatest coaches of all time, but a history lesson on the evolution of college football. The research required to write this book is unmatched. If you want to read a great story, do not hestiate to get this one. Bama fan or not, it is worth your time.Roll Tide!

I've read many of the Bryant books and simply put, this is the best.If you are a fan of college football then you'd do well to read this book from a historical standpoint. For those who think they know college football, this book is illuminating with regards to the "national" game in the early days vs. now (2007) and how championships were determined largely by geographics and not by talent or strength of schedule.Excellent.

brilliant book

I enjoyed this book and learning about Bear Bryant's life.