The Pulitzer Prize winning author David Halberstam is well known for his work as a New York Times reporter who challenged the upbeat news coming from the United States mission in South Vietnam, and for his book The Best and Brightewherst, which focuses on the consequences of US foreign policy in Vietnam during the Kennedy administration.
In total, Halberstam wrote twenty books before his accidental death in 2007, seven of which covered personalities and events in sport. The last of his sports books, and only one focused on football, was The Education of a Coach, about Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick.
In the introduction to the book, David Maraniss discusses some elements of football that disturbed Halberstam, including “the cultural hyperventilation that transformed the sport from recreation to religion” and “the overwhelming pile of money that made it a business more than a game”.
Despite its detractions, football displays feats of human speed, strength, and athletic skill. Maraniss tells us Halberstam was captivated by this. And through the book, Halberstam attempts to understand Belichick’s traits of excellence and originality which he uses to lead others, build cohesive teams, and affect positive outcomes.
For those of you who enjoy the game, and who count yourselves as Patriots fans, here’s hoping those traits will inspire New England’s team as we enter a new football season.
-RK