I’ve read a few here and there. I love Lou’s books (love Lou!), but those aren’t really about ND football. But they are better than the other ghost-written coach books.
Shake Down the Thunder by Murray Sperber is good…but my fave might be Talking Irish by Steve Delsohn. Light, fun book.
Do you have one you recommend? This is the time of year I like to dig into one.
The essentials:
Sperber's 'Shake Down The Thunder' is the bible, of course.
Holtz's 'Wins, Losses and Lessons' is a must.
Talking Irish: The Oral History of Notre Dame Football - first person accounts. Like you say, a fun read.
Others to consider:
Resurrection: The Miracle Season That Saved Notre Dame - about Ara's first season, and it's excellent.
When Pride Still Mattered: Lombardi book that has multiple ND references due to the many ties between Green Bay and ND, starting with Curly Lambeau.
Not ND, but worthwhile:
Champions Way: Football, Florida and the Lost Soul of College Sports - chronicles the filth at FSU. Truly disgusting. Great setup for the game on Sunday.
Meat On The Hoof: The Hidden World of Texas Football - one of the first college football exposes. Came out in 1973. Uncovers the methods used to run lesser players off the team. Really shocking to read from today's lens.
And finally, a MUST READ FOR ANY COLLEGE FOOTBALL FAN:
The Opening Kickoff: The Tumultuous Birth of a Football Nation - I cannot recommend this book enough. Starts at the genesis of college football. Every problem that we complain about today - money, mercenary players, academic fraud, violence - was absolutely there at the beginning.
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There was also an earlier one by the same title written by another guy in the 70’s about the Leahy era that was interesting about him, and the ND administration who thought that football had become to big there. They got rid of the physical education major as part of the correction. I need to dig that one up out of the basement.