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Monday Morning Quarterback
Nothing is sacred to Jonathan Yardley, and nobody is safe from his penetrating insights. In Monday Morning Quarterback , Washington, D.C.'s best known columnist offers his wit and wisdom on America in the 1990s, from politics and culture to sports and literature. Whatever his target, Yardley's observations are always controversial, outrageous, uncompromising, eye-opening, and hilarious.
- GenresEssays
Hardcover
First published January 28, 1998
7 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Yardley
18 books12 followersJonathan Yardley is a book critic, journalist, and biographer, and the recipient of the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.
From 1981 to 2014, he was chief book critic for the Washington Post, where he combined scathingly frank reviews with an appreciation for new talent. He championed the early careers of Michael Chabon, Edward P. Jones, and Anne Tyler, among others.
In addition to biographies of Ring Lardner and Frederick Exley, Yardley published Our Kind of People: The Story of an American Family , a wry memoir about his WASP parents. Second Reading , his most recent book, collects the series of Post columns in which he reconsidered notable or neglected books from the past.
From 1981 to 2014, he was chief book critic for the Washington Post, where he combined scathingly frank reviews with an appreciation for new talent. He championed the early careers of Michael Chabon, Edward P. Jones, and Anne Tyler, among others.
In addition to biographies of Ring Lardner and Frederick Exley, Yardley published Our Kind of People: The Story of an American Family , a wry memoir about his WASP parents. Second Reading , his most recent book, collects the series of Post columns in which he reconsidered notable or neglected books from the past.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 1, 2025
Because of Yardley's relentless negativity for the first half of the book, I was going to give this one star. The second half of the book is a bit more palatable because the stakes are a bit lower.
Yardley seems like a talented writer- he knows how to put words together. But his columns are largely formulaic- find something that enrages him, explain why everyone is stupid, sarcastic quip about how everyone else is being fooled.
If I hadn't been on the train for four hours, I would have dropped this in a book bin. As it is, I intentionally left it in a hotel room, next to a Bible. The next person to read it will find the Book of Job positively inspiring.
His sports writing, eulogies and local columns are more interesting and if he'd started with those, or interspersed them better, this could have been more enjoyable. I'm still trying to figure out what the redeeming quality is to this book. Why would I tell someone to read it? And if I can't figure that out, I'll probably revise it down to one star. Two for now, with no reason to recommend it.
Yardley seems like a talented writer- he knows how to put words together. But his columns are largely formulaic- find something that enrages him, explain why everyone is stupid, sarcastic quip about how everyone else is being fooled.
If I hadn't been on the train for four hours, I would have dropped this in a book bin. As it is, I intentionally left it in a hotel room, next to a Bible. The next person to read it will find the Book of Job positively inspiring.
His sports writing, eulogies and local columns are more interesting and if he'd started with those, or interspersed them better, this could have been more enjoyable. I'm still trying to figure out what the redeeming quality is to this book. Why would I tell someone to read it? And if I can't figure that out, I'll probably revise it down to one star. Two for now, with no reason to recommend it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review