Rising Tide: Bear Bryant, Joe Namath, and Dixie's Last Quarter

by Randy W. Roberts, Ed Krzemienski

The extraordinary story of how Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and Joe Namath, his star quarterback at the University of Alabama, led the Crimson Tide to victory and transformed football into a truly national pastime.

During the bloodiest years of the civil rights movement, Bear Bryant and Joe Namath-two of the most iconic and controversial figures in American sports-changed the game of college football forever. Brilliantly and urgently drawn, this is the gripping account of how these two very different men-Bryant a legendary coach in the South who was facing a pair of ethics scandals that threatened his career, and Namath a cocky Northerner from a steel mill town in Pennsylvania-led the Crimson Tide to a national championship.

To Bryant and Namath, the game was everything. But no one could ignore the changes sweeping the nation between 1961 and 1965-from the Freedom Rides to the integration of colleges across the South and the assassination of President Kennedy. Against this explosive backdrop, Bryant and Namath changed the meaning of football. Their final contest together, the 1965 Orange Bowl, was the first football game broadcast nationally, in color, during prime time, signaling a new era for the sport and the nation.

Award-winning biographer Randy Roberts and sports historian Ed Krzemienski showcase the moment when two thoroughly American traditions-football and Dixie-collided. A compelling story of race and politics, honor and the will to win, Rising Tide captures a singular time in America. More than a history of college football, this is the story of the struggle and triumph of a nation in transition and the legacy of two of the greatest heroes the sport has ever seen.

Genres: Sports, Football, History, Nonfiction, Biography

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Nick Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

torn on how to review this--it was exceptional sportswriting and even well-cited (a rarity among most non-fiction these days, let alone longform sports), the principals were richly developed, no gross failures in editing were present (at worst, a few repetitions of phrase); this was a well-executed book. the parallel construction of the Deep South's reaction to Brown v Board of Education, unfortunately, is too thin to stand on its own as a history, and too poorly integrated (no pun intended) to add much to the story of Bear and Joe. one of the authors is a character in the narrative, though that's never made explicit; it seemed disingenuous, and realizing as much left a bad taste in my mouth. it mentions my beloved Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, but they're usually losing. this is a fun read for any fan of college football, but it badly fails to deliver on its promise of something greater.

i would award this four stars for readability, but i'm sufficiently irritated by their failure to go the extra distance to drop it to three. joe namath would have gone that distance; bear bryant would have demanded it.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the authors did a fine job of conveying the culture of late 50's/early 60's Beaver Falls, PA and the University of Alabama campus of the early-mid 60's. This is primarily a sports book with the history of the era in the background, but fascinating for those of us from a younger generation (in my case, Namath retired from the NFL around the time I was born) to see the intersection of Namath, Bryant, and even the controversy involving Bryant and the Saturday Evening Post.

[David Barney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read much about Bear Bryant. Interesting coach. Namath got away with a lot of things at Alabama. Good and concise story of Namath's time at Alabama with Bryant.

[Ashish M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite sports books. Randy Roberts, Ed Krzemiensk do a great job on this, in a lot of nonfiction sports books the authors just drone on and on about one game then the next then the next. This book details the the players lives and the problems facing America in those times just as much as it talks about the Crimson Tide games. The two main characters are Joe Namath, son of a Hungarian immigrant with a talented arm, and Paul "Bear" Bryant, a hard-nosed football coach. The to combine by playing and coaching for Alabama, and the result is a dominant football games. Joe Namath has a tough time adjusting to the south, he is not familiar with segregation. Bear Bryant and Joe Namath try to focus on just football, but they cannot ignore the things going on. The civil rights movement. John F. Kennedy's assassination. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
You will have to read this book to find out to find out how the two main characters transform football to a national pastime with everything that is going on at the time. This book is more for than just sports-lovers, people who appreciate history will like this book too.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a native Alabamian and a life-long University of Alabama fan, I was very interested in reading this book. Although I was too young to remember watching Joe Namath play at Alabama, I grew up hearing stories about him and other legendary players at UA. I have to admit that it's always painful to read about the years of segregation, and the turmoil that accompanied the civil rights movement in Alabama, but I know it's important for us to be aware of our history so that it's not repeated. It was nice to get a peek into the mystique that surrounds Bear Bryant and his ability to lead and inspire most who came in contact with him. All in all, even though I greatly prefer fiction to non-fiction in most cases, I thought this was a very good read.

[Wayne Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was interested to know how Bear Bryant and Joe Namath worked together, such contrasts in life, one occupied with rules, the other who enjoyed breaking the rules. This book didn't tell as much as I'd wanted on this subject but it was nevertheless satisfying as the author described the background of civil rights in Alabama and its effect on the football program at U of A. Also, a strength of the book was its description of Namath's hometown in Pennsylvania, an element that we need to understand in order to understand Namath. Altogether, this was a good book about a great college football program in the early '60's and about Bryant and Namath who played key roles in football.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rising Tide: Bear Bryant, Joe Namath, and Dixie's Last Quarter by Randy Roberts (Twelve Publishing 2013) (796.33263)was not, to my surprise, the usual paean to "all things Bear" that is often ginned up in Alabama. The author explores the period in the early 1960's when integration came to college sports. Joe Namath was the quarterback at Bama in those days, and Bear Bryant was shrewd enough to take the high road once it was demonstrated that the Alabama football program could not fight the inevitable tide (to coin a phrase). My rating: 6/10, finished 11/26/13.

[Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very good book that uses alabama football to examine the times in the 1950 and 60's. even with all of the books etc about these times, bear bryant, joe mamath and alabama football, this is an interesting read.

[Budd Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://allsportsbooks.blogspot.com/20...

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good account of the Bear's return to 'Bama, during the early 60's and the Civil Rights struggle. This book end right where The Missing Ring begins. Not just for Bama fans!

[Hugh Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The style is compelling, the pace swift and the characters life-like. The authors trace the fortunes of the Alabama Crimson Tide in Bear Bryant's early years and the Civil Rights movement alongside the prankish and often-wayward hijinks of Joe Willie Namath.
The Good: Young Joe Namath comes to life through his background in Pennsylvania steel country to a degree achieved by only good biographers. Reviewers compare this book to an ESPN documentary and it really is a page-turner. Bear Bryant is still a somewhat enigmatic marble man, but none of the biographies I have read have managed to get beyond his towering public persona. The best way to handle him is with a generous supply of quotes, which these authors do.
The Bad: There is one glaring factual error when the authors report, "The summer (of 1963) belonged to Bull Connor..." when actually Connor left office in May 1963. The book covers the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama in great detail, but the authors fail to mention the ouster from office of their greatest villain. The omission is inexplicable and it distorts the tide of change that was coming to Alabama in the 1960s. The people of Birmingham who voted against Connor deserve better.
In sum: Every Alabama fan needs to read this book. If you did not live through this time, and even if you did, you will probably learn something about the wild recruitment process that permitted multiple letters of intent, the Civil Rights Movement, and the boy who grew up to be Broadway Joe.

[Gregory Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a mixed bag for me. On one hand, the third chapter about the high school football in the mill country of Western Pennsylvania is one of the best things I've read in years; I loved the way the authors captured that time and place, something that is positively mythical in my own life.

On the other hand, much of the book seemed overly detailed for the scope and style of this book. I couldn't tell if it wanted to be a feature on Namath, a feature on Bryant, or an overall assessment of Alabama football in the 60s. Because it tried to do all of these things, it felt like it didn't really do any of them completely well.

I enjoyed getting to know more about the "larger than life" figure of Namath. His conquests on and off of the field definitely are conveyed well in the book. I'm not sure I would ever assign a book like this, but I do see it has value. It's certainly something I'll make passing reference to if I ever get a chance to teach sports history again.

[Scott Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid, if not spectacular, book that attempts to describe a key intersection in time between the University of Alabama football program, the legendary coach Bear Bryant, and his somewhat off-beat, but incredibly talented Pennsylvania quarterback, Joe Namath. It offers just enough bio information to let the reader know who the key individual are, and then attempts to intertwine the fortunes of the football program with the rising Civil Rights movement in the state during the early 1960s. It is a fast, interesting read, but not a great stand-alone work. I am sure there are better books on the various topics discussed in the text. Still, for someone who may not have a lot of familiarity with 'Bama and its historic football program, it is worth a one-time read.

[Marc Gerstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Jets and Joe Namath fan growing up (my father and I had season tickets the super bowl year), I read a lot of Namath-related books. This one was intriguing because it focused on pre-Jets Namath, and equally on Alabama coach Bear Bryant. Bryant and Namath were as different as different can be; the hardscrabble southern pre-integration coach and the smart-ass northern kid. How they worked together to, in essence, pull college football into the modern era is a heck of story, and its especially informative in the way it links the football story to the bigger racial-cultural struggles of the era. Joe Namath, even today, retains an intense and deep attachment to the fortunes of Alabama’s football team, so it makes sense for this book to be a must-rad for any Namath fan.

[Phillip Gonzales · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting view of the rise of Alabama football during the late 1950's and early 1960's. Legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and Joe "Willie" Namath face struggles on and off the field in the form of opponents, segregation, and harsh accusations during the building of one the South's most formidable college football programs. Entertaining in its mention of players and coaches from a golden era in the game, it chronicles the sacrifices, dedication, and determination in becoming one of the nation's elite.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book, but the focus felt slightly splintered. It provided some good focus on the main characters (slightly more so on Namath, as they had particular access to people close to him). A good sports read

[Brent Darling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not put this book down!

[Meghan Sperrazza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read for any college football fan and an essential read for fans of The Alabama Crimson Tide, Paul "Bear" Bryant and Joe Namath.

[Johnnyc · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best sports related books I have read. Off the field story just as interesting, maybe even more. Great book.

[Esteban Stipnieks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great snap shot in time. It does well covering the football story in the backdrop of Dixie's last stand.

[Jaclyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bear was classy & he looked for football players .

[Bob O'G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rising Tide was a true mix of the three subjects in the subtitle and because of that, the book leaves you wanting to know more about each. This leaves Rising Tide as only the slightest bit unsatisfying. However, the book is stunningly well researched and it covers roughly the four year period (and the months before) when Joe Namath quarterbacked the Crimson Tide during one of the most tumultuous times in our country.

As an extreme fan of professional football, I admit that I could not care less about college ball. Though as a testament to Randy Roberts work, I found myself consistently engrossed in his attention to detail, be it character study, game plays, or politics. This is worth checking out more for fans of football. As I stated above, there is an equal mix of Bryant, Namath, and segregation issues. Therefore, people interested in solely the political elements and how they relate to football will come away disappointed.

Note: I'm an admirer of Joe Willie. As a Jets fan, how could I not be? Reading this solidifies his legend as a great football player. Though his numbers do not always show it, he was a general on the field. He was also a non-conformist who was still able to be respectful and a man who did not care about the color of your skin. He only cared if you knew the plays and wanted to win. It was great to read about his early years.

[Samuel Thrasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Rising Tide" is an entertaining and captivating read, that perfectly balances narrative with historical detail. I walked away with only a few complaints. That being said, they were major and hindered my enjoyment of an otherwise wonderful book. First, it is unnecessarily crude. I find it slightly ironic how often the authors stress Bryant's need for a wholesome lifestyle and his distaste for foul language, but will turn right around and curse or make crude jokes on the same page. Second, the authors seemed to lack focus at times. The book is billed as focusing on the story of Paul "Bear" Bryant and Joe Namath. While the early chapters of the books do that very well, the majority of the novel finds itself focusing instead on the civil rights movement in the south and the role football played in said movement. Overall, it is a good book and I would recommend it to Alabama fans everywhere, but be prepared for parts that will have to be skipped and focus that will not be maintained.

[John Yingling · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice mixture of sports, culture and history.

[Peter Mistal · Rating 2 out of 5]

History book

Reads like a history book. I like the detail but it was a little much. Did not bring up much about when Alabama did recruit black athletes.

[Chris Beach · Rating 4 out of 5]

The legend Joe Willy Namath as a young man ; sensational!

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good football fix, a splash of history, but not one of the greats.