If These Walls Could Talk: San Francisco 49ers: Stories from the San Francisco 49ers Sideline, Locker Room, and Press Box

by Matt Barrows, Joe Staley

As a longtime reporter on the 49ers beat, Matt Barrows has lived and breathed Niners football through times of greatness, defeat, and reinvention. In If These Walls Could Talk: San Francisco 49ers, Barrows provides insight into the 49ers' inner sanctum as only he can. Featuring players and coaches like Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick, Kyle Shanahan, and Jimmy Garoppolo, this indispensable volume is your behind-the-scenes pass.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

Published October 13, 2020

Reviews

[Ryan]

2021 Reading Challenge - A book of your choice

[Russ Bertetta]

After a dismal 49er season, I needed something to pick me back up again. In a lot of places it did that. However, it didn't cover a lot of years. It basically covered the Harbaugh years from 2011 thru 2014 with a little pre-Harbaugh and a little post-Hargaugh into the current Shanahan/Lynch regime.
The stories were good; several were pretty crazy like the Joe Staley patio furniture and the Alex Smith Mercedes fiasco. Things that were really deep secrets! The thing I enjoyed reading the most was the different players who were parts of those teams; names we haven't read in years-Dan Kilgore; LeMichael James; Carlos Rogers, Dashon Goldson. Ahmad Brooks, Blake Costanzo and many others. Some really made an impact on those teams; others not so much. But they did bring a smile of memory to my lips.
A book for 9er fans only. I've heard Barrows on the radio hundreds of times over the years and these stories were the kinds of things he would talk about. Just wished he had gone to some previous era writers and gathered some of their "behind the scenes" stories.
A strong 3+

[Gaurang Garg]

History of the major moments in last 20 years for niners franchise. Lot of bites from players coaches on inside things that happened.
Got a kick out of reading the harbaugh years again and sad they never won/ were robbed.
Recommend watching YouTube clips of plays mentioned while following along
Very brief on: baalke harbaugh blowup, tomsula/Kelly years aren’t even discussed, 2019 Super Bowl year should have been a chapter rather than 3 pages.

[Ash]

A very detailed and engaging history of the 21st century Niners, up to 2019. The majority of the book covers the Harbaugh years, especially 2011, which gets multiple chapters and attention. I’d have loved more on the post-2017 years but I get that Barrows had a deadline to get everything published. Still, it’s a shame the 2019 season didn’t get more than a brief mention. He is a talented writer, no doubt, and this was such an effortless read.

[Henry]

Nothing groundbreaking from the book and the promotional material on it may have over promised a little. But still good nonetheless as it provides a coherent story of the team’s successful runs from early 2010s but speeds the pace up when writing about the current squad. Overall Barrows does a great job in writing about pivotal games and some decisions behind the scenes.

[Samuel Lam]

Great insight to the last 15 years of the team. Most stories fans will know but it's fun to relive them.

[Ally]

This book was so fun to read. I loved reliving these moments and learning background on the things that happened. Even all the typos didn't deter me 🤭

[Jeff Russell]

Loved it. Can’t wait for the sequel. The final chapter felt rushed but hopefully that’ll get enhanced in the next one.