Moving the Chains: Tom Brady and the Pursuit of Everything

I found this book to be very interesting and a must read for every No. 12 jersey wearing Patriots' fan! It tells about the rise of Tom Brady and how he came to become the legend that he is through his hard work and dedication. It went behind the scenes of just what he does on the playing field and went into his personal life which I thought was interesting. It's a must read for every Patriots fan. It goes quick and I'm sure it will be enjoyed. Gerard Zemek husband of author of "My Funny Dad, Harry"

One of the best sports writers ever, Charlie once again writes with precision and incredible depth using the spontaneous wit that earmarks his writng style. Whether you are a Patriots fan, a Brady wannabee, or a curious west-coaster, you will find this book difficult to put down. I bought copies for myself, my 89yo father-in-law, my 35 yo son, and my 11yo grandson...all were pleased with comments ranging from "a great sports biograpy' to "Yowzer awesome". In the pursuit for everything, Peirce wins. 5 stars for sure

I am a Tom Brady fan most of all, and a Patriots fan in general, so that is why I bought this book. It was everything I thought it would be, and more. Not only did it give great information about Brady, but it also gave a lot of very interesting information about various Patriots team members and coaches. I feel like I know so much more about the team and different people on the team than I did before! I'd highly recomment this book to anyone who's a football fan in general, and even more to any Tom Brady fans out there.

And Charles Pierce says there is not much "I" in Tom Brady either. In a professional sport with salary parity, logic says that it must be the Pats teamwork that sets them ahead. Bill Bellicheck, based on results, is the best coach in football, and Tom Brady is his team's QB. There are many great head coach - QB pairings in NFL history - Lombardi and Starr, Landry and Staubach, Walsh and Montana among them, and Bellicheck and Brady - despite their relatively brief history together - are now also inextricably linked, 3 championships in 4 years will do that. Bellicheck figured out long ago that a football game is not about scoring touchdowns - it is about having more points on the board at the end of the game than the other team. He had the best kicker in football in Adam Vinateri, and in Brady has a QB that knows how to move the chains. When the Pats are playing their game, and they usually are, there is an efficiency to their execution, football the way it is meant to be played. Brady seems to stay within his limits of himself and his team while still pushing himself and them. Sports as life metaphor books rarely work for me, but having read some of Pierce's magazine pieces previously, I was intrigued when I saw the book - and not at all disappointed. Not all sportswriters are writers, but Charles Pierce is. Instead of a fluff PR piece, we get a book about faith, character, family, team, and the human community - if all you want are the stats and the records, use the Google on the internets.

What Pierce does in Moving the Chains is reveal the heart and soul of football by examining football's consummate team player, Tom Brady. Brady may not be the most talented current quarterback (Peyton Manning gets that honor), or the flashiest (Michael Vick gets that one), or most beloved (that might go to Brett Favre), but on any given Sunday in the post season he'd be the quarterback you'd want leading your team down the field. Pierce does an excellent job examining why this is the case: why on a Sunday in January you'd want Brady, the no-name quarterback from Michigan, leading your team down the field. In the context of the ups and downs of the injury-plagued '05 season, Pierce dissects Tom Brady. Pierce examines the games and talks with teammates to highlight Brady's strengths and weakness. Pierce interviews old coaches, friends and family to understand how Brady's work ethic and style were formed. Pierce shows us how these early foundations have grown to make Brady the team player --and more importantly, team leader --who can lead a struggling team to the playoffs. Pierce looks at football through a broad lens, bringing up interesting cultural and philosophical points that make this more than just another sports book. He understands that football is played in a larger cultural context and that one bleeds into another. He also knows that leadership and greatness in one area can exemplify leadership and greatness in others. With Pierce's style and awareness it is easy to extrapolate his observations of leadership in this book to other areas. This book gave me both a better understanding of the game of football and a better understanding of what it takes to lead.