Tarkenton

I picked this book up in paperback in 1978, just prior to watching Tarkenton's last game, a playoff loss to the Rams. I pull it off the shelf every couple of years now and reread it. Although few things are as irrelevant as yesterday's athlete, this book never fails to entertain me. It is an intelligent, adult sports book. Still a rare thing in today's world. A great, funny look at the world of professional football thirty years ago. I bet not a lot has changed, other then the money, and a Quarterback's ability to call a game. The authors, Klobuchar and Tarkenton, alternate chapters in telling the story. I've picked up a few of Klobuchar's other books, due to my enjoying this one so much. He is a star of sports journalism as far as I'm concerned, with an irreverant and cutting style that I love. I really wish the two would get together and write an updated version, but I guess nobody would care. Tarkenton has been in some legal trouble over business practices, and never worked that hard to be remembered as one of the greats from the 60s and 70s, like a Unitas or a Jim Brown. I think he was. Not the most physically talented, but a really gritty inventive guy who got results. Well worth the time, a highly recommended book.