Ohio Books

War As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest

Michael Rosenberg

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Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> 20th Century -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Wow! Great Book! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is an awesome book about Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler. Good from the beginning to the end. Lots of inside stuff I never heard or read about! Hard to put it down with Ohio State-Michigan game coming up soon. A must read for any fan of either school!

Editorial Review:

For many, the late 1960s/early 1970s meant a country in turmoil. Sit-ins. Vietnam War protests. Don't trust anyone over 30. Nixon was 'not a crook' - or so he claimed. At the other end of the spectrum was the intense rivalry between Woody Hayes, the legendary Ohio State football coach, and his nemesis, Bo Schembechler from Michigan. To them, the American heartland was still 'pure and sacred', and they were totally in command of their troops. Hayes idolized General Patton, the great war hero. Schembechler idolized President Ford, a former All-American football player. Rosenberg sets the stage brilliantly for this coming clash of cultural differences, as Hayes and Schembechler try desperately to win a national football championship while coping with a shifting political landscape. It all leads to a climatic, and in part tragic, downfall of an important era gone by.

Browns Scrapbook: A Fond Look Back at Five Decades of Football, from a Legendary Cleveland Sportswriter

Chuck Heaton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Quick and easy... 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Was shipped on time and arrived before xmas as needed. I would buy again.

We won't see times (or writing) like this again 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Chuck Heaton is a legend in the world of sports writing. That's not an exaggeration. Chuck is one of the very few writers who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

He was even chosen to present Browns running back Leroy Kelly at his induction into the Hall of Fame.

This collection of short stories serves as evidence of the worthiness of Chuck Heaton's Hall of Fame induction.

It must have been difficult to choose stories from Chuck's 50 years of writing, but the included works are outstanding. They give a feel for the game, the players and the time that we just don't read about anymore.

The book is broken down into several sections. The Places section tells tales of the travels of the players, coaches and sportswriters. Young readers will not believe the conditions. Superstars flying coach on a commercial plane? Unheard of. As Chuck wrote, "...such incidents will never be experienced by the present media covering the Browns. It was different back then."

Yes it was. For example, Chuck tells how "Black players were not allowed in the hotel the Browns used in Dallas and so the squad split up. The black players went to practice and then went to live with black families in the area." That was 1954, not that long ago.

Another section is On and Off the Field which includes reportings of the death of Paul Brown, trading Bobby Mitchell and the waiting by Leroy Kelly and Gene Hickerson for the Hall of Fame. Heaton claims Otto Graham as the best QB and rightly predicted that Red Right 88 would be Brian Sipe's legacy.

Brown's fans should ignore the favorable comments about the traitorous Art Modell. Chuck's stories were written long before the dastardly deed of moving the team.

The Rivals section is lots of fun. We read about Chuck Noll, Bum Phillips, Jack Lambert and others from the hated Steelers, Bengals and Oilers. Older readers will remember the rivalry with the Detroit Lions and way back to the pre-NFL days for the 49ers rivalry.

There are also some great old photos in the book - Chuck with the players and coaches and lots of classic Browns photos.

The Big Moments section should be savored. It includes reporting on the Browns 1964 championship over the Colts, the 1950 victory over the Eagles that shocked the NFL, the firing of Paul brown and the (gulp) Drive.

The Game section covers the NFL Draft and Chuck tells why 1964 was the year "the sport lost its innocence." (Chuck blames Joe Namath.)

The next section is on Hall of Famers and covers Jim Brown, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Bill Willis, Bobby Mitchell, Paul Warfield, Mike McCormack, Frank Gatski and Leroy Kelly.

The final section is a lot of fun as Chuck chose his all-time greatest Browns team. Some selections are no-brainers such as Jim Brown at running back. Others will be a source of debate for football fans. And younger fans will argue that Josh Cribbs, for example, should be the kick returner and not Leroy Kelly. That's part of the fun.

The photo on the cover of the book summarizes the contents. Chuck is being lifted into the air by 4 Browns linemen. This kind of camaraderie was prevalent then (at least for respected writers like Chuck) and unlikely to be seen again.

Just as the quality writing and stories of Chuck Heaton are unlikely to be seen again.

Note. Sadly, Chuck Heaton passed away February 14, 2008 at the age of 90.

Editorial Review:

Veteran sportswriter Chuck Heaton looks back at his 47 years covering the Cleveland Browns--the "Old Browns" teams that fans still miss. Heaton covered the Browns for the Cleveland Plain Dealer from 1946 to 1993. In these columns, written shortly before his retirement in 1993, Heaton reminisces about Hall of Fame players like Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly, and Bobby Mitchell; original head coach Paul Brown; characters like fabled trainer Murray Kono; even notorious Browns rivals like Oilers' coach Jerry Glanville and Steelers' linebacker Jack Lambert. Browns fans age 40 and older will fondly recall the old days. Younger Browns fans will find out why everyone still longs for them.

Chic: The Extraordinary Rise of Ohio State Football and the Tragic Schoolboy Athlete Who Made It Happen

Bob Hunter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Bob Hunter's Chic is the untold story of the unassuming schoolboy who laid the groundwork for Ohio stadium, as well as the story of the building of America's greatest athletic institution, the OSU program.

It's a near cinematic tale of how it all began, how mighty Michigan was first put in its place by the Buckeye upstarts. It is a story of the game itself creating its first modern identity, and into it all is woven the story of a boy whose prowess matched the vibrant passage of a city and a university reaching for their own potential.

Finally, it is a love story. In all its odd and mysterious turnings, neither the city nor the university ever forgot the schoolboy. Almost half a century afterward, Chic Harley returned to Columbus and a third of the city lined the downtown streets in the rain to cheer him.

Chic Harley is the ghost in the program, a tragic figure who through the life of Ohio Stadium gave as much sustained pleasure to as many people as any athlete of all time.

Big Chuck: My Favorite Stories from 47 Years on Cleveland TV

Chuck Schodowski

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

It's a Wonderful Life. 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Big Chuck Schodowski tells this story in his own words. At 74 years old, he's had a tremendous career, and made countless friends. Tom Feran, who co-wrote the book, does a great job of letting the Conversational style of Big Chuck come through in the narrative. To read this book, is to hear Big Chuck talking like he's standing right next to you sharing a beer.

Editorial Review:

Tune in as Cleveland TV legend Big Chuck Schodowski tells hundreds of funny and surprising stories from a lifetime in television in his familiar, good-natured, Cleveland-to-the-bone style.
Since 1960, Chuck has been on camera, behind the camera, and in the director s chair. He collaborated with Ernie Anderson on the groundbreaking Ghoulardi show, and continued to host a late-night show across four decades the longest such run in TV history. He wrote and directed two thousand hilarious sketches that were watched religiously by adoring fans.
Revisit favorite characters including the Kielbasy Kid, Certain Ethnic Guy, Ben Crazy, and many more. Chuck's stories will entertain fans and anyone who enjoys behind-the-scenes tales of television and celebrities.

1968; The Year that Saved Ohio State Football

David Hyde

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Editorial Review:

1968 begins in the mens' room of an exclusive Columbus restaurant and ends two years later in The Rose Bowl, an unwitting but flawless metaphor for Ohio State University's rise to the pinnacle of college football. Between these two events occurs one of the great adventure stories in the history of the sport.

Against a backdrop of national turmoil and international crises, Coach Wayne Woodrow Hayes uncharacteristically brings into his lagging program new young coaches and an impressive bunch of extraordinary kids, including the first significant number of African-Americans.

There is an irreverent military school lineman who begins the school's lifting program by bringing his own weights, a Brooklyn fullback who can't believe Ohio's open spaces, a running back with New Jersey street-gang cred, and a homegrown quarterback with a bad back and an unassailable talent.

All of them labor under the shadow of Hayes, the promethean figure who would leave an indelible legacy as one of the century's great coaches- sly, mercurial, pugnacious, maddeningly contradictory, a larger-than-life figure who carries the football ambitions of an entire state on his beefy shoulders.

1968 is a rich tapestry of scenes and stories throughout an incandescent season, including some of the best football dialogue ever written. In scene after scene, the raw intensity of an unforgettable season pulls the reader along to its breathless climax in Pasadena when the Super Sophs take on one of college's greatest running backs.

It s a story that has everything- great drama, achievement, colorful characters, and the complex unfolding of Woody Hayes's multifaceted personality.

Near the end of a chaotic decade, the Buckeyes provide a badly needed feel-good lift to an entire state. And just as Woody predicted, they found themselves a large, inextricably bound family, tied forever by the commonalities of blood literally theirs sweat, tears, laughter, and, of course, their near-miraculous season.

Then Tress Said to Troy: The Best Ohio State Football Stories Ever Told with CD

Jeff Snook

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Then Tress said to Troy:The Best Ohio State Stories Ever Told 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Great Read, Great Book for any Ohio State Fan. Great gift. Strongly Rec. Go Bucks!

Great book for buckeye fans. 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This was a great gift for my brother. I read it over and there was a lot of history of OSU football in there.

For the Faithful, a Collection of Insight 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This is great book for a young man or hardcore fan. Easy to read because there are so many short passages in the form of letters or wisdom from the players who left Ohio State University many years before. Their memories with the passing of time - Timeless!

If you are on the go and can only read short passages, plenty of places to bookmark and pick up again later!!!

Editorial Review:

Includes an exclusive audio CD featuring interviews with Ohio Buckeye's greatest players.

Letters From Eden: A Year at Home, in the Woods

Julie Zickefoose

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Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Birdwatching -> General
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

It's like conversing with a friend. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I loved Ms. Zickefoose's little book. It's a publication one reads in small doses, enjoying her comments and her art. The style is like having a really good conversation with an interesting, accomplished naturalist. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys nature.

Editorial Review:

A frequent commentator on NPR's All Things Considered, Julie Zickefoose has painted nature virtually all her life. At the age of seven she knew that she wanted to paint birds for a living, and her lifelong dedication shows in her paintings, which are meticulously accurate as well as beautiful. The paintings used here, of scenes from her beloved home in southern Ohio, illuminate well-crafted essays based on her daily walks and observations. Wild turkeys, coyotes, box turtles, and a bird-eating bullfrog flap, lope, and leap through her prose. She excels at describing and exploring interactions between people and animals, bringing her subjects to life in just a few lines. Her husband and young children make appearances, presenting their own challenges and pleasures. The essays are arranged by season, starting with winter, providing a sense of movement through the year.

Classic Browns: The 50 Greatest Games in Cleveland Browns History (Classic Cleveland)

Jonathan Knight

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Editorial Review:

It's far too easy to allow the national media and disparaging fans to undermine Clevelanders' views of their professional sports teams. While the Browns, Indians, and Cavaliers have certainly caused more than their fair share of frustration and heartbreak over the past century, there are countless moments of glory in the fertile athletic history of Northeast Ohio that receive little notice east of Shaker Heights or west of Rocky River. Jonathan Knight's "Classic Cleveland Series" sets out to combat this trend, bundling together the most memorable moments of Cleveland's beloved atheltic clubs. In three separate publications, Knight ranks the fifty greatest games in each franchise with entertaining accounts of each contest, properly placing them in the broad landscape of civic history.Regardless of what the current editions of the Browns, Indians, and Cavs accomplish, every contest played is another chapter in an epos connecting each generation of fans to the ones before it. "The Classic Cleveland Series" colorfully illustrates that regardless of today's final score, the simple continuation of the saga is reason enough for reflection and celebration." Classic Browns" counts down the fifty greatest Cleveland Browns games, from unexpected upsets to incredible comebacks to titanic championship battles. The rich, six-decade history of the Browns is layered into these tales, tying together the gritty All-American Football Conference games played in the shadow of World War II to the sleek Sunday battles at shimmering Cleveland Browns Stadium today.Knight ranks heartbreakers like The Fumble and The Drive alongside championship duels and epic confrontations with heated rivals. Included in these pages are the heroics of Browns legends like Otto Graham, Lou Groza, Jim Brown, Brian Sipe, and Bernie Kosar to name just a few. Whether it was because of the score, the weather, or an amazing individual performance, each game included in "Classic Browns" is worth remembering and revisiting. Sure to spark interest and debate, "Classic Browns" will appeal to Browns fans everywhere.

What It Means to Be a Buckeye: Jim Tressel and Ohio State's Greatest Players (What It Means to Be ...)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A must for every Buckeye fan! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This a must for every Buckeye fan. Ohio State is the greatest tradition in college football...period! This is not just from the fan's point of view...the former players tell it best!

Buckeye Must Read 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

If you are a tried and true Buckeye Football fan you need to read this book. An unbelievable set of stories from the famous and not so famous stars of the past. If you wish to read about what it was like to play under the coaching staff over the years this book is a must read. Most interesting is how Woody Hayes is portrayed by his players. One mistake does not a life make, and Woody Hayes is given his due here. As a big fan of Jim Tressel, and his outlook on coaching, I would have wished more content on how Coach Tressel handles (more like juggles) the coaching of a top notch program within the NCAA. I guess you cannot expect everything, but to a man I was happy to read each story.

A Must for Buckeye Fans 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a great idea for a book, get some of the greatest players ever that played Football at Ohio State and let them tell stories about what it's like to be a Buckeye football player. There are great stories about how they were recuited, the big games ,their team mates, and most of all coach Woody Hayes and what an impact he left on all their lives. I can't wait for a 2nd addition there are still many big name players and coaches who could contribute. Thanks Jeff Snook for a great book!

Album Quilts of Ohio's Miami Valley (Ohio Quilt Series)

Sue C. Cummings

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Editorial Review:

From 1888 to 1918 a community of miami valley neighbors and relatives made album presentation quilts to celebrate life passages. Their sharing of designs and construction techniques led to the development of a distinctive regional quilt style that has never been duplicated in any other region of the state or country. Sue C. Cummings documents several unique characteristics of the Miami Valley album quilts, such as the applique´d Ohio Eagle and other design motifs. Nowhere else in the United States have so many similar eagles been documented in such a specific time period and in such a narrow locale. While other areas have their unique quilt patterns and traditions, Cummings’s documentation and collection of this remarkable grouping is a landmark moment in quilting history. Album Quilts of Ohio’s Miami Valley presents more than two dozen never-before-published color photographs of these folk art album quilts. Relying on thirty-five years of research, Cummings builds the case for each quilt from family genealogies and interviews, census records, local histories, and cemetery visits. Quilt historians, as well as genealogy and history buffs, will value the book as an inspired “how-to” guide for its impeccable research and for Cummings’s ingenious tracking down of the clues in the sometimes hidden messages in the quilting. Beautifully illustrated and affordably priced in a paperback edition, this book is a valuable addition to the Ohio Quilt Series and will appeal to quilt researchers across the country who may discover a quilt from the Miami Valley of Ohio far from its place of origin.