Waiting on Wednesday: The First Star

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:




The First Star by Lars Anderson

Publisher/Publication Date: Random House - I have found mixed information on the publication date - Random House fall catalog says Oct 20, Amazon says Dec 29. . .

I chose this book this week as I am always on the lookout for books I think my husband would read. He is not a big reader, but if he finds something that sparks his interest, he will read... And you can't live near Chicago without being a football fan!

About the book: One of the most talented football players in history, Red Grange made his name at the University of Illinois in the early 1920s, scoring thirty-one touchdowns and drawing the sport’s biggest crowds. But it was what he did next that made news: he went pro. At the time, the NFL was a backwater organization—playing second fiddle to the college game, struggling to attract fan and players, and often settling for high school-age talent to fill its rosters. However, one man saw great potential. C. C. Pyle, who in his day promoted just about everything, became Grange’s agent with the wild promise of a $100,000 payday.The man who helped him make good on that promise was the Chicago Bears’ George Halas. Together, Grange, Pyle, and Halas constructed the event that tipped the balance towards pro football over college: a brutal barnstorming tour that called for Grange and his new Bears teammates to play nineteen games in seventeen cities in sixty-six days.

The 1920s were the Golden Age of American Sport, and there was no shortage of heroes, including Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey. But for a short time, Red Grange was bigger than them all, and The First Star explains why. (from Random House catalog)

The First Star
Publisher/Publication Date: Random House/Oct 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4000-6729-9
352 pages

What are you waiting for? Waiting on Wednesdays is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.