An unrivaled portrait of day-to-day life in the NFL: ‘Riveting…An instant classic.’ — New York Times Reserve Review

By spending a 12 months with the New York Jets, Nicholas Dawidoff entered a mysterious and personal world using its very own rituals and language. Identical parts Paper Lion, Moneyball, Friday Night Lights, and The Office, this absorbing, funny, and brilliant narrative gets to the center of an enormous and demanding collective endeavor.

Here is football in lots of faces: the polarizing, brilliant, and hilarious mind coach; the overall manager, whose job is to support (and suppress) the irrepressible coach; the defensive coaches and their in-house competitors, the offensive instructors; and undoubtedly the players. Smart safeties, brooding linebackers, high-strung cornerbacks, enthusiastic rookies, and a well-read nasal area tackle-they make up a unusual and complex family members. Dawidoff makes an emblematic NFL period come alive for enthusiasts and nonfans alike in a reserve about football that will forever change the way people view and think about the sport.