Monsters

Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football (2013) by Rich Cohen. This is a great football book, especially if you're a Chicago Bears fan (I'm not). But even though I'm not a Bears fan, I thoroughly enjoyed Cohen's look at the game through a fan's eyes. He doesn't neglect the injury and concussion factor, either; in fact, he delves thoroughly into the fate of the players after their football careers are over, and many of them are severely damaged. More than anything, though, he holds players and coaches up for praise -- especially, of course, those players and coaches who had a hand in the 1985 Chicago Bears. He also explores what happened to the Bears after they won the Super Bowl -- why they swiftly declined and didn't establish a "dynasty," which every indication pointed to. A great sports book. Grade: A-