War As They Knew It

I just finished reading War As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest by Michael Rosenberg. It was an interesting approach, taking the well-known 10 year war between the two great coaches and putting into the context of the politics of the time, what was going on on campus, etc. I am not sure that it really worked, it was sort of like over here we see Dan Dierdorf doing such and so while over here we see Bill Ayers doing this other thing. It never really tied it together very well. But for somebody who actually met these people, who had to decide whether to go to class during the Black Action Movement strike, etc., it was all very cool. Too bad that the author was not able to portray Dierdorf and his roommate Paul Staroba as the vicious bullies that they were, but that is to be expected I guess. Anyway, the main topic was Bo and Woody. Bo was exactly who I thought he was. Woody was more complex, more sympathetic and even more of a jerk than I had imagined. The relationship with Nixon (who spoke at the Old Man's funeral) was amazing. Anyway, if you are follower of Michigan football or one of that bloated agricultural institution to the south, you might find it interesting.