I read a lot of books.
That’s not to say that I’ve completed reading a lot of books. I’m usually reading 3 or 4 books at a time, and typically only complete one if any. I’m a MTV generation kid. I was born with a remote control in my hand. And I own an impressive library of partially read books. My wife both marvels and shakes her head at my reading habits. All at once, I learn a great deal from my readings while often failing to get a complete picture of whatever story is being told. And that’s why she took notice when I was on the final page of Resurrection: The Miracle Season that Saved Notre Dame by Jim Dent.
My wife, holding a full appreciation for my habits, asked if I was just skipping to the end to see how it all turned out, but of course, given the subject matter, I already knew how the story of the 1964 Notre Dame Football season turned out. What I didn’t know was how the story unfolded, and that’s what Mr. Dent managed to illustrate in such a way that I stopped reading the words and began experiencing the story as though I were actually there. Thanks to Dent’s meticulous work, I may possess a clearer understanding of what happened around the Notre Dame football program in 1964 than I do of the circumstances surrounding the program during my years on campus from 1996 to 2000. And if nothing else, I found my experience of Dent’s book far more enjoyable. There are moments in the story where you absolutely can’t believe things that actually happened could have happened, and other moments that sound so exciting that you get lost in them and forget that you weren’t there.
I didn’t just finish reading Dent’s retelling of this story. Unlike so many books I read, I’ve fully absorbed this one. I’ve bookmarked, highlighted, notated, and recollected Resurrection. In the last week, I’ve shared passages during discussions about the Notre Dame of then versus the Notre Dame of now. And while I remain firmly convinced that the Era of Ara was a far different one from the Massive Media/Internet/Business Conglomeration of College Football Era, I can’t agree more with Dent’s encouragement, within his own notes in the appendix, that anyone with an interest in seeing Notre Dame overcome this current state of mediocrity should read this story. There are too many lessons to be learned and too many coincidences and similarities between now and 1963 to be ignored. If you’re a fan of Notre Dame Football, pick up a copy of Resurrection when it’s released next week. You’ll be a better, more informed fan as a result, and it’ll help pass the time of the final week of the off-season in a very entertaining way.
Jim Dent’s book, Resurrection: The Miracle Season that Saved Notre Dame will be released on September 1, 2009 and is published by Thomas Dunne Books. You can reserve a copy on Amazon.com today.
(Thanks to Thomas Dunne Books for sending us an advance copy. We really enjoyed it.)
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The Biscuit
you…thanks for sending YOU a copy. i got squa-doosh.
domer.mq
I’m sure they sent it to “Us,” but “I” just happened to be the one that got to it first. Funny how that worked out.
You can borrow our copy someday.
FightingSonofNotreDame
Great review! I’ll be getting this for my father who was a freshman on the track team that year. He said his upperclassmen team mates would bust on all the starry eyed freshman who believed the team could go all the way that year. It kicked off the Era of Ara.