Their Life's Work

July 22, 2013
The Pittsburgh Steelers won four Super Bowls between 1974 and 1979, thanks to a talented team that featured 12 Hall of Famers and some household names like Terry Bradshaw, Mean Joe Greene, and Franco Harris. Overdrawing from more than 200 interviews, Washington Post sportswriter Pomerantz (Wilt, When Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn) seeks to uncover why the ’70s-era Steelers are considered one of, if not the, best NFL teams ever assembled. He finds that their success was built on a mixture of skill, attitude, and camaraderie. When recounting the team’s glory days, like the play that came to be known as the Immaculate Reception, Pomerantz often goes beyond straight-ahead sports writing to achieve intricate storytelling. The book provides much in the way of character studies, with the author delving into the backgrounds and psyches of some of the Steelers’ most important cogs—from colorful owner Art Rooney Sr. and dour head coach Chuck Noll to Vietnam vet/running back Rocky Bleier. By describing the players’ unique on-field and off-field relationships, Pomerantz reveals a brotherhood that transcends wins and losses. B&w images not seen by PW. Agent: David Black, David Black Agency.

August 1, 2013

Following the lead of Roger Kahn's classic The Boys of Summer, author and journalist Pomerantz (visiting lecturer, communication, Stanford Univ.; Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn) recounts the exploits of an iconic team from the past and revisits the players decades later to see how the years have treated these now middle-aged former sports heroes. He devotes the first half of the book to a discussion of how the 1970s Steeler championship teams were built and were able to rule the NFL. Then he profiles some of the stars today, as well as the team-founding Rooney family and former coach Chuck Noll. He pays special attention to the physical impact the game has had on the subsequent lives of those he interviews. Both parts are richly examined and the subjects movingly depicted, but Pomerantz limits his primary attention to just five players: Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, John Stallworth, and Mike Webster. Readers will want the stories of more players, both stars and journeymen. VERDICT Pomerantz insightfully gets at why so many of these aging, damaged men would do it all again. For all sports fans.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2013
As a young reporter in 1981, Pomerantz was assigned to ask key members of the Pittsburgh Steelers, especially those remaining from the 1970s dynasty, if the glory days (three Super Bowl wins in the 1970s and another in 1980) were over. Those interviews later became the first stage of this book. He begins with a history of the franchise and its colorful founder, Art Rooney, but moves quickly to 1972, when the team began to gel under taciturn coach Chuck Noll. Pomerantz conducted more than 250 first-person interviews to escort readers through the glory yearsthe camaraderie, the anguish of losing, and the exhilaration of winning and glory. He emphasizes two themes: the personal bonds forged among these men, and their lives after football. Melancholy infuses the second half of the book as an unusual number of players passed away much sooner than expected. Their Life's Work will be compared to Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer (1972), a nostalgic look back at the 1950s Brooklyn Dodgers. As good as Boys is, this is better. It's less sentimental and more harshly objective in its portrayal of the toll sports extracts from its players. A wonderful book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)