What It Means to Be a Nittany Lion: Joe Paterno and Penn State's Greatest Players
Our Price: $1,021.39
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $88.95 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Editor: Lou PratoEditor: Scott Brown
Contributor: Joe Paterno
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-09-01
ISBN: 1572438460
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Triumph Books
Book Reviews of What It Means to Be a Nittany Lion: Joe Paterno and Penn State's Greatest Players
Book Review: CLASS PROGRAM ALL THE WAY!
Summary: 5 Stars
There has perhaps never been a college football coach more associated with a single university than Joe Paterno is with Penn State. Of course, it only makes sense since JoePa has been coaching at the University for over 50 years including 40 years as the team's head coach. "What it Means to be a Nittany Lion" is a player's and coach's retrospective on playing and coaching at the school. It traces Penn State's rich history of national championships and All-American players, decade-by-decade, sharing fond recollections and stories by some of their greatest players ever.
As a Michigan fan, I have always had tremendous respect for Paterno and Penn State. They do things the right way with class and integrity, just like Michigan. You never hear about scandals there like you do at so many other universities where winning is placed above everything else. Each decade presents some of its most notable players such as Rosey Grier, sharing their stories in their own words. Grier, perhaps best known as a member of the Los Angeles Rams "Fearsome Foursome" actually went to Penn State to compete in Track and Field and was an All-American Shot-putter in 1954.
It was in the 190's when Penn State started to develop its reputation as Linebacker U with players like Jack Ham, Greg Buttle, and Matt Millen but they also produced great offensive talent such as RB Lydell Mitchell. While we all see the loveable, affable, old gentlemen, it's quite evident in reading these players stories that playing for Paterno was no picnic. Former receiver O.J. McDuffie even relates going home in tears once as a freshman because the coaches had been so tough on him. McDuffie persevered and became only the second Penn State receiver to earn first team All-American status in 1992.
I especially enjoyed reading all the players talking about how they were recruited and ended up at Penn State. So many of them talk about the values and integrity that Paterno had and how academics were stressed as much, if not more than athletics. One of the most uplifting stories is that of Adam Taliaferro. Taliaferro, a defensive back, broke a vertebrae in his neck making a tackle in 2000. Doctors gave him slim chance of ever walking again, yet a year later, Adam was cheered by over a 100,000 fans as he jogged onto the field.
Whether you are a Penn State fan or not, after reading this book, you will definitely know what it means to be a Nittany Lion.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
State & Local Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in State & Local Books
Blood Done Sign My Name: A True Storyby Timothy B. Tyson
Crown; Published: 2004-05-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.93
Price in other shops:
Downtown: My Manhattanby Pete Hamill
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 2004-12-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
Shallow Grave in Trinity Countyby Harry Farrell
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 1999-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $42.89
Shadow of the Hunterby Richard K. Nelson
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 1983-04-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.99
Price in other shops:
Movie Anecdotesby Peter Hay
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1991-12-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.50
Price in other shops:
Slavemaster President: The Double Career of James Polkby William Dusinberre
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2007-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.00
Price in other shops:
Oh the Glory of It Allby Sean Wilsey
Penguin Audio; Published: 2005-05-19; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops:
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Revised Editionby Marc Reisner
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1993-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops:
Great Plainsby Ian Frazier
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1990-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.95
Price in other shops:
Disaster! The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906by Dan Kurzman
William Morrow & Company; Published: 2001-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.93
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Penn State University Football Vault (College Vault)by Lou Prato
Whitman Publishing; Published: 2008-04-20; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.43
Price in other shops:
This Is Penn State: An Insider's Guide to the University Park Campusby Penn State Press
Pennsylvania State Univ Pr; Published: 2006-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.95
Price in other shops:
Paterno: By the Bookby Joe Paterno
Random House; Published: 1989-09-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $188.88
Playing for Paterno: One Coach, Two Eras: a Father and Son's Personal Recollections of Playing for JoePaby Charles Pittman, Tony Pittman
Triumph Books; Published: 2007-09-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.98
Price in other shops:
The Lion in Autumn: A Season with Joe Paterno and Penn State Footballby Frank Fitzpatrick
Gotham; Published: 2006-08-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $53.88
Quotable Joe: Words of Wisdom by and about Joe Paterno, College Football's Coaching Iconby Thalman
Taylor Trade Publishing; Published: 2001-01-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1,486.42
The History of Penn State FootballBaker; Release date: 2007-09-04; DVD
Best price: $6.32
Price in other shops:
No Ordinary Joe: The Biography of Joe Paternoby Michael O'Brien
Thomas Nelson; Published: 1999-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.04
Price in other shops:
Penn State Football: The Complete Illustrated Historyby Ken Rappoport, Barry Wilner
MVP Books; Published: 2009-08-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.08
Price in other shops:
Pride of the Lions: The Biography of Joe Paternoby Frank Fitzpatrick
Triumph Books; Published: 2011-08-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.46
Price in other shops: