A timely book on the connections between the game of football and the lasting effects of concussions. The author recounts the history of deaths occurring from injuries sustained in football games from the late 19th century to today. Also included is the fascinating research being done on CTE at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, headed by Dr. Ann McKee. By combining the personal stories of the families who have lost loved ones because of repetitive concussions and the medical research being conducted to learn more on how the brain responds to them, the author allows the reader to see both the emotional and clinical sides of this issue. Well done-- 'A' rating.

There has been a lot of discussion in the news about the effects of football related concussions on the brain, especially regarding younger children playing the sport, and this was an excellent treatment of the history of injuries in the sport, with an emphasis on head injuries. Covering deaths and injuries starting in 1905, when 29 young men died playing the sport, it discusses the changes that were made by coaches, and even Theodore Roosevelt, to make the sport safer. It then proceeds to cover a variety of young men who were injured, and examines the different types of injuries and ailments that lead to mental problems and even death among athletes who suffer them. Vintage photos add a lot to an engrossing story that is a great accompaniment to Klass’ Second Impact or Gordon Korman’s Pop.
Strengths: The author does a very good job at putting faces to these injuries in a way that will make football players think about how much damage they might be doing to themselves. I thought that the studies that were done with special helmets that measured the number of impacts players’ brains received during a season was interesting. Definitely will purchase this.
Weaknesses: A chapter on preventing injuries might be helpful, but otherwise, this is a very complete book.