The Pats: An Illustrated History of the New England Patriots

by Glenn Stout, Richard A. Johnson

Overview

A New York Times Bestseller

The first book to tell the complete story of the Patriots, featuring thorough research, archival photos, and essays from notable authors, journalists, and local celebrities

The New England Patriots have become a dynasty, though it didn’t begin that way. Love ‘em, hate ‘em, the Pats have captured this country’s attention like no other franchise. From two award-winning authors this is the first complete story of a legendary team and its five championship trophies. 
 
In the tradition of their celebrated illustrated histories of some of sports’ most iconic franchises, Stout and Johnson tell the history in full and in colorful detail. This is a lavishly illustrated tale full of larger-than-life characters – from founding owner Billy Sullivan, early stars like Syracuse running back Jim Nance and beloved wide receiver turned broadcaster Gino Cappeletti, to Hall of Famers and stars like John Hannah, Russ Francis, and Steve Grogan through to present-day stars like Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and owner Bob Kraft.
 
Featuring essays by Richard Johnson, Upton Bell, Leigh Montville, Howard Bryant, Ron Borges, Lesley Visser and more, The Pats is a must-have gift for fans, old and new, and an indelible portrait of the most talked about team in NFL history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781328917409
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/20/2018
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	653,505
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 10.70(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Glenn Stout is a writer, author, and editor, and served as series editor of The Best American Sports Writing, and founding editor of The Year’s Best Sports Writing. He is also the author of Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid, Fenway 1912, Nine Months at Ground Zero, and many other award-winning and best-selling books. He also served as a consultant on the Disney+ film adaptation of Young Woman and the Sea. Stout lives in Lake Champlain in Vermont.

RICHARD JOHNSON is the author of New England Patriots: Yesterday and Today. He is also the curator of the Sports Museum of New England. A native of Worcester, he lives in Braintree, Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

Listen up, one and all: this is the book every Patriots fan has been waiting for. Glenn Stout and Richard Johnson are not merely writers of sport. They are legitimate sports historians. Big difference. It’s all here, triumphs, warts and all, in exquisite detail. And it is spectacularly illustrated. You’re not going to get this anywhere else. Hold all calls. we have a journalistic winner.” —Bob Ryan, Boston Globe columnist emeritus and ESPN commentator “From Billy Sullivan to Bill Belichick—plus everything in between—the history of the Patriots is all here—the good, the bad, the ugly, and the ridiculously great.  And there’s the plain ridiculous, too, like the Pats game that was won by a fan who ran onto the field in street clothes and deflected a last-second foe’s pass.  The writing is so vivid that even folks who loathe all things New England and couldn’t tell a Gronk from a grunt will be riveted.  Who knew men as varied as Boston Catholic Diocese Cardinal Richard Cushing and beat pioneer Jack Kerouac were interwoven into the Patriots complex birth? From epic stadium plumbing issues to traffic jams, from hell to perhaps the oddest head coach in NFL history—the unstable Clive Rush—this history is a page-turner as great as the Super Bowls Tom Brady has won again and again.” —Rick Telander, Sports Columnist, Chicago Sun-Times, author of Heaven Is A Playground and The Hundred Yard Lie   "Comprehensive and both timeless and timely, this is a must-read for all hardcore Pats fans." —Chris Ballard, Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated and author of One Shot at Forever   "Who knew that the remorseless victory machine we know today as the New England Patriots hit so many bumps and took so many tumbles along the road to glory? Glenn Stout and Richard Johnson celebrate the team where it’s due, but they also chasten and chide, and bring in another half-dozen voices to vary the perspective. The Pats is a jubilee of anecdote and unlikelihood, with character after fascinating character dropped in—a book not just for the Patriots fan, but for anyone curious about pro football, New England, and how even the most apparently hopeless franchise can build a winning culture." —Alexander Wolff, author of The Audacity of Hoop: Basketball and the Age of Obama "Glenn Stout and Richard Johnson do so much more than explore the history of Boston sports. With their dazzling skill for looking beyond the box scores and scoring summaries, they whisk us back in time to old ballparks, long-ago games and the personalities who made Boston a dynamic sports town. What Stout and Johnson did for baseball with Red Sox Century they now do for football with The Pats." —Steve Buckley, Boston Herald  “If you’re a fan of great football or just great writing, you’ll love The Pats. It covers the birth of football through the Pats’ wilderness years to the current dynasty — and everything in between — with fresh insight, bite, and humor from an All-Pro roster of writers. The story of Tom Brady’s unlikely ascension to the throne alone is worth the price, but this book also serves as a prism for the game itself. As captivating as a two-minute drill.” —John U. Bacon, New York Times bestselling author of Endzone "For those Patriots fans who feel as if they need a little football fix to get through halftime, a lively new book that tells the origin story of the P —

From the Publisher