Product Description

New York Giants beat writer Ralph Vacchiano examines the quarterback position in the NFL from all angles, using Giants quarterback (and Super Bowl XLII MVP) Eli Manning as his primary focus.

When Eli Manning found teammate Plaxico Burress in the end zone with just 35 seconds remaining in Super Bowl XLII, he completed what was perhaps the greatest game-winning drive and unlikely upset in Super Bowl history. But the drive, which also included a remarkable escape and pass completion to unheralded receiver David Tyree, was the culmination of years of promise and development. Champion quarterbacks aren't made overnight.

With Manning, the Super Bowl MVP, as its focal point, New York Daily News Giants beat writer Ralph Vacchiano's Eli Manning: The Making of a Quarterback is a fascinating insider's look at the National Football League, how stars are made and crushed, and how fortunes are won and lost on the performance of one man: the quarterback. From the bold draft day trade that brought Manning to New York, through his dramatic ups and downs on and off the field, his first training camp to his last-minute heroics in Super Bowl XLII, Vacchiano takes a candid and revealing look at the people and events that made Manning's and his 2007 Giants' success one of the greatest stories in modern sports history. Complete with exclusive interviews with NFL stars, coaches, and executives and a foreword by former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi, Vacchiano uses his unfettered access to the world champion Giants to present a true, behind-the scenes look at the quarterback and team that defied all of the experts and oddsmakers to pull off one of the most phenomenal upsets in pro football history. 25 b/w photographs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #126743 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781602393172
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
New York Daily News sportswriter Vacchiano chronicles the journey of New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and how he went from reviled to revered in the eyes of fickle Big Apple sports fans. Vacchiano starts with Manning's career at the University of Mississippi, exploring the last-minute deal that allowed the quarterback to come to New York, and Manning's rocky rookie season with the Giants and the struggles he endured in escaping the shadows cast by older brother Peyton and father Archie, both established quarterbacks. With insight from an abundance of Manning's coaches and teammates, and a well-documented chronology of the week-to-week roller-coaster ride of a young football player, Vacchiano's story culminates with Manning rewarding the faith the Giants had in him with a Super Bowl title. Still, while Vacchiano supports the story well with plenty of statistics and analysis from a wide range of football people, the reader learns little about what Eli Manning is like, aside from the three hours fans see him each Sunday. Vacchiano does compare Eli to the stereotypical little brother, standing in the background as if he's trying to hide compared to the overwhelming presence that is older sibling Peyton. But relationships with teammates are only touched upon. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"A masterpiece of brilliant, thorough reporting and page-turning reading. The closing chapters are as compelling as the tensest thrillers every produced for the screen. How good is this book? It's in the front row of the class and will be regarded as a classic." -- Jeff Davis, author of Papa Bear: The Life and Legacy of George Halas

"Not only a compelling account of the unlikely rise of the young Manning, but it provides any student of the game with a detailed blueprint on how to build a championship team the right way." -- Sal Paolantonio, National Correspondent, ESPN

"What makes this book a must-read for Giants fans--for all football-lovers, in fact--is Ralph Vacchiano's reporting. He takes you insdie the frowth of the Super Bowl MVP with details you just can't read anywhere else. I love this book." -- Peter King, Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports

Review
New York Daily News sportswriter Vacchiano chronicles the journey of New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and how he went from reviled to revered in the eyes of fickle Big Apple sports fans. Vacchiano starts with Manning's career at the University of Mississippi, exploring the last-minute deal that allowed the quarterback to come to New York, and Manning's rocky rookie season with the Giants and the struggles he endured in escaping the shadows cast by older brother Peyton and father Archie, both established quarterbacks. With insight from an abundance of Manning's coaches and teammates, and a well-documented chronology of the week-to-week roller-coaster ride of a young football player, Vacchiano's story culminates with Manning rewarding the faith the Giants had in him with a Super Bowl title. Still, while Vacchiano supports the story well with plenty of statistics and analysis from a wide range of football people, the reader learns little about what Eli Manning is like, aside from the three hours fans see him each Sunday. Vacchiano does compare Eli to the stereotypical little brother, standing in the background as if he's trying to hide compared to the overwhelming presence that is older sibling Peyton. But relationships with teammates are only touched upon. (Publishers Weekly )

Customer Reviews

Under Pressure!
As a Giant fan and an Eli fan I had to get this book and read it right away. I was glad I did. I haven't missed but two televised Giants games in nearly seven years, so I thought I knew everything about Eli Manning and the Giants, but this book gave me even more insight. The pressure Eli was under when he entered the league is well established, but this book gave me a new appreciation for all the young man has been put through in just a few years. From the locker room feelings towards Kerry Collins to the shared insight of his on the road roomate, I felt as I read the book like I could feel his pressure rather than just hear about it. The way he carried himself during his rough times is a testimony to the man he is not just as a player. His refusal to ever get overly upset or throw tantrums or the fact that he never once threw his teammates under the bus (when his errors were exasberated by their mistakes on occassion)and just take the hit for the team make me a fan of his even more than I was before.

As a book, it reads well. Like a story rather than a plain vanilla biography. The insights by Ernie Arcorsi are excellent, as he experienced his own pressures the same as Eli. The two tied together forever. Great read and an excellent book, not a simple book about football but about being a man under intense scrutiny and enormous pressure. Highly recommeded! Not just to Giants fans but to any fan of football who has grown tired of selfish, spoiled, over paid atheletes and their antics.

Even if you don't like Eli this book is a must read!
Let me start off by saying that while I'm a huge Giants fan, I don't believe that a great playoff run automatically makes Eli an elite quarterback. Luckily, Ralph Vacchiano doesn't try to convince the reader that he is. His fair and honest account of Eli's emotional and professional development made me a big fan of this book. He not only details Eli's first camp throught his Superbowl MVP performance but provides the reader with and inside look into Payton and Eli's relationship as well as Eli's relationship with his NY Giants teammates. In addition, he does a fantastic job highlighting the complicated and emotionally charged series of events that brought Eli and eventually a Superbowl championship to NY. This book was hard to put down and is a must read not only for Giants fans but for football fans in general. You won't be disappointed.

Eli Manning, the making of a Quarterback
Eli Manning: The Making of a Quarterback: The Incredible Rise of the New York Giants
This is a must read book. Unlike the usual dry sports book, this book embraced the drama and passion of Eli's story like a classical novel.
It exposed the depth and weight of the pressure he endured so vividly and thoroughly that you can feel his burden, his pain and his frustration. It has brought to light the truth of Eli's proffessional journey and the arduous and overwhelming odds thrown at him. It will make you reevaluate this amazing young man and realize he is rightfully deserving of our respect and admiration and it will also give you a deeper appreciation and understanding of the demands put on a Quarterback and his foundational role on the team.
It is a book that gives the reader a story of courage, hope and perseverance that extends not only to the sports fan but to anyone that delights in stories of the triumph of the heart and spirit of a hero.