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Total Access: A Journey to the Center of the NFL Universe
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Product Description
Rich Eisen always wanted to write a book, not only because he has a lot of fun, interesting stories he’s been dying to share with everyone, but also because he’s interviewed hundreds of athletes--many of whom like to refer to themselves in the third person. In his eleven years as a national television sportscaster, Rich Eisen has been envious of those athletes because Rich Eisen has never been able to do that on his job, so the host of NFL Network decided to write a book and use it as an admittedly feeble excuse to go third-person on everybody. Not throughout the whole book, of course. That may get quite exhausting for the reader. But for an entire book jacket? Well, Rich Eisen was all over that.
That’s the why behind this book. As for the how, Rich Eisen just took it one sentence at a time and hoped for the best. You know, start with a few words and turn those words into sentences which turned into paragraphs and chapters and, eventually, into this book. Rich Eisen didn’t worry about the big picture and just kept focusing on the things that he could control--the keyboard, the ON/OFF button on his computer, his dictionary, his thesaurus, and last--but certainly not least--the spell-check on his word processing program. One day, when it’s all over, only then will Rich Eisen look back on his career and try to put it all in perspective, but right now Rich Eisen absolutely knows he would not be where he is today without his spell-check.
By now you must be wondering: What’s this book about? It’s about a journey. It’s about eating, living, and breathing the most popular sport in the history of America. The passion. The pageantry. The pigskin. Thanks to his role as host of the NFL Network’s signature program, NFL Total Access, Rich Eisen gets to go to virtually every event on the NFL Calendar---the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl, the Scouting Combine, the NFL Draft, and the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend. You name it, Rich Eisen is there. And thanks to this book, you can go along for the ride with him--in front of the camera interviewing league MVPs and former presidents of the United States or behind the scenes with some of the game’s all-time greats like Deion Sanders, Ray Lewis, and Brett Favre, just to name a few. I mean, Rich Eisen doesn’t want to name-drop. In all seriousness, Rich Eisen doesn’t have an ego problem.
At any rate, if you love the NFL (and who doesn’t), then this book is for you. If you’re curious what it would be like to live the sport year-round, this book is for you. You see, it’s not all about Rich Eisen. It’s about you reading this book and enjoying it to its fullest. At least Rich Eisen hopes you will.
Advance Praise for Total Access:
“I've always admired Rich Eisen’s work, so it's no surprise to me that his book is very entertaining. What is a surprise is that he's somehow found time to write it in between the NFL Network’s 6,347 hours of coverage of weak-side linebackers who could be draft-sleepers. That sort of programming and this book about it are both genuine public services.” ---Bob Costas
“A lot of things in our lives are far less than as advertised, but this book advertises Total Access and gives you Total Access. That’s right. Total Access! I’m not kidding. I liked this book and I’m not a reader.” ---Tony Kornheiser, columnist for The Washington Post and co-host for ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption
“Rich uses his great sense of humor to detail the life of an on-air NFL personality. It is a world I know well, but still I couldn't stop turning the pages. It is a great read---a must for anyone who loves television and Pro Football.” ---Joe Buck, Fox Sports
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #472353 in Books
- Published on: 2007-10-30
- Released on: 2007-10-30
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 336 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9780312369781
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Named after and authored by the host of the NFL Network's signature program, this loosely-structured year-in-the-life memoir is essentially the book version of the network, established in 2003 to provide unprecedented access to players, coaches, games and events (from draft weekend to Hall of Fame inductions). Bookended by the Super Bowl and the debut of the NFL Network's "Eight Game Package" (a series of Thursday and Saturday games that began late in the 2006 season), this sportscasting odyssey follows Eisen in and out of makeshift studios at football's biggest occasions, reprints verbatim his interviews with everyone from quarterback Brett Favre to former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, and provides insight into NFL luminaries-turned-on-air-colleagues such as Deion Sanders, Marshall Faulk and Steve Mariucci. Along the way, there are plenty of insider-only tidbits, including how veterans haze rookies at the Pro Bowl and what really happens during the top-secret Scouting Combine. Eisen writes with the same dry wit he uses on-camera, a likable voice that's unfortunately prone to name-dropping and network-boosting; still, there's much vicarious pleasure to be found in Eisen's on-the-job adventures.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
Praise for Total Access:
“I've always admired Rich Eisen’s work, so it's no surprise to me that his book is very entertaining. What is a surprise is that he's somehow found time to write it in between the NFL Network’s 6,347 hours of coverage of weak-side linebackers who could be draft-sleepers. That sort of programming and this book about it are both genuine public services.” ---Bob Costas
“A lot of things in our lives are far less than as advertised, but this book advertises Total Access and gives you Total Access. That’s right. Total Access! I’m not kidding. I liked this book and I’m not a reader.” ---Tony Kornheiser, columnist for The Washington Post and co-host for ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption
“Rich uses his great sense of humor to detail the life of an on-air NFL personality. It is a world I know well, but still I couldn't stop turning the pages. It is a great read---a must for anyone who loves television and Pro Football.” ---Joe Buck, Fox Sports
About the Author
Rich Eisen has been the signature host of NFL Network since its inception in 2003, anchoring its most popular programs, NFL Total Access and NFL GameDay. For seven years, Eisen served as a lead anchor of SportsCenter on ESPN, which discovered him on the local sports desk in Redding, California, in 1996. Eisen worked as a play-by-play announcer and late-night studio host for CBS Sports’ coverage of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships and was also a mainstay on VH-1’s popular anthology series I Love the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. He runs a 6.43 40-yard dash in lace-up Zegna Crocs and lives in Beverly Hills with his lovely wife, Suzy, and lovable rescue dog, Hudson.
Customer Reviews
Highly Entertaining, Rich Eisen writes the way he speaks!
Total Access is a funny, well written view into the world of the NFL by the journalists that cover it. The book offers a look at what it's like to cover the most popular sport in America. What makes the book so compelling is that the stories are written in the same manner that Rich Eisen speaks, his descriptions always offer some humor, and the personal anecdotes are what make the book so appealing. A really entertaining read!
such a great book!
Imagine you are not from US. Imagine you live in Chile, bottom of south america, where all you have is ESPN's Sunday Night and Monday Night games and nothing else...
Well, "total access" lets you understand why american football is so popular and, if you already love fotball, like it more than you did before.
congratulations rich, great book, great sport... hope to have nfl network in latin america
Must-read for fans of the NFL and NFL Network
Rich Eisen's book "Total Access," is a great inside look at the goings-on of the NFL Network and its programming. I know a couple of reviewers said it was recycled material (i.e., transcripts of interviews that Eisen has done) and that's true. But certainly most readers have not seen every single interview that's ever been aired, so there's bound to be something new in that regards. Also, there are many great anecdotes about players and the NFL Network crew, in particular a great story regarding former head coach and present analyst Steve Mariucci and a piano in the crew's hotel in Canton, Ohio (it can be found in the Hall of Fame chapter).
My favorite chapter may have been the second, which was about the Pro Bowl. Rich Eisen does a great job of illustrating how laid back it is at the Pro Bowl and some of the cool interactions that go on between players and the NFL Network crew. The chapter about the Combine is very interesting in particular as well.
If you love Rich Eisen, the NFL Network, and football in general, you should find this book very fascinating. It didn't take me long to read at all and it probably won't be long until I read it again.
