Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Gunslinger The Remarkable Improbable Iconic Life of by Jeff Pearlman Gunslinger: The Remarkable, Improbable, Iconic Life of Brett Favre. From a New York Times best-selling author, the full, definitive biography of Brett Favre, football's ultimate gunslinger and fan favorite, whose rise from small-town Mississipi obscurity to the top of the American sports landscape was the stuff of legend--and whose fall from grace has been just as great Read More. From a New York Times best-selling author, the full, definitive biography of Brett Favre, football's ultimate gunslinger and fan favorite, whose rise from small-town Mississipi obscurity to the top of the American sports landscape was the stuff of legend--and whose fall from grace has been just as great Read Less. All Copies ( 183 ) Softcover ( 67 ) Hardcover ( 75 ) Audiobook ( 3 ) Choose Edition ( 3 ) Book Details Seller Sort. 2016, Houghton Mifflin. Edition: 2016, Houghton Mifflin Hardcover, Good Details: ISBN: 0544454375 ISBN-13: 9780544454378 Pages: 448 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Published: 10/2016 Language: English Alibris ID: 16678899666 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Good. All pages and cover are intact. Possible slightly loose binding, minor highlighting and marginalia, cocked spine or torn dust jacket. Maybe an ex-library copy and not include the accompanying CDs, access codes or other supplemental materials. ► Contact This Seller. 2016, Houghton Mifflin. Edition: 2016, Houghton Mifflin Hardcover, Very Good Details: ISBN: 0544454375 ISBN-13: 9780544454378 Pages: 448 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Published: 10/2016 Language: English Alibris ID: 16578704344 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Very good. Shows some signs of wear from usage. Is no longer bright/shinny. Edge wear from storage and shelving. ► Contact This Seller. 2016, Houghton Mifflin. Edition: 2016, Houghton Mifflin Hardcover, Good Details: ISBN: 0544454375 ISBN-13: 9780544454378 Pages: 448 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Published: 10/2016 Language: English Alibris ID: 16656629433 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Good. All pages and cover are intact. Possible slightly loose binding, minor highlighting and marginalia, cocked spine or torn dust jacket. Maybe an ex-library copy and not include the accompanying CDs, access codes or other supplemental materials. ► Contact This Seller. 2016, Houghton Mifflin. Brooklyn Park, MN, USA. 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Edition: 2016, Houghton Mifflin Hardcover, Fine/Like New Details: ISBN: 0544454375 ISBN-13: 9780544454378 Pages: 448 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Published: 2016 Language: English Alibris ID: 16659781903 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Fine. Pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds of any kind. 2016, Houghton Mifflin. Edition: 2016, Houghton Mifflin Hardcover, Very Good Details: ISBN: 0544454375 ISBN-13: 9780544454378 Pages: 448 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Published: 2016 Language: English Alibris ID: 16671930138 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Very good. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. 2016, Houghton Mifflin. Edition: 2016, Houghton Mifflin Hardcover, Very Good Details: ISBN: 0544454375 ISBN-13: 9780544454378 Pages: 448 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Published: 2016 Language: English Alibris ID: 16672982472 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Very good. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. 2016, Houghton Mifflin. Halethorpe, MD, USA. Edition: 2016, Houghton Mifflin Hardcover, Fine/Like New Details: ISBN: 0544454375 ISBN-13: 9780544454378 Pages: 448 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Published: 2016 Language: English Alibris ID: 16665569106 Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.99. Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination. Seller's Description: Fine. Pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds of any kind. ISBN 13: 9780544454378. Gunslinger: The Remarkable, Improbable, Iconic Life of Brett Favre. Pearlman, Jeff. This specific ISBN edition is currently not available. From a New York Times best-selling author, the full, definitive biography of Brett Favre. A towering figure on the field for two decades who breezed into the Hall of Fame, Brett Favre was one of the game’s last cowboys, a fastball- throwing, tobacco-chewing gunslinger who refused to give up without a fight. This peerless quarterback guided the to two Super Bowls and one championship win, shattering countless NFL records along the way. Gunslinger tells Brett Favre’s story for the first time, drawing on more than five hundred interviews, including many from the people closest to Favre. Jeff Pearlman charts an unparalleled journey from his rough rural childhood and lackluster high school football career to landing the last scholarship at Southern Mississippi to a car accident that nearly took his life. Favre clawed back, getting drafted into the NFL by the Atlanta Falcons, then finding his way to Green Bay, where he restored the Packers to greatness and inspired a fan base as passionate as any in the game. Yet he struggled with demons: addiction, infidelity, the loss of his father, and a fraught, painfully prolonged exit from the game he loved, a game he couldn’t bear to leave. Grand, gritty, and revelatory, Gunslinger is a big sports biography of the highest order, a fascinating portrait of the man with the rocket arm whose life has been one of triumph, of fame, of tragedy, of embarrassment, and—ultimately—of redemption. "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title. JEFF PEARLMAN is the New York Times best-selling author of eight books, including Football for a Buck, The Bad Guys Won! , Boys Will Be Boys , Showtime , Sweetness and Gunslinger . He lives in Southern California with his wife Catherine and children, Casey and Emmett. He is the host of the Two Writers Slinging Yang podcast and blogs regularly at jeffpearlman.com. “Jeff Pearlman writing about Brett Favre is a perfect match of author and subject, making Gunslinger as rollicking and raucous and joyous as Favre was improvising at Lambeau Field.” –David Maraniss, author of When Pride Still Mattered and Once in a Great City. “Over two decades, Brett Favre was as compelling a figure as any in the . He alone was 'Must-See TV.' In Gunslinger , Jeff Pearlman provides an extraordinary look at every facet of the life of a man who performed on sport's grandest stage and who had one helluva time along the way.” –Al Michaels. "Jeff Pearlman's deeply reported book is an unprecedented picture of an unprecedented athlete. Brett Favre emerges as at once incorrigibly childish and a magnetic leader of men. Perhaps never in sports history has a star so big inhabited a market so small. Gunslinger leaves an impression of Favre that is neither simply good nor bad, but rather something nearly non-existent in sportswriting today: a full portrait of a human being." –David Epstein, author of The Sports Gene. "Here's a story as iconic as 'The Gunslinger' himself, Brett Favre. Like Favre, Jeff Pearlman goes deep–and scores." –Adam Schefter, author of Romo: My Life on the Edge and Think Like A Champion. "This is the deepest understanding we are likely to have of Favre for quite some time. Pearlman's book is a complete, satisfying biography of a gunslinger who, for both better and worse, was far more complex than most fans have understood." -- Kirkus Reviews. "Presenting Favre as a congenial, larger-than-life character, a 'gunslinger,' who was fun to watch on the field and hard to root against, Pearlman proves to be a good match for his subject and creates a compelling work." -- Library Journal , starred review. "A wealth of NFL-insider anecdotes sure to enthrall fans. Rarely does a straightforward sports bio ascend mainstream best-seller lists, but this could be the exception. Clear a spot: Gunslinger is coming." -- Booklist. “Skilled sports biographer Pearlman brings his dogged, one-more-phone-call approach to this massively enjoyable book on Brett Favre, the gambling, cannon-armed quarterback whose talent and boyish enthusiasm brought the Green Bay Packers back to hallowed relevance in the mid- 1990s.” -- Publishers Weekly. "What does 'Gunslinger' offer the Wisconsinite who has read a gazillion words about Favre over the past decades? A perspective outside the Packerland bubble, for one. He also delivers detailed reporting on aspects of Favre's life that we tend to dismiss in a line of background . . . Compelling." -- Jim Higgins, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "Terrific . . . It’s not only a page-turner, but it’s built on a foundation of solid journalism by an author who has a background as a newspaper reporter . . . Many [stories] are new and draw back the curtain on Favre’s life in a way that hadn’t been done." -- Gary D'Amato, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "The compelling, complete story of his legend, and his faults." -- Chicago Tribune. "Comprehensive and readable, it's chock-full of stories gleaned through 573 interviews; even better, it provides a sense of the man." -- Sports Illustrated. ‘Gunslinger: The Remarkable, Improbable, Iconic Life of Brett Favre’ by Jeff Pearlman (2016) I’ve written before of my fondness for Jeff Pearlman’s books and recently reviewed his new excellent USFL book. But unknowingly, I’ve only read his books that cover a group of people – a team or a league but not read any of his biographies. So I picked up Gunslinger hoping it lived up to the other Pearlman books I’ve read and loved despite having a narrower focus. Not living in the US, my engagement with NFL varies year on year – in college, and my heavy gambling phases after college, I watched loads but some years I’d see very little. The three years I watched the most NFL coincided with Favre’s amazing last year at Green Bay, his temporary time at the Jets and his incredible first year at the Vikings. So I’m much more familiar with the end days of Favre rather than his origin story and Superbowl success. Favre’s story is the classic sports narrative of the overlooked kid nearly didn’t make it but the right coach/scout believed in him and took a chance. After spending his high school career handing off to a star running back, Favre very nearly didn’t get a Division 1 college scholarship. After a pretty successful collegiate career – where the relatively tame high-schooler turned into a party animal – Favre was overlooked in the first round of the NFL draft. After an uneventful year on the bench of the Falcons, he was traded to Green Bay where he very soon became a legend. Setting all sorts of NFL career records, and leading the Packers to two Superbowls (winning one), Favre was adored by Packers fans and seemed to have a home their for life. Despite hard drinking, womanising and stays in rehab, he never missed a game and had many more successful seasons than bad ones. After seeming to be on the downhill slide, Favre’s form improved remarkably and he cam agonisingly close to getting back to Superbowl. While flirting with retirement, he forced his way out of the Packers and, after a poor year in NYC, did the one thing guaranteed to piss off his former fans and sign for Green Bays greatest rivals. Pearlman, as is his trademark, interviewed an astonishing amount of people for the book. The level of detail in his research is reflected in the incredibly comprehensive nature of the book. Favre comes across as a man who is both likable and dislikable in almost equal measure. For long parts of his career he put his own addictions, desires and career well ahead of his family life. However, his wife ultimately stayed with him and he seems to have somewhat mended his ways in later years. The intro to the book sums up Favre very well by highlighting conflicting stories that show both the good and the bad. It feels like an objective account of a complicated man who will long be remembered as one of the great NFL quarterbacks. Overall, Gunslinger is a really enjoyable read. Pearlman’s ability to take a huge volume of information and condense it into a fast paced and gripping narrative is on full display. It’s an interesting, fun and really good book that I’d recommend for anyone with even a passing interest in NFL. (I’m writing this review as I have NFL Redzone on in the background and Drew Breese has just passed Favre’s NFL record for most completed throws in a career – an interesting bit of symmetry). Gunslinger. The Remarkable, Improbable, Iconic Life of Brett Favre. 4.5 • 61 Ratings $9.99. $9.99. Publisher Description. “Over two decades, Brett Favre was as compelling a figure as any in the National Football League. He alone was 'Must-See TV.' In Gunslinger , Jeff Pearlman provides an extraordinary look at every facet of the life of a man who performed on sport's grandest stage and who had one helluva time along the way.”—Al Michaels. In Gunslinger, Jeff Pearlman tells Brett Favre’s story for the first time, charting his unparalleled journey from a rough rural childhood and lackluster high school football career to landing the last scholarship at Southern Mississippi, to a car accident that nearly took his life, and eventually to the NFL and Green Bay, where he restored the Packers to greatness and inspired a fan base as passionate as any in the game. Yet he struggled with demons: addiction, infidelity, the loss of his father, and a fraught, painfully prolonged exit from the game he loved, a game he couldn’t bear to leave. Gritty and revelatory, Gunslinger is a big sports biography of the highest order, a fascinating portrait of the man with the rocket arm whose life has been one of triumph, fame, tragedy, embarrassment, and—ultimately—redemption. “The compelling, complete story of his legend, and his faults.”— Chicago Tribune. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY AUG 8, 2016. Skilled sports biographer Pearlman (Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s) brings his dogged approach to this enjoyable book on Brett Favre, the gambling, cannon-armed quarterback whose talent and boyish enthusiasm brought the Green Bay Packers back to hallowed relevance in the mid-1990s. That was before inconsistent play, nonstop waffling on retirement, and an ill-advised text to a comely TV reporter dimmed the halo. Favre was not destined for stardom. His father and high-school coach, Irv, favored a running game that kept college scouts uninterested in his son. (Away from the field, one of Irv's methods of punishment was having his kids kneel on a rock pile.) In the pros, Favre's addictions and carousing tested his marriage. As years went by, the quarterback hardened, going from an easygoing soul to a demanding type who followed his own rules, whether that meant establishing his own dress code or getting his own private chef. But he was a model teammate who bridged every locker room clique and showed compassion for people in need, such as sending a truck of supplies to Hurricane Katrina victims. Pearlman's latest effort lacks the emotional heft of his Walter Payton or Barry Bonds biographies, but he strips away Favre's grown-up-kid mythology while reveling in his unlikely, turbulent path to iconic status. Finding Favre: An Interview with Biographer Jeff Pearlman. Few athletes have been covered as much or as nauseatingly as former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. You’d think that would leave little left to be said about the man inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last summer, but you’d be wrong. In his just-released biography, Gunslinger: The Remarkable, Improbable, Iconic Life of Brett Favre , Jeff Pearlman paints a full picture of the most complex figure in modern American sports. Pearlman, formerly of Sports Illustrated and the author of seven books, interviewed 573 people for Gunslinger , including Favre’s brother, sister, and mother, but not Favre or his wife Deanna, who he said politely declined. From page one, it’s clear that Pearlman is more interested in the man than the football player. While ink is spilled on the greatest moments of Favre’s career, including his first game replacing Don Majkowski, the Packers XXXI victory, and resurgent 2007 and 2009 campaigns, Pearlman spends much more time on the periods of Favre’s career previously given only superficial treatment. His tumultuous, lost first season in Atlanta gives a glimpse into the anonymous tragedy his story might have become, and the full extent of his partying and addiction to pain pills is laid bare. So is his extensive infidelity, and a relationship with his father more complicated than the hundreds of hillbilly anecdotes that came before would have you believe. I caught up with Pearlman to talk about Favre, the writing process, and why he was inspired to write about someone who has received more coverage than any football player alive. There’s a lot of negative material about Favre and the Packers in the book. What has been the reaction from Wisconsin media and fans? Nothing terrible actually. It’s gotten strong reviews. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel gave it a really good review. I’ve gotten zero “how dare yous” with this one. The whole Rodgers/Favre thing [Rodgers has disputed calling Favre “Grandpa” at their first meeting] that caused some attention. But overall it hasn’t been bad. The reaction to the Walter Payton book was worse by a ton. I think the fact that Payton was not alive brought on a lot of “how dare you” responses. Also, Brett Favre never pretended to live a saintly life. If you told someone tomorrow that Brett Favre snorted cocaine – not that he did – but if you found out he did back when he was a young player, I don’t think people would be surprised. You’ve said that one of your criteria for a book subject is that you ask yourself if you can stomach spending two years with this person in your life. Now, Favre’s story has been covered for 25 years, with the media obsessed over his retirement, un-retirement. So many are nauseated by the mention of Favre, how come that didn’t turn you off? Because everyone kept talking about the same stuff. If I had to write about him retiring and un-retiring I think I’d slit my wrists. But once you get into the nitty gritty of the guy, it’s just really interesting. Going down to Mississippi, seeing his development, when you’re reporting this it’s almost like you’re going through his stages, and recreating it. It’s fascinating to me. Favre has just had this really interesting roller coaster of existence. A kid growing up in the bayou, not getting recruited, slipping in the draft. And his year with the Falcons, that I really loved writing about. I guess I’m a sucker for that stuff. But the main thing was, I really love Mississippi and writing about guys from Mississippi. It doesn’t hurt that he truly is an iconic sports figure. I was having this debate the other day about “Why isn’t Ken Griffey Jr. a great sports bio?” And I don’t know why, I can’t put my finger on it, I just have a feeling it wouldn’t be. That’s the difference between all-time great and iconic. There’s just something about him. Personality, performance, the way he played, longevity, where he’s from, his family background. Who didn’t talk that you really wished had? I would have liked Chmura, . I would have loved to have talked to Deanna, his wife. I didn’t get to talk to , but I don’t worry so much about guys who’ve been interviewed a million times about a subject. [For the story of Pearlman’s attempts to interview Chmura, click here>> It’s worth it.] But you had a lot in there from Darius Holland [a backup defensive end for the Packers from 1995-1997] of all people. How come? Did I? Holland struck me as a very smart guy. If people give you good material, you use it. Sterling Sharpe talked a lot, and I didn’t think he would talk to me. Ryan Grant was terrific, really good. You want people who get it, who were in the locker room when some of these things were going on. They don’t need to be his best friend, and a lot of times it’s better if they aren’t. A lot of Wisconsin reporters have been covering Favre for 25 years, and have tiptoed around a lot of this stuff, treating Favre with kid gloves. How did Packers writers respond to you writing this book? As a young writer for Sports Illustrated , I wrote a book about the ‘86 Mets. And I’m at a bar or a coffee shop at spring training and I hear these Mets beat writers talking nearby. “Why did this guy write it? We were all there. We should be writing this book.” Packers writers rightly feel territorial about Brett Favre, and then someone from the outside comes in and researches it and writes it. So you can understand a little bit of a “who the [expletive] does this guy think he is” reaction. I’m from New York and in New York, you go after everything and you go after it hard. In Green Bay it’s just different. The team is publicly owned. The town revolves around the Packers. New York doesn’t revolve around the Jets. If a guy is out partying in Green Bay and falling down drunk, if it doesn’t impact how he plays, nobody cares. You have to have a different approach if you’re covering the team in a small town like that. You write a lot about Favre’s infidelity, his partying, his flaws. Now you’ve talked to his family, and you’ve said you fell in love with his family down in Mississippi, so how do you approach writing a story like this knowing his daughters, his mother, his wife, and his family are all going to be reading this and what you write is going to impact relationships? I don’t enjoy it. It’s my least favorite part. It’s a conflict every time. I hate it, hate it, hate it. When a book is coming out, I get really uncomfortable. These are human beings. This stuff impacts people. I truly hate it. But I don’t know any other way to do it. I’m honest, I’m up front with people and try to be fair and tell them what it means to write a definitive biography. Brett Favre didn’t talk to you, but his family did. How did that happen? I don’t think he was happy that they talked. I don’t think that gave him great joy. He did give permission to a woman whose son died from cancer, for her to talk to me. But I’ve never had a situation like that before, where the main guy didn’t talk but his whole family did talk. How has the Favre family reacted? The only one I know who has read it totally is Dylan [Favre’s nephew]. He tweeted out and raved about it. I haven’t heard from any others yet. It seems superfluous to mention his arm strength as much as you do. A lot of guys have strong arms, were his really that different? He’s the first one I’ve heard of where guys say it whistled in the air. At first you think, well, sure it did. And then people keep telling you the same thing. People in college, the pros, people who’ve been around a lot of strong arms. That really stuck out to me. How much material is on the cutting room floor? So much. There’s more on the cutting room floor than I’ve ever had before after a book. What’s success for this book? You want it to sell well. You hope it has a shot to make the bestseller list. But also, these things beat the crap out of you. I’m physically and mentally exhausted. It’s the best job in the world, but it’s physically and mentally draining, and when it’s done you never want to see this thing again. So in a way, success is getting through it and moving on. And you hope it sells so you can live to write another one.