The GM: A Football life, a Final Season, and a Last Laugh

Admittedly, the first few chapters were a little tough to get through but once the book turned to the Pro game it really picked up, and could not put it down. Mr. Accorsi is an awesome person and a legend in the league. It was nice reading truthful comments about different coaches and players that you are not always documented. What really sold me was the last chapter about David Halberstam. Easily in my top three favorite authors of all time. A nice tribute to him to close the book.

"The GM" is an interesting, albeit fairly short, story about Ernie Accorsi, who was until his retirement last year, the General Manager of the New York Giants and the longest serving GM in the sport. Tom Callahan, the talented author of several other sports books, was granted unfettered access by Accorsi to follow him and the Giants around throughout the star-crossed 2006 season. In the end, the book is not so much about the day-to-day duties of an NFL General Manager, as it is about the long football life and experiences of Accorsi, and the many fascinating people he met along the way.I think Callahan got a lot more than he had envisioned, as the Giants endured a massive collapse during 2006, falling from title contender to also-ran in a matter of weeks. But this book goes beyond chronicling a NFL season in turmoil, and is filled with hundreds of short stories and anecdotes from many conversations with Accorsi, who has spent a lifetime in the NFL. Accorsi's tales about his long tenure in the NFL are probably the best parts of the book. Throughout his career, Accorsi got to work with and learn some of the biggest names in the history of football: Johnny Unitas, Pete Rozzelle, Joe Paterno, Wellington Mara, and others.Part of what makes this book good is Accorsi's witty and humanistic retellings and Callahan's seamless writing and recounting. It is obvious that Callahan spent many hours just listening to Accorsi's great stories, and has sprinkled them liberally throughout the book with ease. Callahan is a great writer, and his descriptions of people, places, and events that have shaped football in recent history are a joy to read. I have heard from several people that his last book -- a biography of Unitas -- is fantastic, and after reading "The GM", I look forward to picking it up.Additionally, the book spends a great deal of time on the 2006 Giants, framing them of course as the final note of Accorsi's long career. Callahan spoke to Head Coach (and tyrant) Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning, Plaxico Burress, Michael Strahan, Jeff Feagles, and other Giants in delving into the Giants' collapse and exploring how the players coped with the losing and why they continued to play the game year after year. In the end, the Giants turbulent season -- they finished 8-8 and made the playoffs, but lost in the divisional playoff -- serves as a good metaphor for Accorsi's career: some highs, some lows, but a strong love of football always."The GM" is a really fun and quick read, though for just under 270 pages the price tag may a bit high for some. If you are interested in current pro football or just the history of the game, then I think you'll enjoy the book.Four stars.

Ernie Accorsi, the "GM" of the New York Giants, was a link to the NFL's great past of Pete Rozelle, Wellington Mara, John Unitas and Jim Finks. In those days, the phrase "for the good of the game" was a frequent motivation for doing the right thing for the players, fans and that elite fraternity who invested their money to make it America's favorite sport. The way Accorsi approached his job and treated those around him reflects that spirit, which was accurately portrayed by Tom Callahan. Men like Accorsi are disappearing from professional sports, and we are all worse off for it. If you love the game, you'll love "GM."

It was very interesting reading about the "inside stuff" of being a GM of a major football team. GM Ernie Accorsi ran a great ship and was instrumental in bringing the Super Bowl Championship to NY and the NY Giants. This was a pleasant read especially if you are a NY Giant fan.

Quite simply, it is my favorite non-fiction book of the past decade and the best sports book I've ever read. Poignant stories from Johnny Unitas to Eli Manning to Jerry Reese. The GM is a journey through the NFL from the glory years of the old Baltimore Colts through 2006. A wonderful read that is impossible to put down.

There were plenty of adjectives used to describe Tom Callahan's book, "The GM." The one that comes to mind is "much-anticipated."After all, it was said to be something of a diary about the final year of Ernie Accorsi. The New York Giants' general manager started his professional life as a sportswriter, and has always been considered one of the good guys in the business. Accorsi let Tom Callahan move into Giants Stadium and take over an office in 2006, a bizarre year if ever there was one.After actually reading the book, the description has to go from "much anticipated" to "slightly disappointing." While "The GM" has its good points, mostly in the form of interesting stories about the past, it doesn't come off as particularly memorable.Accorsi grew up in Pennsylvania, eventually working his way into pro football with the Baltimore Colts. He was around for the John Elway debacle, when the franchise QB forced a trade to Denver. Accorsi went on to a GM job in Cleveland and eventually New York.While in New York, Accorsi made the decision that he knew would make or break his legacy -- he traded a package of draft picks for the rights to Eli Manning. Accorsi thought Manning would be the franchise quarterback ever team needs to be great, and he was willing to go out on a limb to get him.Manning is one of the major characters of the 2006 season, but probably not the main one. That description goes to Tom Coughlin, the Giants' head coach. Coughlin won games in New York, but he wasn't exactly a "players' coach." The Giants limped down the stretch, partly because of a long string of injuries. Could they make the playoffs? Could they do anything once they got there?That's an interesting story, but it's not particularly Accorsi's. While the tension between coach and general manager is nicely portrayed in spots, Accorsi seems to exist in some sort of limboland, as his work day is never completely spelled out.Instead, we get interesting little stories about the team -- the trainer who spent a month with the dying Wellington Mara, the retiring future Hall of Fame running back who was leaving at the peak of his powers, an offensive lineman who refused to guess when it was time to leave so he kept playing.And the tension between a coach and GM is revealed when Accorsi starts raging over a decision to not let the Chicago Bears run out the clock late in the first half, a decision that proves costly when it eventually lets the Bears back in a game."The GM" probably works as much as you'd like it to work. Giants' fans certainly will enjoy some of the inside stories about the team, and pro football fans will find some meat here. But as for the subtitle, "The inside story of a dream job and the nightmares that go with it," that doesn't quite describe it. This book is relatively interesting, but also comes across as a bit of a missed opportunity for something better.