"A Civil War" is bestselling sportswriter John Feinstein's account of one extraordinary year in Army and Navy football, the breathtaking 1995 campaign. Feinstein followed both teams through the year, attending their practices and classes, relaxing with them in their limited free time, standing with them on the sideline at their games. For Navy, it was a must-win year. The Cadets had beaten the Midshipmen three years straight, each time in heartbreaking fashion, and for the entire senior class the Army game would be a last chance for redemption. Army had its own troubles: a beloved coach was in danger of losing his job and the team leaders were determined to finish their careers with a winning season and a bowl game invitation. "A Civil War" traces the ups and downs of both teams through the season, showing how these remarkable young men dealt with the rigors of football along with the constant pressure of academy life, while re-creating the intense weeks leading up to the showdown. The account here of the 1995 Army-Navy game is an unforgettable piece of sportswriting, an up-close retelling of a heart-stopping game from both sides of the field.
Industry Reviews
Feinstein, author of the bestselling A Good Walk Spoiled (1995), again delivers the goods, this time chronicling the 1995 season of the West Point and Annapolis football teams, culminating in their annual game. Once a contest that factored heavily in deciding the national college football championship, the annual Army-Navy showdown has gradually been relegated to something approaching sideshow status. Still, to Cadets and Midshipmen alike, no other event during the year means as much as the chance to wrest honor from their rival academy. Feinstein sets the scene by recounting how rigid military discipline and withering academic standards combine to make football at West Point and Annapolis unlike football at any other division I schools. As one former coach says, "At every other school in America, the hardest part of any football player's day is football practice. At the military academies, the easiest part of a football player's day is football practice." Going into the 1995 season, Army and Navy seemed to be headed in opposite directions. Rocked by a series of academic scandals and other tragedies, Navy's morale was low. The West Point team, by contrast, seemed to be brimming with optimism and spirit. During the course of the season, however, both teams played with enough grit and skill to restore some luster to their somewhat tarnished football reputations. Both pulled off a few upsets; both won most of the games they were supposed to win; both lost close games to their mutual pigskin rival, Notre Dame. For Navy, however, the season's real goal was to break Army's recent stranglehold on the series. Army also had a lot at stake: namely, the chance for the team's seniors to be the first Cadet class since 1948 to go 4-0 against Navy. The game, a narrow one-point victory for Army, provided a stunning climax to the season. It also supplies a stirring ending for this exceptional book. (Kirkus Reviews)
