Brooks on Books: Are you ready for some football?

I have a backlog of baseball books to write about, let alone my stack to read, but today it's time for football.

I just re-read Jerry Kramer's classic diary of the 1967 Green Bay Packers season, "Instant Reply." Compiled with an editorial assist by the late Dick Schaap, this is a fantastic, insightful read that holds up fine even 40 years later. Sure, the game is different in many ways, but Kramer, a multiple All-Pro offensive lineman, offers incredible details into the daily routine of a football team. He also discusses the nuances of offensive line play and how he strategizes for different defenders who will oppose him. You don't hear a lot of this stuff on game broadcasts, but much of it is still relevant and compelling even if the players are bigger and faster.

The book is remarkable for its candor. You might not get the profanity and salacious detail of an "inside the locker room" account that might appear today, but you really get to know Kramer and his football team. He frequently discusses the emotional tenor of the Packers during the season, admitting that the team just can't get enthusiastic about certain opponents. He provides many amusing anecdotes that reveal the psychology employed by legendary coach Vince Lombardi, and even as he suggests the team is on some level aware of the mind games, they usually work, and the team loves and respects him. Kramer also recounts Lombardi's rants about players outside interests while wondering if his own are indeed as distracting as his coach indicates. One of the amusing threads throughout the season-long diary is Kramer's worries about a venture with Kraft Foods to distribute player portraits, and whether he'll recoup his investment back.

"Instant Replay" is funny, sharp, and addictive; a classic account of pro football by a great player at a still-unheralded position. I own a beat-up old paperback form back in the day, but it's been reissued so many times it's easy to find a used copy, though it's well worth springing for a new version.