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It's Better to Be Feared: The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness

It's Better to Be Feared: The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness

by Seth Wickersham

Liveright ·2021 ·528 pages ·Investigative Journalism
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80/99
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81/99

Critics

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Scholars

96/99

Rating

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Volume

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About This Book

Over two unbelievable decades, the New England Patriots were not only the NFL's most dominant team, but also—and by far—the most secretive. How did they achieve and sustain greatness—and what were the costs? In It's Better to Be Feared, Seth Wickersham, one of the country's finest long form and investigative sportswriters, tells the full, behind-the-scenes story of the Patriots, capturing the brilliance, ambition, and vanity that powered and ultimately unraveled them. Based on hundreds of interviews conducted since 2001, Wickersham's chronicle is packed with revelations, taking us deep into Bill Belichick's tactical ingenuity and Tom Brady's unique mentality while also reporting on their divergent paths in 2020, including Brady's run to the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Raucous, unvarnished, and definitive, It's Better to Be Feared is an instant classic of American sportswriting in the tradition of Michael Lewis, David Maraniss, and David Halberstam.


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Reviews

"he humanizes Brady, Belichick and the Patriots owner Robert Kraft for outsiders in a way that can be exceedingly difficult ...This is Belichick as Walter White rather than Heisenberg, and Brady with intimate moments of self-awareness about his career and personal life."

Oskar Garcia· The New York Times Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"the best picture I've ever encountered of what the cutthroat, multibillion-dollar world of NFL football is actually like."

Edward Kosner· The Wall Street Journal Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"thorough and thoughtful ..."

Chad Finn· The Boston Globe Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Wickersham elegantly demonstrates the grander themes at work after watching them play out from the start ..."

Mark Selig· The Washington Post Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"This enthralling behind-the-scenes tale of the New England Patriots is a piece of journalistic excellence ..."

Robert St. John· Booklist Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"He also serves up the best account of 'Deflategate' ..."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

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