John Walters

A good book is a steadfast friend come summertime. I grew up in Arizona, where the cruel summer and its unrelenting three-digit temperatures discourage and often downright punish outdoor activity. And you can only visit the multiplex so often.

Books saved me, none so much as David Guy's ode to football against an all-boys prep school backdrop, Football Dreams. I discovered Football Dreams between my sophomore and junior year, at a time when my own commitment to football was wavering.

Eighty-six boys tried out for the freshman football team at my all-boys Jesuit high school in August of 1980. Two were smaller than I. One of them, Mark Reckling, turned his attention to drumming and now leads a popular Scottsdale-based reggae band, Azz Izz. The other, whose name escapes me, eventually moved to Hollywood and became a stand-in for Peter Dinklage.

I think.

The point is that I was in over my head, and that from my freshman vantage point, the idea of ever stepping onto the field as a varsity player seemed ridiculous.

David Guy understood. While in his own late 20's, Guy wrote a novel loosely based on his own experience as a high school lineman at Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh. The characters, richly drawn, are identifiable to just about anyone who has ever boiled a mouthpiece or gotten butterflies in his stomach before a hamburger drill.

"I thought that football was my ticket," recalls Guy, 59. "I thought that's the way I was going to make it in that school."

Guy's main character, Dan Keith, perseveres. Over the course of four seasons he comes to realize that the effort he puts in to become a starter is a greater reward than making varsity or being introduced at a pep rally or even landing a date with Sara Warren. The book's climactic moment, fittingly, involves Keith wiping out a defensive back on a downfield block.

"It's funny," says Guy, now a professor of writing at his college alma mater, Duke. "If you can find my book at all, you'll find it in the 'Young Adult' section. When I was writing it I had no idea such a section existed."

Twenty-five years later, Football Dreams remains a satisfying read and a welcome friend on a languid summer day. Recently, I asked a few non-bound friends of mine to suggest a favorite sports tome of their own. Here then, in addition to Guy's novel, we give you our first NBCSports.com Summer Book Club. And, don't worry, no one is going to force you to write an essay on any of these:

The Boys of Summer, By Roger Kahn

The story of the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers.

Submitted by: Alan Abrahamson, columnist, NBCSports.com

"Elegant and lyrical, a pleasure to read for the first or 10th time."

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Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football, by David Winner

A history of the distinctive and sophisticated football culture of the Netherlands.

Submitted by: Mark Bechtel, Senior Editor, Sports Illustrated

"It's more about the Dutch national mindset than it is about soccer. Quite entertaining."

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Secretariat: The Making of a Champion, by William Nack

Submitted by: Mark Beech, Staff Writer, Sports Illustrated

"Don't buy the hype about Seabiscuit -- this is the best book about horse racing ever written."

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The Breaks of the Game, by David Halberstam

The revered author, who blazed his own trail of journalistic legend with his Vietnam reportage, embarks on a season-long journey with the 1978-79 Portland Trail Blazers.

Submitted by: Lara Boyko, contributing writer at CSTV.com

"It's out of print, but if you can find one, buy it! I think it's the most expensive book I've ever purchased at around $100, but worth every penny and may be one of the things I would save if there is a fire or earthquake."

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