Book Review: QB: My Life Behind the Spiral

Title: QB: My Life Behind the Spiral

Author: Steve Young with Jeff Benedict

I gotta be honest here. I like Steve Young but didn’t even know he had written a book until my brother told me about it. Young was signing books at a local book store and my brother heard about it, ran over and bought two copies and had him sign them.  He told me about it and said I could buy the second one from him so I did. I figured it would be interesting, if nothing else to hear about his football career and stories from his playing days.

The book didn’t disappoint. He shared a wealth of football stories which I enjoyed, especially as I could remember a number of the games and plays he discussed at length.  What surprised me is how open he was about other aspects of his life, specifically the challenges associated with anxiety and waiting for his opportunity to prove himself.

Young talked a lot about growing up and his devotion to his Mormon faith. However, there were a number of things he learned via his playing days that stuck out to me. One was on the subject of accountability and the second is trust.

In the book Young talks about his early career in the National Football League (NFL), specifically as he was backing up legendary and now hall of Fame quarterback, Joe Montana. Filling in for and eventually replacing a legend is incredibly challenging and Young was struggling mightily with it. As he got more playing time, he was constantly being compared to Montana by fans, the media and even his own teammates.

As things went poorly or didn’t pan out the way Young hoped, he made an effort to be accountable to his teammates for mistakes, poor play as well as for the good that happened. He struggled with being accountable and in many cases was trying to own and be accountable for things outside of his control.

As he struggled with this, his former Coach, Bill Walsh called him and asked him to come see him.

“When I arrived I could tell he was upset. He scolded me for taking all the bullets. ‘All you do is take the blame!’ he said.”

“I hung my head. “Joe wouldn’t have missed the receiver in the end zone. I said.”

“I can tell you right now that if Joe was playing and these guys were playing the way they’re playing, things wouldn’t be any better.”

“What am I supposed to say? It’s not my fault.”

“There’s no better quality than being accountable,” Walsh said. “But there’s such a thing as being over-accountable. You actually steal other people’s accountability.”

Football, he explained, is not a one-man game. The quarterback is the leader. But it takes all eleven men to succeed.

“You are not letting other people down,” he said. “You are being let down, left and right.”

I like this message. I hold myself accountable and struggle with some of these same concerns and issues. A constant question I ask myself is how can I hold myself accountable and others don’t? And, when this happens how do you handle it? I love this explanation as it makes the topic very clear and concise. I know that I can only do my part and if somebody else isn’t then it’s not always my fault.

On the other topic, trust, Young talked about being only 6’2” tall and having a hard time seeing over his much taller offensive linemen. One of his quarterbacks coaches told him that he needed to trust his receivers to be where they needed to be and to throw to those spots. Young struggled with doing this but as he grew accustomed to it, he started having more success then he ever had. He had to gain the trust in himself as well as in his teammates in order to throw to specific spots even when the player wasn’t there when he released the ball.

There are a lot of similarities in this in all aspects of life. Sometimes you can’t see exactly where things are and have to act on faith and trust that as you do things it will evolve into what it’s ultimately supposed to be.

Young was one of the best quarterbacks of all time. He’s a Hall of Fame quarterback and accomplished things that no other quarterback did. I enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.

Book Review: John Adams

Title: John Adams

Author: David McCullough

As I get older, I’ve found that my love of history increases by the year. I had heard about David McCullough, specifically his book 1776. As I learned about the book I decided it was one I wanted to read. I was talking to my mom about the book and she mentioned that she had John Adams, another book that McCullough wrote. As she told me about John Adams, I was intrigued and asked to borrow her copy.

The book is more than 600 pages, 651 to be exact with nearly another 100 pages in source notes, bibliography and indexes. I started reading the book before Christmas 2016 and just finished it in early May 2017. It took a long time to read, but not because it wasn’t interesting. In fact, it was just the opposite. I read in detail and referenced notes to track specific individuals and occurrences, specifically dates.

The level of detail and actual historical accounts is incredible. This is due mainly to the fact that John Adams kept a daily journal and was a prolific correspondent via hand written letters to colleagues, friends and family. Additionally, his wife, family, friends and colleagues of the time were also prolific writers which provided a level of detail and insight into their lives that I honestly wasn’t expecting.

I learned about our nation’s history in grade school and new some of the names already and the basic story of the Declaration of Independence. I remember enjoying this part of history as a young kid, but the level of detail and background captivated my attention right from the start.

The book begins with Adams heading to the convention to discuss our nation’s independence and the Declaration of Independence. Adams played a significant role in shaping the Declaration of Independence and driving it through to approval with the other colonial leaders. It’s been said that Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence but Adams was the voice. Many attribute his efforts and powers of persuasion to it being ratified.

Throughout his life Adams was driven to succeed and accomplished so much, even at an early age. A couple things that really stood out to me about Adams was his love and commitment to the United States, fears and doubts he had, his devotion to his wife and family and his ability to live within his means.

Throughout his life of public services and leadership, Adams always did best when his beloved wife, Abigail was with him. Adams spent nearly ten years oversees representing the United States of America. For many of the first years of this service, his was remained in the United States. Adams worked incredibly hard and was diligent in fulfilling his responsibilities but it was clear from his correspondence that he missed his wife desperately. After a few years he his wife joined him and he was much happier and performed his duties better.

Adams was proud to hold the various positions he did because he knew he had the ability and will to help shape and build the country. His primary concern in these positions was the good of the country and helping it grow and develop.

He often wrote and said that his happiest times were once he retired from public life to his family farm and lived with Abigail and had frequent visits from his children and grandchildren.

Prior to leaving for Europe, Adams admitted to being nervous and having doubts about his ability to rise up and do the job the way it needed to be done. By this point, Adams had already established himself as one of our country’s most valuable and respected leaders. In spite of all his previous success, he still felt a need to prove himself and in quite moments before starting a new opportunity was beseeched with doubts and fears of inadequacy.

When these fears and doubts crept in, he consulted with his wife for a boost of confidence and threw himself into the work. His work ethic, determination and ability always helped him rise to the occasion and excel. Adams always had an opinion and wasn’t afraid to express or share it.  When he believed in something he was passionate about it and strove to convince others of its merits. Doing this didn’t always endear him to others, but he left no doubt about what he believed or about his commitment to the country.

Throughout his life, Adams was never a rich man. For the most part, he had what he needed to meet his needs and in the instances that he didn’t, he found a way to make due and thrive. Many others of the time, especially within Congress were wealthy and quite often took out loans to acquire what they needed.  George Washington came from a wealthy family as did Jefferson. Jefferson often took out loans to accommodate his legendary sending habits.

When Adams died, some of his possessions were sold or auctioned off. When all was said and done, his estate had nearly $100,000. Contrast that to Jefferson who died on the same day and year as Adams. Jefferson left thousands and thousands of dollars in debt to his family. Even while he was president or living overseas, Adams was paid but often not nearly enough and he and his wife would find a way to scrimp and cut costs. They never complained or focused on what they were missing. Instead, they focused on what they had and in fulfilling their responsibilities.

I enjoyed the book. HBO created a miniseries on Adams based on this book. I look forward to watching that and seeing how accurately t reflects the book. This is a great read and one that I highly recommend.

One of my next reads will be 1776 and then McCullogh’s book on Harry Truman. McCullogh is an amazing writer and story teller. I love the way he weaved Adams’s actual words into the book through the many letters and journals he kept throughout his life. If you get a chance, I recommend you read this book. If the chance doesn’t present itself, make the opportunity, you won’t regret it.