Super Bowl Monday: From the Persian Gulf to the Shores of West Florida: The New York Giants, the Buffalo Bills, and Super Bowl XXV

Taking place against the backdrop of 1991's Operation Desert Storm, Super Bowl XXV was a dramatic event to begin with, but the competing Buffalo Bills and New York Giants upped the ante even more, according to veteran sports writer Lazarus (Chasing Greatness). In this fantastic, accessible new book, Lazarus charts the teams, coaches, and players that made the game so memorable. Though Bills' journeyman quarterback Jim Kelly and the Giants' Jeff Hostetler (who was poised to retire) get the most page time, Lazarus covers the game from all angles and perspectives, giving credit where credit is due and presenting key moments from the previous season. Digressions on the league's preparedness for a terrorist attack (the NFL bought all the available atropine, a drug needed to counteract a sarin nerve gas attack, that wasn't reserved for the military) increase the tension. By the time Lazarus gets to Whitney Houston's stunning performance of the national anthem, readers might as well resign themselves to finishing the book in a single sitting. Even football neophytes will find Lazarus's snapshot of America insightful and rewarding. (Sept.)