Sweetness
The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton
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4.0 • 170 Ratings
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
The first definitive biography of Chicago Bears superstar Walter Payton.
At five feet ten inches tall, running back Walter Peyton was not the largest player in the NFL, but he developed a larger-than-life reputation for his strength, speed, and grit. Nicknamed "Sweetness" during his college football days, he became the NFL's all-time leader in rushing and all-purpose yards, capturing the hearts of fans in his adopted Chicago.
Crafted from interviews with more than 700 sources, acclaimed sportswriter Jeff Pearlman has produced the first definitive biography of Payton. Sweetness at last brings fans a detailed, scrupulously researched, all-encompassing account of the legend's rise to greatness. From Payton's childhood in segregated Mississippi, where he ended a racial war by becoming the star of his integrated high school's football team, to his college years and his twelve-year NFL career, Sweetness brims with stories of all-American heroism, and covers Payton's life off the field as well. Set against the backdrop of the tragic illness that cut his life short at just forty- six years of age, this is a stirring tribute to a singular icon and the lasting legacy he made.
Customer Reviews
Sweetness
Long book and tough to get through the first part but well worth it at the end. Great writing about a man you never knew was so complex. I appreciate Walter even more that I know how human he was.
Inexcusable mistake
Gotta worry about the accuracy of a biography for which the first line of the overview misspells the man's name. It's Payton.
Just one guy's opinion
An excellent read. It's a hard story to read and appreciate if you are a die hard Bears fan, especially if a Walter Payton admirer, because it's certainy not all wine and roses about Walters life. But one common thread ran throughout and that was how much of a caring human being Walter Payton was, from humble beginnings, through greatness, and to the very end how much he cared about others around him that he thought genuine. The hard part for me was trying to understand how dismissive of Nigel he was, that part of the story doesn't make sense to me given his caring nature. I guess we will never know. Outstanding read in my opinion.