Rising Tide

"It's a must read! RISING TIDE is an electrifying book that hits on all four cylinders: rich Alabama Football tradition; North meets South; Civil Rights Movement Era; and Coach Bryant's history-making return to his Alma Mater. This book gives you insight about Joe Namath, a "kid" from the North, his role in transforming Alabama Football into an elite power-house, and every twist and turn of the phenomenal and enduring relationship that developed between Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and Joe Namath. The short and long of it, this book is just plain explosive!" (John Mitchell, Pittsburgh Steelers Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Line Coach).

"I didn't think the world needed another Bear Bryant book, but this one digs a little deeper and blitzes me with new info. And to think a Purdue guy wrote it." (Dan Jenkins, sportswriter/book author).

"RISING TIDE is a riveting football story that doubles as first-rate, seminal historical investigation. Building the narrative around Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and Joe Namath, the authors interweave early TV and civil rights into the fabric of their story with great grace. An absolutely wonderful read!"  (Douglas Brinkley, Professor of History at Rice University and author of Cronkite).

"RISING TIDE will be on the All Time Top Ten List for the Crimson Tide nation, but it is not just another 'fan's book.' Anyone who wants to understand the roots of college football as Big Business will learn from this account of the bond between its two gifted and charismatic heroes. As an eyewitness to the Bear-and-Joe-Willie show, I can tell you that Randy Roberts and Ed Krzemienski got it right about how the Tide rolls." (Howell Raines, author and former executive editor of the New York Times).

"RISING TIDE brings together two iconic figures-Bear Bryant and Joe Namath-in a can't-lay-it-down book. In beautifully evocative prose that takes readers from steel-town Pennsylvania to football-crazy Alabama, Roberts and Krzemienski recapture the drama, tension, glory, and shame of big-time college sports set in an era of civil rights protests and social upheaval.  At the heart of the book is the improbable relationship between two unforgettable, larger than life men. You don't have to be a Crimson Tide fan to enjoy this great read."
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"RISING TIDE is an absolute gem of a book about the twin pillars of white Southern identity: racial segregation and football, and how change was wrought in the heart of the old Confederacy that resisted it. RISING TIDE is an expertly written, must-read story of the intersection of athletics and politics." (Gerald Early, author of A Level Playing Field and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for The Culture of Bruising).

"[This is] a can't-lay-it-down book. In evocative prose, Roberts and Krzemienski recapture the drama, glory, and shame of big-time college sports set in an era of social upheaval. You don't have to be a Crimson Tide fan to enjoy this great read." (George C. Rable, Charles Summersell Chair in Southern History, University of Alabama).