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It's Better to Be Feared: The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"[H]onest, sprawling, meticulously reported, and beautifully written."
―Chad Finn, Boston Globe
The explosive, long-awaited account of the making of the greatest dynasty in football history―from the acclaimed ESPN reporter who has been there from the very beginning.
Over two unbelievable decades, the New England Patriots were not only the NFL's most dominant team, but also―and by far―the most secretive. How did they achieve and sustain greatness―and what were the costs?
In It's Better to Be Feared, Seth Wickersham, one of the nation's finest investigative sportswriters, presents the definitive account of the New England Patriots dynasty, capturing the brilliance, ambition, and ruthlessness that powered it. Having covered the team since Tom Brady took over as starting quarterback in 2001, Wickersham draws on an immense range of sources, including previously confidential game plans, scouting reports, and internal studies as well as hundreds of interviews gathered over two decades―with Brady, Bill Belichick, and other players, coaches, and front office personnel―to offer a behind-the-scenes chronicle of the dynasty's three acts: the initial burst of Super Bowls from 2001 to 2005; the plateau period, 2006 to 2014, stalked by scandal, injury, and near-misses; and the second three Super Bowl victories between 2015 and 2019, which allowed the Patriots to make their claim upon history.
At every step, Wickersham demonstrates just how Belichick and Brady shaped the Patriots and reshaped the entire NFL. We are taken deep into Belichick's tactical mind, odd work habits, and strained relationships, including his sincere but unspoken love for the players and a near fistfight with a former assistant coach. It is an illuminating depiction of a mastermind, and an organization, dedicated not only to winning but to breaking a league designed to prevent the emergence of a single, unbeatable team.
Yet it is in Wickersham's portrait of Brady―from his childhood in northern California to his challenging years at the University of Michigan to his astonishing early superstardom in the NFL―that the source of the Patriots' sheer endurance comes into focus. Even as he navigated an improbable rise to fame, Brady was driven by a totalizing ambition to be great, not as an endpoint, but as an ever-unfolding process. Sustaining greatness, however, came with a price. Wickersham reveals, to an extent no other journalist has, the clashes among the coach, the quarterback, and the owner, Robert Kraft―conflicts that resulted in the team's best performances but also, eventually, the dissolution of the dynasty itself.
Raucous, unvarnished, and propulsive, It's Better to Be Feared is an instant classic of American sportswriting, and an unforgettable study of what it takes to reach, and remain at, the summit of human achievement.
"[H]onest, sprawling, meticulously reported, and beautifully written."
―Chad Finn, Boston Globe
The explosive, long-awaited account of the making of the greatest dynasty in football history―from the acclaimed ESPN reporter who has been there from the very beginning.
Over two unbelievable decades, the New England Patriots were not only the NFL's most dominant team, but also―and by far―the most secretive. How did they achieve and sustain greatness―and what were the costs?
In It's Better to Be Feared, Seth Wickersham, one of the nation's finest investigative sportswriters, presents the definitive account of the New England Patriots dynasty, capturing the brilliance, ambition, and ruthlessness that powered it. Having covered the team since Tom Brady took over as starting quarterback in 2001, Wickersham draws on an immense range of sources, including previously confidential game plans, scouting reports, and internal studies as well as hundreds of interviews gathered over two decades―with Brady, Bill Belichick, and other players, coaches, and front office personnel―to offer a behind-the-scenes chronicle of the dynasty's three acts: the initial burst of Super Bowls from 2001 to 2005; the plateau period, 2006 to 2014, stalked by scandal, injury, and near-misses; and the second three Super Bowl victories between 2015 and 2019, which allowed the Patriots to make their claim upon history.
At every step, Wickersham demonstrates just how Belichick and Brady shaped the Patriots and reshaped the entire NFL. We are taken deep into Belichick's tactical mind, odd work habits, and strained relationships, including his sincere but unspoken love for the players and a near fistfight with a former assistant coach. It is an illuminating depiction of a mastermind, and an organization, dedicated not only to winning but to breaking a league designed to prevent the emergence of a single, unbeatable team.
Yet it is in Wickersham's portrait of Brady―from his childhood in northern California to his challenging years at the University of Michigan to his astonishing early superstardom in the NFL―that the source of the Patriots' sheer endurance comes into focus. Even as he navigated an improbable rise to fame, Brady was driven by a totalizing ambition to be great, not as an endpoint, but as an ever-unfolding process. Sustaining greatness, however, came with a price. Wickersham reveals, to an extent no other journalist has, the clashes among the coach, the quarterback, and the owner, Robert Kraft―conflicts that resulted in the team's best performances but also, eventually, the dissolution of the dynasty itself.
Raucous, unvarnished, and propulsive, It's Better to Be Feared is an instant classic of American sportswriting, and an unforgettable study of what it takes to reach, and remain at, the summit of human achievement.
Editorial Reviews
"The book consistently delivers that type of fly-on-the-wall access, taking the reader to seemingly impenetrable places . . . Reporters have breathlessly covered the Patriots over the years, leaving little room for new reveals, but Wickersham advances the ball with anecdotes that unpeel the personalities of the franchise's significant figures."
― Mark Selig, Washington Post
"[A]n honest, sprawling, meticulously reported, and beautifully written portrayal of perhaps the greatest and probably the most unlikely dynasty in modern professional sports . . . [Wickersham] draws richly detailed portraits of Brady, Belichick, the dynasty's third constant in owner Robert Kraft, and how their personalities and relationships changed through the years . . . It's Better to Be Feared is the accounting the Patriots dynasty deserves."
― Chad Finn, Boston Globe
"[C]ontains an array of juicy details about Brady's turbulent final years in New England . . . While those details ― Belichick's clandestine friendship with Roger Goodell, Brady approaching the 49ers at the start of his free agency ― are scintillating, they are the garnish on top of a well-constructed narrative that spans the arc of 20 years . . . Wickersham's storytelling is gripping."
― Alex Reimer, WEEI
"Wickersham's fly-on-the-wall accounts are fascinating, but he's at his best when he explains, carefully and evenhandedly, how the business of football works. . . Exemplary sports journalism that examines the front office and dueling egos as much as the gridiron."
― Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"This enthralling behind-the-scenes tale of the New England Patriots is a piece of journalistic excellence . . . Patriots fans will revel in all the little-known backstories, while all football fans and readers seeking astonishing success stories will relish this, too."
― Robert St. John, Booklist
"A skilled journalist analyzes the success of the NFL's premier team over the last two decades, in both its laudable and unsavory aspects; [it] will be of interest to all sports fans."
― John Maxymuk, Library Journal
― Mark Selig, Washington Post
"[A]n honest, sprawling, meticulously reported, and beautifully written portrayal of perhaps the greatest and probably the most unlikely dynasty in modern professional sports . . . [Wickersham] draws richly detailed portraits of Brady, Belichick, the dynasty's third constant in owner Robert Kraft, and how their personalities and relationships changed through the years . . . It's Better to Be Feared is the accounting the Patriots dynasty deserves."
― Chad Finn, Boston Globe
"[C]ontains an array of juicy details about Brady's turbulent final years in New England . . . While those details ― Belichick's clandestine friendship with Roger Goodell, Brady approaching the 49ers at the start of his free agency ― are scintillating, they are the garnish on top of a well-constructed narrative that spans the arc of 20 years . . . Wickersham's storytelling is gripping."
― Alex Reimer, WEEI
"Wickersham's fly-on-the-wall accounts are fascinating, but he's at his best when he explains, carefully and evenhandedly, how the business of football works. . . Exemplary sports journalism that examines the front office and dueling egos as much as the gridiron."
― Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"This enthralling behind-the-scenes tale of the New England Patriots is a piece of journalistic excellence . . . Patriots fans will revel in all the little-known backstories, while all football fans and readers seeking astonishing success stories will relish this, too."
― Robert St. John, Booklist
"A skilled journalist analyzes the success of the NFL's premier team over the last two decades, in both its laudable and unsavory aspects; [it] will be of interest to all sports fans."
― John Maxymuk, Library Journal
Readers Top Reviews
Bob Gradante
I loved this book. It is not just a must-read for Pats fans. I know because I'm a Jets fan and I hate them LOL My favorite titles are the ones written from an insider, never-before-seen perspective. This work delivers big-time on that. (i'm surprised this is the Authors first title. I will be looking for the next one)
Charles K. Sherwood
Seth has written the definitive book about the Patriots dynasty. Superb reporting, phenomenal writing, so much I didn’t know. This book will please the sports fan, inform students of leadership, and cause one to think about the real sacrifice involved in achieving greatness. Five Stars all the way around!!!
Nancy from Minnesota
Seth Wickersham does a masterful job of telling a decades long story in a truly compelling fashion. This is a great read - even if you don't follow professional football!
ER
I couldn't care less about Tom Brady or the Patriots dynasty (but if you do, there's PLENTY of fresh and revealing material). But more than anything, this is a book about inner demons, drive to excel, the price of our dreams. And time.
MR Family
not only is this the best overarching volume on the new england patriots dynasty, it's without a doubt a window into some of the attributes of people who want to achieve greatness. it was so striking how different belichick, brady, and kraft were - all ambitious, all ruthless in their own ways, but each had an entirely different worldview and drive. this is an instant classic.
