Rating: 
Summary: Bear Bryant's Greatest Shame
Review: Though worshipful of football coach and icon Bear Bryant, the author exposes a vile, shameful side to the well-beloved coach. Inheriting a Texas A & M football program in steep decline, Coach Bryant bussed his 110 players to the west Texas town of Junction for pre-season practice in August,1954 without having scouted the fields and team barracks his team would use for two weeks. When Bryant, his coaches and his players arrived in Junction, they stumbled across playing fields of cactus, essentially desert without grass. Junction, Texas had not received more than a scattering of rain for about five years and the terain looked it. Bryant worked his boys long and hard in the 100+ degree heat and allowed no water breaks. By the time the team embarked back to the university, the Aggies had dwindled to 35 players. Each night of the nightmare saw groups of players turn their backs on their scholarships, and in many cases their futures, escaping the torture camp which was Bryant's Junction. Sadly, many of the boys were in similar straights as Dennis Goehring, who stuck it out. Goehring's family had lost their ranch due to the six year west Texas drought. For Goehring, leaving Junction would have amounted to destitution. Goehring toughed it out. As did Jack Pardee, a future professional star as a player and coach. But even Pardee, tough as nails and an oil roughneck at 15 years of age to support his struggling family, collapsed and fainted on the practice field at Junction. Billy Schoeder collapsed as well and was kicked by Bryant as Schroeder lay helpless and unconcsious. Schroeder was taken to a doctor just in time to save his life from heat stroke and would never be the same physically. This whipped team would win only one game in 1954. But for an opening game trouncing, the Aggies played doggedly throughout the season. A national title would await in 1956 for Jack Pardee, Gene Stallings, Heisman trophy winner John David Crow (who, as a freshman in 1954, did not attend Junction) and the Aggies. Today, in reflection, it is easy to agree that what Bryant did to his players at Junction was appalling. He even agreed. Yet it must be said that Bryant formed a great team at Junction. More importantly, almost every boy who stuck it out at Junction became very successful in later life. Yet, at what cost? It is fascinating that two Junction survivors, Hall and Huddleston, refused to attend a 25th Junction anniversary party that included the legendary Bryant. The two believed that the 75 boys who had staggered away from Junction in dejection in August, 1954 should have been included in any sort of Junction party. The author is weak in several areas. He shows little analytical ability. None of the assistant coaches seem to have been interviewed. Details are filled in by only a small group of players, a great weakness in Dent's research. Also, Dent revels pointlessly in the telling of the joyful experiences of several Aggies at the LaGrange Chicken Ranch, made famous nationally since by musicals and a song by the rock band ZZ Top. Dent also is mistaken if he thinks Bob Wills sang "Faded Love" or any other of his band's songs. Wills was a musician and an arranger, but never sang with his musical outfit. He limited himself to making quirky comments during the songs, sometimes cajoling his singer and band.
Rating:
Summary: Coach Bryant Figures It Out Too Late
Review: The author missed the boat on the true story of Coach Bear Bryant and what he accomplished in his first years at A&M. I include some quotes from the particpants on the team who saw Coach Bryant ruin the career of the greatest high school running back in history, Ken Hall from Sugar Land, Texas:In Goehring's view, all Bryant had to do to unleash Hall's staggering talent was return him to halfback. That would have allowed him to play safety on defense. Hall, the fastest man on the team, was better-suited in the secondary than at linebacker anyway. Bryant, then in his early 40s, eventually would figure all this out for himself. But by the time he did it was too late for Hall. Egotistical and stubborn, Bryant continued to insist that Hall make his way at A&M as a blocking back and linebacker. "He totally miscoached Ken Hall," said Goehring, who held Bryant in high regard. "Ken had better running ability than John David Crow, and he would have been a tremendous asset to our team." Hall quit the Aggies in 1955, his sophomore year. Bryant took him back the next season, but nothing changed. Hall quit again, this time for good. Many years later, Bryant felt shame over Hall's departure. Bryant went on to win six national championships at the University of Alabama, but he believed he could have had one more at A&M, if not for his own bullheadedness. He told Crow, "If I had moved Kenneth Hall to halfback and put you at fullback, we would have won it all in '57." Elwood Kettler, who played quarterback for Bryant at A&M and later became a confidant of the coach, said Bryant never forgave himself for ruining Hall's college career. "He said many times that, of all the mistakes he made with players, the biggest one was with Ken Hall," Kettler said.
Rating: 
Summary: The Untold Story of Junction...
Review: I began following and cheering on the legendary Bryant during his early years at Alabama, during the early sixties. As moving as this story was, what nearly all Junction accounts fail to state is how it was COACH BRYANT who was changed most by the Junction experience. Junction Boys fails to follow through so that the reader will understand that much like the father who admits his mistakes to his son; that admission coupled with repentance and absolute assurance that the father truly has his son's best interest at heart, only causes the son's love and admiration to grow. Truly, Bryant was an established winner when he came to Texas A&M, however, the fire burned in his gut to take his achievement to a higher level. Realizing that his inherited cadets were not the stuff of champions, he endeavored to battle harden them in a purposefully harsh and spartan environment. But he went overboard in his zeal, and realized that he had been too severe, and strict. It was then that he began to develop the recipe of structure, discipline, work and good old-fashioned fatherly love that would produce six national and 16 conference championships. The work hardening of Junction was but one of the ingredients, and perhaps the easiest for the coach to administer, yet the hardest for the players to tolerate. Many times in his life, Bryant would recant the methods he used at Junction, but he never backed away from the creed that you beat the other guy by working harder. A very good read about a man who was still evolving into perhaps the most successful, and beloved college coach football coach of the ages.
Rating: 
Summary: Junction Boys-A Little like a Well Done Steak
Review: First, Let me say I really enjoyed this book. However,
since I have limited space, I will first note some flaws.
Mr. Dent uses the same writing style to personalize many of his characters (what smell is on their
breath and Hank Williams songs too many times). Also, he overemphasizes camp conditions, has
too many references to the s-word and repeats himself on occasion. However, in his defense, I'm
sure these people did use the S-word a bit but it became a little monotonous. Now the positive. I often laughed out loud at the stories. Mr. Dent can surly deliver a punch
line and he painted a visual picture of the camp and the people. (The character of Smokey was
painted perfectly). I cannot recommend this book enough to those who want to view into the
soul "Bear Bryant." But know this, you will hate him for most of the book. However, it is still a
good story if you enjoy sports history. If not, you might want to choose another selection. Happy Reading
Rating:
Summary: A Well Written Book
Review: The Junction Boys is the story of the lowly Texas A&M football team. They were one of the worst teams around until "Bear" Bryant came to town. This a great story and is excellently written. Jim Dent tells us how Bryant turned around the football team which eventually turned around the whole school. He shows how the legendary coach earned his nickname and why he was so great. In three short years Bryant turned the whole program around in a state where he couldn't get the best recruits. Dent writes the book like he is telling a story unlike so many non-fiction books which get long and boring this was very interesting until the last page.
Rating:
Summary: Great story that could have been better
Review: Bear Bryant and his first training camp at Texas A&M are the stuff of myth and legend. In the hands of a more discriminating writer the real story could have been separated from all the apocrypha. As it is, there is very little insight about the real Paul Bryant. While the players who endured the camp should be the primary focus, I would have liked to know more about all the guys who quit. How do they feel about the Bear and his methods? How could such brutal methods inspire Bryant disciples like Gene Stallings and Jack Pardee? The book does contain some interesting information about the way college football worked in the 1950s e.g. no water breaks, life before scholarship limits and when players had to call their own plays. I was hoping for a more insightful and thoughful book. Recommended for college football fanatics. The ESPN movie based on this book should be entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Mine The Gold Nuggets Of Corps History
Review: From time to time in this book, scattered among the football stories, are brilliant brief nuggets of information about the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets during what many consider its prime decade, the 1950s. Those items, ranging in scope from a passing phrases to extended vignettes, are explosions of literary gold -- inescapable reminders of the real heart and soul and spirit of Texas A&M, it's unique and superlative Corps of Cadets. The football stuff is interesting but, considering the number of times the football team has failed to deliver, the vintage information about Old Army, the Corps, is what makes this a truly valuable volume.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable romp through Texas football
Review: First, readers must realize that Jim Dent's nonfiction novel "The Junction Boys" is an enjoyable recreation of one of the most famous stories in Texas football history. Secondly, one must know that the most inept hack could pound out an entertaining tome about this often-told tale. It has everything - a larger-than-life football coach in Paul Bear Bryant, a supporting cast of coaches/players to be in Gene Stallings, Jack Pardee and John David Crow, and a small town locale in Junction, Texas as colorful as anything Larry McMurtry ever dreamed of in "The Last Picture Show." So one can partially forgive Dent's penchant for waxing a bit too poetic when describing every Texas cliche in the book. This story has always had "Hollywood" written all over it and Dent, a former sportswriter who himself must dream of the lofty heights of the already-mentioned McMurtry (refer to A&M defeat of Texas contrasted with a simultaneous thunderstorm breaking the drought in Junction), milks this tale for all it's worth. I didn't learn much from Dent's story, as the drought-ridden conditions of Junction, Texas at the time of this football camp has been told millions of times add nauseum; the 100-plus players dwindling to 35 has become a sort of sacred mantra by every small town football coach in modern history; and the climb to an undefeated season two short years later usually concludes what has become a popular campfire story across the plains of West Texas. What I liked about "The Junction Boys" was the colorful interpretation of the early years of the legendary Paul Bear Bryant. Texas A & M was where this coach cut his teeth, or more accurately, began to lay the foundation for his conservative coaching beliefs and monument status. Bryant is a character who at times, makes Abraham Lincoln or even Babe Ruth, if you will, seem like a pale Gerald Ford with the flu. After reading "The Junction Boys," it's not difficult to see why the colorful Coach Bryant won national championships and collegiate games with amazing consistency. The problems I have with Dent's novel is the lack of substance in detailing how the ramifications of those 10 days in Junction would shape football careers and the collegiate game (negatively and positively). The author rarely states his opinions about the dated and at times brutally harsh methods of Coach Bryant. And the fact that a player nearly died of heat stroke during this waterless preseason camp is treated with awe and respect rather than appropriate abomination. But this was a different era of sports, if not society, and the most compelling passages of Dent's novel are in the recreation of a time (1954) long since past. The story is just a few years removed from World War II, and the grit and determination which enabled this country to survive that horror is the residue which led to the Junction football experiment. Many players and officials to this day bemoan the tactics used by Coach Bryant in Junction, Texas and Dent, to his discredit, only scratches the surface of these naysayer opinions. A better rounded more substantial novel would have given this quiet minority a bit more ink. But Dent is only telling a tale, rather than digging beneath the dusty, cactus-covered surface "The Junction Boys" is a terrific read and certainly does this incredible story justice. If the waters, much like the drought-ridden rivers of the South Llano River near Junction, run a bit shallow, then perhaps it is good that the reader only invests 289 pages of time.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly written embellishment
Review: You can tell this book was written by a newspaper writer because of the disjointed nature of the writing and the lack of any kind of flow with the book. The book also contains what has to be numerous embellishments of stories about players, and tales so tall even this native Texan doesn't believe them. I've read interviews of people who were at the camp and talked to people who were at the camp, and none of them had very good things to say about this book. After reading half of this book (I'm not sure I want to waste the time to finish it), my opinion of Bear Bryant isn't that he was some kind of master motivator or football genius. He seems more like a ruthless slave driver who was hated by almost everyone he came in contact with. I'm sorry my university ever hired him.
Rating:
Summary: Must read for any true college football fan.
Review: I read this book on the first two days of my honeymoon. It was that good. My wife wanted to take romantic walks and I was glued to this book about the Bear. I was borned and raised a Tennessee fan. I will always cheer for the Vols above anybody, but I gained new respect for the Bear when I read this book. It gives you a true understanding of the man behind all the stories and championships.
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