Rating: 
Summary: Must read!! Top quality
Review: The slick gloss of the final product(the weekly SI magazine) is deceptive...none of the blood, sweat & tears is evident. An engrossing,eye-opening view of what was/is required to get the magazine out each week.
Rating: 
Summary: A huge disappointment, not well-researched or thought out
Review: This alleged "history" of SI is ill-conceived and poorly executed. The author's reportage is extremely sloppy - he gets names wrong, dates wrong, even quotes wrong - and his analysis borders on the dim-witted. This is really The Gospel According to Dan Jenkins, without Jenkins' wit or style. What a bore!
Rating:
Summary: Not a very good history of S.I.
Review: This book fails on every count: as a history of the magazine; as a readable story; as a critical overview. The writing is just not very good, and insights and analysis sorely lacking. Who wants to read dull anecdote piled upon dull anecdote? Not me.
Rating: 
Summary: A detailed history
Review: This book has received a bum rap primarily for serving as an excellent history of a magazine and not the games themselves. Although the countless persons who appear in the book can be confusing, The Franchise does a fantastic job of portraying the identity of SI over the years.
Rating:
Summary: BORING
Review: This book went too indepth on slow material and not enough indepth when there were interesting parts. The saddest part is that I am taking his class next semester
Rating:
Summary: Great for some, disappointing for others
Review: This is an engrossing book for readers who want to understand the interplay between the writers, editors, and publishers of SI - in other words the people who created (and in some cases are still creating) SI. It is NOT for people seeking out behind-the-scenes tidbits concerning the subjects covered in and on the magazine, including the swimsuit models.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm A Sports Junkie, And I Couldn't Read Past Page 50
Review: To say this is a slow read is to say the Titanic was a sinking ship. In other words, it's stating the obvious. By the time I got to page 50, I was looking for a liferaft. Maybe something actually happens later on, but the publisher would have to pay ME to get there. I'd rather just buy the magazine - which at least is a good read.
Rating:
Summary: There's No "There" There
Review: Try as I did, I barely made it thorough this dry, rather unimaginative history. What insights it provided were hardly worth making. Better to subscribe to the magazine, which is not, as the author maintains, on the creative downside. Deford, Jenkins, et al. were no prose giants. In retrospect, they were lucky to have access to a vehicle that would print their second-rate blather. I much prefer today's writers. They're funnier, write more crisply and take sportswriting for what it is - entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: A Thimble-Deep Book That Doesn't Sound Honest
Review: Where are the insights? All I got was received wisdom and dull, dull prose. On top of that, I just don't trust this guy's taste. The book's too full of Middle America banalities. The author is lucky this didn't come with a money-back guarantee.
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