'Cane Mutiny: How the Miami Hurricanes Overturned the Football Establishment

Rating:
Summary: Awesome!!!!!
Review: A must read if you are a Canes fan. I had not read a complete book in over ten years, and not for a lack of trying. A house to maintain, full time job, a wife, a child, and the other essentials to fulfill the American dream left me no time to read books past the first couple of chapters. BUT THIS BOOK IS SOMETHING ELSE. I found myself taking it to the toilet, telling my daughter to wait a few more minutes when she asked for something to eat, telling my wife no sex tonight, going to sleep later than normal, reading while eating dinner, reading instead of watching TV and substituting this for all the other important things in life. I am proud to say that I read this book in less than a week and you will too if you bleed orange and green and are true fan of the U!!!

Rating:
Summary: GREAT read for ANY college football fan...
Review: Feldman nailed it, getting behind the scenes and delivering.

Rating:
Summary: Good History of What Makes the Caines Unique
Review: I don't consider myself a Caine fan but follow them passively having attended one game in the Orange Bowl. This book does a great job discussing what the program has accomplished in the past 25 years which is nothing short of a miracle. Most programs now are built by spending the most money and having the most fans which generally will be large state schools with some holdovers from previous eras. USC and ND come to mind. But the Caines secret is the local athletes that have attended and done well and continue to come and give back. Being actively involved in a D1A program I can tell you this is nothing short of a huge accomplishment. Hearing the stories of FAMOUS players coming back to mentor current athletes is inspiring.

Now of course there has been a history of coaches to be chronicled and some of the first really set the tone for the program, Howard Schnellenberger and Jimmy Johnson come to mind. While all the coaches have been successful, many were never comfortable coaching this program under the pressure of previous athletes and local rap stars. But the program has survived and remains an "in your face" program that you either like or hate. To me, it's all about the athletes and what they inspire. Older people are generally not going to like the aggressive style. Me, I enjoy watching them do it the Caine way.


Rating:
Summary: I hate the U, but not this book
Review: I'm not going to bore you with a quick synopsis of the text, just know that it is an account of the past 25 years of great football in tropical South Florida.
I grew up in FL and if you did, you were either a Gator, 'Nole or 'Cane. I was a 'Nole and so by definition HATE Miami with a passion. But, like all hate, my emotions are tempered with great respect for a fabulous football program.
I ordered this book in an attemp to understand my nemisis (especially after this season's opening loss in OT), and the first 175 pages or so were quite interesting. I was engrossed with the history of the program through the Schnellenberger/Johnson/Erickson/Davis years. Then, after interesting reporting concerning the transition from the Davis regime to current head coach Larry Coker, way too many pages were devoted to the National Championship run in '01 and the subsequent two years. No other years were chronicled in such detail. We all know about the last three years! I watch Sportscenter 5 times every morning. What I'm intertested in is a balanced account of the last 25 years, not a focus on the past 3.
This book had the makings of someting really great. But upon closer examination, the author interjects player quotes almost indiscriminately and repeats himself (anyone read THE PUNCH by Feinstein?) continuously.
I would recommend this book to the really great fans of college football. It has value in some historical sense, but if you are just a casual fan, I think the last 80 pages or so would be a bit of a struggle to get through.
Buy this book with WE OWN THIS GAME. Read about the Miami youth leagues then graduate to the U.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Have for College Fans in General and Diehard Canes
Review: No thanks to Hurricane Frances I found myself locked up in the cozy confines of my humble abode with nothing on TV except for finely coiffed, mental midgets babbling endlessly and Bryan Norcross doing his seasonal hurricane dance. Salvation came in the form of reading. Fortunately for me the day before the Postal Service took an unscheduled six day vacation ("Not rain, nor sleet nor snow well keep us from actually earning our ridiculous salaries.") I received a package from Amazon.com. It was a brand new book "'Cane Mutiny: How the Miami Hurricanes Overturned the Football Establishment" by Bruce Feldman.

As some of you may know my tastes are normally too refined (o.k., elitist), to sully by reading a sports book. But this is no ordinary work, this is a must have for every 'Cane fan. It tells the tale of a small struggling program that found itself ruling college football almost ten years after it was almost discontinued. The book contains many of the stories that we already know, but with a healthy sprinkling of details and anecdotes that I doubt any of you have ever heard. This also quite a respectable work. It is a good narrative with a decent prose style that does not sugarcoat some of our shortcomings, but provides a balance practically unheard of in the national media. It helps that Feldman is a UM alumn.

Being as critical as I am I have to mention some shortcomings. Some may be disappointed in the lack of game by game details and well worn and known anecdotes. This is actually a plus since this is a story about a program and the people (Scnhnellenberger, Kelly, Kosar, Brown, Irvin, Davis, Lewis, Sapp, Reed, et al.) that made it great, not a blow by blow acount of each individual contest. When Feldman does add details about a game it is to give new perspective and analysis. Another minor complaint is that the picture section is a hodge-podge of pics that make you think "Oh I remember..." or "Who the hell is that?" Also the last section of the book (post-Rose Bowl to the present) seems to be culled from Feldman's articles on ESPN.com or ESPN the Magazine so some of it may seem familiar to the voracious sports reader. My final complaint is that there is no index, but I'm a dork and I doubt anyone else will care.

Although it is not mentioned on the cover there is a brief introduction by Ed Reed that neatly summarizes what a being a Cane is all about.

Rating:
Summary: The best memories and more from the past 25 years
Review: Read the introduction. I guarantee it opens your eyes to what the University of Miami football program is all about. Family, tradition, values, excellence, perfection, and passion. If you dont shed a tear reading Ed Reeds emotional experience, than you probably are not a fan of college football.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, left wanting more insight.
Review: Since the late 1970's Miami has had 6 different head coaches, won 5 national championships, yet most of America is ambivalent towards Miami football leaving their success somewhat of a mystery. This book offers some insight, yet not enough on how the current and former players "control" Miami football and why the head coaches and athletic directors are interchangeable. Usually, when a college football program is successful, most of the credit is given to the head coach and then the players. However, at Miami former players interact with current players offering coaching tips, advice and reminders of how to intimidate the opponent. This type of interaction over a long period of time, regardless of the head coach is unheard of.

The book fails to offer enough insight into the dark side of the Miami program. More information is needed on the Pell Grant scandel, explinations for all the on field fights (Florida, South Carolina '87, Notre Dame '88 & '89, San Diego State and the Cotton Bowl aginst Texas, where Miami had 202 yards of pentitlies for unsportsmanlike conduct) plus an explanation of why so many current and ex-Miami football players get trouble with the law.

This book ultimately backs up the theory that if you set almost no standards, intimidate people, and are somewhat orginized, you can dominate college football for 25 years and counting.

Rating:
Summary: a must read for any 'cane fan...
Review: The tradition and pride of U football is so hard to explain unless you've experienced it first hand, but this book does a great job at giving a little insight on why we bleed orange and green and how football is so much more than a game to us.

Rating:
Summary: I read this book in one sitting!!
Review: This book is a guidebook to why I am a 'Canes fan. The same love and passion that the players and coaches say that they have for the "U" is the same passion that I have. I wear my green and orange with pride and the "U" means so much to me. They truly are representative of the city that they play for. And all I can do is display that same love for them. Go Canes!!

Rating:
Summary: Good overview of Miami program
Review: This book is good read for College Football fans. Those who aren't will have a difficult time following this book, though I doubt they'd even glance at it. Surprisingly it wasn't as insightful as I anticipated, a lot of the stuff I've read before in magazines like Sports Illustrated. The pre-dynasty history is very interesting as is the chapters devoted to Butch Davis. Feldman seems to fast-forward through the parts about Schnellenberger and Erickson and seems to focus mainly on the Jimmy Johnson influence on the school.