Third Down and a War to Go: The All-American 1942 Wisconsin Badgers

Rating:
Summary: Into the endzone!
Review: Admittedly, I'm biased, because the 1942 Wisconsin Badgers won the first football game I ever saw. And what a way to get a kid started. It was one of those times when, briefly, it all came together: Heartland guys who hailed from small towns and cities and who played an extraordinary game of football for the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Names like Elroy Hirsh, Pat Harder, Dave Schreiner still resonate. Sadly the war put an end to this magic, and tragically some of the guys never made it back to pick up where they'd left off. Sportswriter Terry Frei, son of the late '42 Badger Jerry Frei, has done a remarkable job of reporting the drama and the triumphs of the season and the dedication and inevitable heartbreak that marked the war years. But despite the focus of this cleverly titled book, don't be fooled. This is an All-America story.

Rating:
Summary: Surprising Bad
Review: By the other reviews here, you'd think this was a marvelous sports-war book fullof interesting, endearing characters performing in extraordinary times. In fact, the book reads like a story from a friendly uncle who carries on and on about people you don't know who he hasn't made you care about. There's little to bond you to the characters, and much of the book explains the not particularly interesting game-by-game season of a Wisconsin football team. In the preface the autor relates how his father's life inspired the book, and this feels like something someone would write for the benefit of the narrow group of people who experienced it, not the general public.

Rating:
Summary: Thanks, Terry Frei, for "Third Down..."
Review: Great job. So good that I was brought to tears. So good that I almost need to visit the cemetery in Lancaster, Wis., and say "thanks" to Dave Schreiner and Mark Hoskins. Thanks to you, Terry, for the idea, the research, the writing. I rank your book up there with "Flags of our Fathers." And you were correct in advising your readers to ask questions, and more questions, of their parents. I look forward to Terry's next book and plan to read his previous one.

Randy Jesick
Journalism Department
Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly vivid images painted by words...
Review: Mr. Frei has been able to so clearly paint the images of football, war, heroism, friendship, patriotism and love. I never wanted to put "Third Down" on the nightstand; the faces and stories were so real. This book will appeal to football fans and history buffs alike -- yet it is so much more than either of those. "Third Down" is a fanastic story but the fact that it is based on reality makes it so much more... I deeply care for the people Frei writes about -- he touches the reader by bringing us into the lives of real American heros. Thank you, Mr. Frei, for passionately sharing the story of the '42 Badgers with us!

Rating:
Summary: A great story about football and so much more
Review: So many had raved about this to me, on the web and in the media I didn't know if it could live up to all of that. It was even better than I expected. The friendships, the campus atmosphere in the first year of the war, the great football season involving famous players (Crazy Legs) and a famous coach (Four Horseman), and then the war experiences! When you get to the battle climaxes, you're both feeling proud and ready to cry in places, and you're also staggered because of the amount of research that had to go into this to find all of it out. Not to ruin the story, but this also shows why a lot of us Wisconsin fans think David Schreiner should be honored on the facade of Camp Randall Stadium. If you haven't heard of Dave Schreiner, you should. Talk about what this country is all about! He's it.

Rating:
Summary: First down on a great read.
Review: Terry Frei gives us a remarkable game-by-game look at football as played in the 1940's - the differences from today's game and the surprising similarities - while the war looms in the background. Then the scene shifts to a riveting account of the war from the first-person views of the same players we have come to like and admire. This book brings the war home as none other I have read. It's a very special book and a must read.

Rating:
Summary: 'Third Down and a War to Go' is a winner
Review: The author was inspired after talking to his dad, a guard for the Badgers and later a pilot. Many of the players suited up for the Badgers and later departed for the battlefields.
I was also moved after reading how these athletes were ready to leave college and fight for the country.
I review sports books. One of the best I've ever read!

Rating:
Summary: An All American Story
Review: Third Down and a War to Go is a page turner which chronicles the 1942 University of Wisconsin all-star football team and its college years, heroic service in World War II, and return to unsung ordinary lives. It was a different era for college football. Players actually wanted an education. The majority were less than six feet tall and weighed less than 200 pounds. What scholarships they received were so meager that even the All-Americans washed dishes and waited table. There was no question about them interrupting college and collegiate football to serve their country. Some selflessly gave their lives but most returned, played some more football, and contributed to America's post-war recovery as lawyers, teachers, real estate agents, and Jerry Frei, the author's father, as a college and pro football coach. Most never discussed their war service and certainly didn't consider themselves the "greatest generation."

Terry Frei tells their story in a moving style. Portions bring one to tears.

This book will engage WWII veterans, their children, those of us who grew up during the war, and readers who are interested in true "All Americans."

Rating:
Summary: Something for everyone
Review: This book appeals to readers from many different angles. I bought one for the history lover in the family, and another for a friend who enjoys tales of war. This is to say nothing about the football and human interest stories that are intertwined as well.

Frei's book breaths new life and, in many cases, uncovers a side of life in the young men portrayed in the book. Their heroic exploits as football greats in 1942 gave way to a higher level of heroism on the battle fields of Europe and Asia from 1943-45. Frei brilliantly traces the tales of friendship, glory, fear, courage, love, honor, dignity, humor, joy, and sorrow in a slice of the American experience the likes of which we'll probably never again witness, except through accounts like this one. Thanks, Terry!

Rating:
Summary: average
Review: Very average book! Frei doesn't go down as one of my favorite sports writers. Loves to sensationlize rather then just tell a great story.