The GM: A Football life, a Final Season, and a Last Laugh

A LOOK AT THE NFL’S TOUGHEST JOB, A MAN WHO MASTERED IT, AND THE ART OF WINNING CHAMPIONSHIPS With a New Chapter on the Giants’ Super Bowl Triumph The GM is a chronicle of the NFL spanning the last three and a half decades, told through the eyes of legendary general manager Ernie Accorsi, a man who has dedicated his life to football—and whose unshakable faith in controversial quarterback Eli Manning was vindicated in the Giants’ dramatic come-from-behind victory in the 2008 Super Bowl. Filled with vivid anecdotes and storytelling that show how the pro game (and the league that showcases it) really works, The GM doesn’t just illuminate, it inspires with its portrait of a consummate football-personnel strategist who, over the course of decades, gave everything to the game he loved.

About the Author :
TOM CALLAHAN, a former senior writer at Time magazine and sports columnist at the Washington Post, is the author of Johnny U, In Search of Tiger, and The Bases Were Loaded (and So Was I).

Review :
“It's a terrific narrative of the ebb and flow of a football season through the eyes of a general manager, Ernie Accorsi of the Giants. Accorsi, in his final season before retiring, gave Callahan access to everything he saw with the Giants last year, including the raw emotion that flowed from GM to coach. In so doing, Accorsi illustrated the real tension that exists in front offices, the kind you so rarely read about In the mainstream press. So don't think this is just a Giants book. It's not. It's an NFL book, and a book that helps you understand some of the complex relationships that define the game today.” —Peter King, Sports Illustrated “A vivid, focused account of a New York Giants season filled with hope but ultimately tainted by disappointment…Callahan also paints a wonderful portrait of Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi, [filling] the book with wit, wisdom and great stories.” —Miami Herald “Callahan’s book about the last year of Ernie Accorsi’s reign as general manager gives unusual insight into how a football organization is run.” —Chicago Tribune “A fascinating look at an NFL season by a true insider. Great tidbits abound.” —Dallas Morning News “The most interesting and topical [of the recently published Giants books] by far. The author was given extensive behind the scenes access and emerges with many juicy tidbits…Callahan deftly handles a poignant chapter on trainer Ronnie Barnes’ role in Wellington Mara’s final days.” —Newsday “Many surprising revelations…shocking.” —New York Daily News “The G.M. is perhaps the best book ever written about a pro football executive…Accorsi is a terrific subject.” —Allen Barra, Washington Post Book World “THE GM is one of the great sports books to come along in recent years, and that's not just a tribute to Tom Callahan, who wrote it, but also to Ernie Accorsi, the book's subject. It says a lot about someone when they have the confidence and self-esteem to open their lives that completely for published consumption. Good for Ernie. Better for us.” —Mike Vaccaro, New York Post "A compelling chronicle of Accorsi's career written adroitly by Tom Callahan, who was allowed to be a fly on the wall of the Giants' inner sanctums during their tempestuous 2006 season." —Dave Anderson, The New York Times