This was about football, but it was also about so much more. One of the best books I’ve ever read.

Through all the small town politics and social issues, I still found myself rooting for the teenagers playing on the football field.

This was written in 1988, but felt timeless.

Outstanding!

Makes me want to put on my helmet and hit someone (in a good way).

As a Brit who discovered the sport of American Football at university and fell in love with the game, I don't think I ever truly appreciated how insanely serious Texas High School Football is taken. This book, which is based on a true story, is a real emotional rollercoaster encapsulating the greatest highs and most crushing lows of the 1988 Permian Panthers.

Not only is it a phenomenal sports book (the best I've ever read), it is a real education on the socioeconomic divide and the racial inequality of Texas at the time and America as a whole. As a 22 year old British man I cannot even begin to comprehend a school chartering a private jet for a high school sports team while the English department can't even afford books, or teachers giving away answer sheets to football players so they won't be academically inelligle for games. It baffles me.

There were some really heartbreaking moments throughout, which is all the more sad when you realise these are real people you are reading about; real kids.

The way the book was paced throughout the season kept me wanting to read on, with the exception of my few months break when I got put of by the unnecessarily detailed history of the oil economy in Texas.

Overall I would highly recommend to anyone who even has the slightest interest in the sport, or any social issues that affected and in some cases still affect the United States of America. It genuinely makes me wish I could've been raised in the States so I could've experienced the magic of high school football. I've just finished my 4th season playing in the British leagues and I can say it's the best sport in the world.

Personal Response:
Friday Night Lights was not one of my favorite books, and it was hard to read through at times because it became very boring. There where parts of the book that I liked, and parts that I necessarily didn't like. I constantly was comparing this book to my life. My hometown to Odessa is very similar in ways; they both have their struggles and the community members disagree very often with some political problems but always have a time were they come together. In both times, this time would be the Friday night football games, as well as any of the sports games depending on what season it is. I like how the author wrote this book, thoroughly explaining throughout the whole book the problems in Odessa and described them how they are: truthfully and harsh. I would like to see the movie based off of this story.

Plot Summary:
In the book, the football team plays in a series of games. Some of those games are won, making the town proud, even though a few of those are not, which leads to a big dispute to fire the head coach or keep him to see if they can still win. As the games go on, the importance of them increases throughout the season. This occurs even more so, when not one-but two of the starting lineup players become injured and must sit out, one of those players may play again further down the season, even though the other is not as fortunate. The season comes closer and closer to state, and for the seniors on the team the pressure really picks up. Pressure not only from their coaches, their teammates, their entire community, and their family, but also from within themselves. To play for the Texas High School State Football Game their is a three way tie. Since only two can go on to play in the final game, something had to be done to choose which two they will be. A coin toss is what they did to determine this. So the head coaches, assistant coaches, and one of the best players from each of the three teams from the east and west side of Texas, met together at a small cafe. The name of the cafe could not be announced since the whole ordeal was recorded and televised lived on the local TV station as well as other stations across the state and they didn't want any people peering in all the windows being real loud and obnoxious. Each team brought their own coin, which was all different. The two teams with the same of one side, (heads or tails) would advance on to play in the state competition. The coins get flipped and they land on the floor. No one touches them, and they read them one by one. Thankfully Odessa's team the Permian Panthers, advance on after some wrong thoughts. Originally they thought that all three coins were landed on heads; under closer inspection, one of the coins which is kind of worn, turns out to actually have landed on tails. This then kicks the team out of the running for state winners. At the state competition it is a very close game the entire time, but with Permian always trailing. The very last play Permian has the ball in hand and all they have to do is travel less than ten yards to receive a touchdown and win the game. The clock is ticking down, down to 2 seconds when the ball is snapped, and the pressure is nothing like it is before on the quarterback. After the play is made, and all the calls finalized, Permian is less than half of a yard short of receiving the touchdown they needed. So, they lost. All of the Permian players are furious and upset, but they can't do anything to change it.

Recommendation:
I would recommend this book to anyone who know what the pressure of being the best player on a large team feels like. I also think that this book should be read by people who are affected by racial differences in their community, because this books describes both points of view. I gave this book a rating of three out of five stars because it was a good book, for the point that the author was trying to bring across and show to the readers about the real world. Overall I enjoyed reading this and can not wait to watch the movie.

I recommend friday night lights to anyone that enjoys football, or just sports in general. I really enjoyed this book, and would definitely recommend it to a friend. Anyways this book is about a very boring town where a favorite pastime could be considered watching paint dry, that is until football season, this is when the town comes alive. Even through social and race apartheid, and everything else wrong with this dull town. This is especially true this year with a team that really gives this town hope and pride. One notefull player is boobie who has a bright future ahead of him, colleges scouting him, great player, and an all around role model. Of course that is until the unthinkable happens an injury that could potentially ruin his career.

After a hard hit Boobie is left out for the season, now not only could this ruin his career, but the team as well unless someone stands up. That person has to be ivory, things might not be so easy though,because the coach barely talked him into to staying on the team when he tried to leave because of religion, and we are left to wonder if he really will stay. I don’t want to ruin this book so i’ll leave it here, but I would definitely suggest this book.

This is an anthropological-historical-sports account of what football Friday night means to a town that has nothing else. Well crafted, heartbreaking, eye opening, and at times inspiring. Loved that he included pictures of the town, some of the players, coaches; he described them so perfectly you know exactly who you’re looking at.

Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger is a non-fiction book. This book follows the best high school football team in Texas, from Permian High School in Odessa,Texas. This story goes through the ups and downs of the football season and how the players are feeling as they try to get to the State Championship. Throughout the story it takes you into what it is like in Texas during the 1988 football season. Permian High loves football and they expect every season to win the state championship. This school and team takes football seriously by giving a cheerleader to each player and that cheerleader supports the player throughout the season. It also goes into the lives of some of the key players on the team and the struggles and good things throughout the season as an individual and their impact on the team. In this town of Odessa football is the only good thing for this town. They don’t have a great city or beautiful landscaping or anything like that but they got their football. Football in other words is the life of the Odessa people, they love their team and supporting them with their “MO-JO” chants at the games. The author does a good job telling the story of the team, on and off the field and taking you into the player's head and getting their thoughts and feelings. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes non-fiction, football and a historical piece of literature.

Deserves all of the hype. its not just about football, but about a town rabidly devoted to its football team. You could make so many observations after reading this book - about entrenched racial attitudes, about the coddling of athletes in our schools, about the failure of schools to make education their top priority, etc. The 25th Anniversary edition (which I read) contains a where are they now afterward.

I listened to it on Audible. Excellent narration.

The book Friday Night Lights is far from boring. It is a great documentary of the 1988 Permian High School football season. This book is different from any other book I've read because this book was not written by a player on the team, coach, or even a fan of the team. This book was written by the a non-biased reporter by the name of H.G. Bissinger.

Bissinger really had a way of making you feel like you were apart of the 1988 football season, even if you were just sitting at home reading this book. There were many different themes in this book, but one that stuck out to me was "You Have To Believe In Something". Without the town's belief in thier players and "Mojo" I doubt the team would have made it so far. It made me think that if you go your whole life without finding something to hold on to and believe in, you won't get very far.

I thik this book is worth reading because it goes deeper than the glitz and glammer of football. It digs deep into the concepts of realtionships, race, morals, and dedication. This book really gives you a whole new outlook on high school football, and on life.

From this book I learned that teamwork is everything. I know that concept has been over played, but its true. Without teamwork the Permian football team wouldn't have gotten through their biggest competitions. Without teamwork the team would have never learned to put their difference aside and work towards a higher goal.

I think that if you are looking for a good book that make you think, then Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger is your book.

I knew *of* Friday Night Lights, of course, but wasn't prepared for what turned out to be one of the saddest books I have ever read. I guess I expected something uplifting. Full credit to Bissinger for reporting what he saw, the glorious and the ugly.

I thought Friday Night Lights had a very good story to it. This book is about kids in a town called Odessa, who only care about football. This football team has a history for being good, and it doesn't like to loose. They have very high standards. When a kid is in elementary school, they dream of going to Permian High to play football for their team. Also, that is all the kids/citizens care about. As long as the football team is winning, everyone in the town is happy. Since there is a law that makes the players do well in school, the teachers let them pass their class even if the player really didn't. This is because the teachers don't want to see the player get benched. The Permian team does very well during the regular season, and makes the playoffs. The make it to the state semis, and then play the best team. This team, Carter High, has two players that failed a course, and a teacher put that in the report card. Leading up to this game, there was many cases involving this issue. In the end, they were allowed to play, and Carter beat Permian. Once Permian lost, they weren't getting the same priorities from their teachers, and they were flunking classes. Overall, I thought Friday Night Lights was a good book, but it wasn't one I would read again for enjoyment.

Really enjoyed most of this. The actual football games though... snooze.