I enjoyed parts of this book, and find the topic really interesting. It’s well researched, and I think that’s where it starts to fall down. Muchnick tries to cram every piece of information in to this, and the book often indulges side quests which distract from the flow and narrative.
I was willing to forgive a lot of them, as I find it interesting, but I’d struggle to recommend this to someone without giving them this warning.

I already have a rather dim view of the sport of football—the American equivalent of the gladiator matches of Rome—so this book didn’t have to do much to win me over to its side, but I didn’t realize just how awful the situation was, to the point where I wonder if this sport is salvageable or if it’s going to be seen akin to bullfighting: a horrific torture that limps on because of tradition, rather than anyone having any sense.