Ballantine Books
November 2013
On Sale: November 19, 2013
272 pages ISBN: 0345545141 EAN: 9780345545145 Kindle: B00C4BA3VE Hardcover / e-Book Add to Wish List
In the bestselling tradition of Freakonomics and
Scorecasting comes a clever and accessible look at
the big ideas underlying the science of football.
Did you hear the one about the
MacArthur genius physicist and the NFL coach? It's not a
joke. It's actually an innovative way to understand chaos
theory, and the remarkable complexity of modern professional
football.
In Newton's Football,
journalist and New York Times bestselling author
Allen St. John and TED talker and former Yale professor
Ainissa Ramirez explore the unexpected science behind
America's Game. Whether it's Jerry Rice finding the common
ground between quantum physics and the West Coast offense or
an Ivy League biologist explaining--at a granular
level--exactly how a Big Mac morphs into an outside
linebacker, Newton's Football illuminates
football--and science--through funny, insightful stories
told by some of the world's sharpest minds.
With a clear-eyed empirical approach--and an exuberant
affection for the game--St. John and Ramirez address topics
that have long beguiled scientists and football fans alike,
including:
* the unlikely evolution of the
football (or, as they put it, "The Divine Random Bounce of
the Prolate Spheroid") * what Vince Lombardi has in
common with Isaac Newton * how the hardwired behavior of
monkeys can explain a head coach's reluctance to go for it
on fourth-down * why a gruesome elevator accident
jump-started the evolution of placekicking * how Teddy
Roosevelt saved football using the same behavioral science
concept that Dreamworks would use to save Shrek *
why woodpeckers don't get concussions * how better
helmets actually made the game more dangerous
Every Sunday the NFL shares a secret with only its savviest
fans: The game isn't just a clash of bodies, it's a clash of
ideas. The greatest minds in football have always possessed
an instinctual grasp of science, understanding the big ideas
and gritty realities that inform the game's rich past, as
well as its increasingly uncertain future.
Blending smart reporting, counterintuitive creativity, and
compelling narrative, Newton's Football takes
gridiron analysis to the next level, giving fans a book that
entertains, enlightens, and explains the game anew.
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