The Three Best Books About the History of the Super Bowl

The Ultimate Super Bowl Book

Subtitled “A Complete Reference to the Stats, Stars, and Stories Behind Football's Biggest Game,” Bob McGinn's 2009 guide titled “The Ultimate Super Bowl Book” provides an impressive level of detail for the serious sports fan. Every football lover will want to keep this book handy. Its logical organization and accessible format make it a useful tool for answering questions and resolving disputes, a book you can dip in and out of at will. For the committed student of the game, however, the book can also be an engaging and informative cover to cover read. McGinn organizes the volume into chapters, devoting one to each of the Super Bowl games from 1967 through 2009. A typical chapter begins with an introduction, setting up the outlook for the two teams going into the game, pertinent facts about individual players and a summary of the media buzz surrounding the face off. The author then leads seamlessly into a play by play narrative of the game itself. Every chapter includes a small box listing details of weather and attendance for the event and naming the referee and the Most Valuable Player, as well as sidebars for the team lineups, the scoring summary, the coaching staffs, and the individual and team statistics. Scattered throughout the text are assorted entertaining “Top Ten” lists culled from the entire Super Bowl history; examples include “Top Ten Unexpected Heroes” and “Ten Hardest Hits,” among many others. Meticulously sourced from published articles and personal interviews conducted by the author, “The Ultimate Super Bowl Book” is a high quality work of enduring value for anyone who takes football to heart.

Super Bowl: The Game of Their Lives

Published in 1997, “Super Bowl: The Game of Their Lives,” edited by Danny Peary, is a chronological compilation of stories by the players themselves, starting with Bart Starr's reminiscence of Super Bowl I, and ending with Desmond Howard's account of Super Bowl XXXI. The multiple voices and unique eyewitness perspectives make this book something special. Anecdotal in tone and subjective in point of view, each chapter is accompanied by a sidebar listing the date, location and attendance for the game, as well as the starting lineup and substitutions.

The Super Bowl

Targeted at younger readers, “The Super Bowl” by Mark Stewart is a volume in the “Watts History of Sports” series of books. This is not a kiddie book, however, but a middle to high school level reference with a detailed decade by decade treatment of every Super Bowl game from 1967 to 2002. The text is easy to read and can be enjoyed by committed football fans and casual readers alike. The plentiful photographs enhance the reading experience and increase the book's appeal to sports fans of any generation.