Publisher's Synopsis
He transformed the game of football forever and inspired a nation. Knute Rockne's journey from immigrant child to Notre Dame coaching legend to revered national figure shows us even today the endless possibilities of the human spirit. This book transports the reader to an extraordinary time of energy, excitement, passion, and possibilities in America of the early 20th century. Into this burgeoning drama stepped an immigrant lad destined to make his mark on the nation like few before him, or since. We see Rockne in his formative years in Chicago and learn of the moods and motivations that stay with him for life. He blossoms at Notre Dame and skyrockets to national fame because of his excellence as player and later coach of the Fighting Irish. Rockne's visionary genius made Notre Dame football a household name from coast-to-coast as second-generation immigrants packed newly-built stadiums across the land, while millions more gathered around their radios to listen to the weekly exploits of Rockne's "Wonder Team". Yet his story transcends athletics; it embodies the hope and promise of a new era dawning in the United States. All things were imaginable in a nation expanding in ways never before seen. Rockne was quick to grasp the latest innovations in communications, transportation, and business. With a quick wit and an engaging spirit, Rockne used football as a stage to connect with America. Upon his shocking death in an airplane crash in 1931 at the height of his popularity, the outpouring of sentiment from around the nation and world was unprecedented. Rockne's legacy, in life and in death, still impacts the game of college football and an American audience of the 21st century. Now his life story is told as never before.
