December 15, 2008
This sports biography was first published in print in 1999 as Ernie Davis: The "Elmira Express" (Bartleby) and was reprinted as a Ballantine hardcover in September 2008. In it, Gallagher, a freelance sportswriter who also works for the Fairfax County Public Library, VA, tells the story of the 1950s Syracuse University star running back who signed with the Cleveland Browns after becoming the first African American ever to win football's Heisman Trophy. Before he was able to play a single game, however, Davis was diagnosed with leukemia, from which he died less than a year later. Reader Paul Boehmer ("Moby Dick") was wisely cast for this performancehe has that youthful, intense voice associated with sports reporting. Recommended for libraries with extensive sports or football history collections and for those with a special interest in the Civil Rights Movement. [Made into a well-received 2008 movie starring Dennis Quaid and Rob Brown.Ed.]Barbara Valle, El Paso P.L., TX
Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.