Review: Powerful, lasting journalism always carries a price
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 23, 2012
I read 'Friday Night Lights' nearly 20 years ago, and while I haven't re-read it since, 'FNL's' harshest elements have still stuck with me. I remembered why as I read this short sequel, as author Buzz Bissinger does a solid job of giving his original classic work the coda it deserves.The original 'FNL,' at least as I remembered it, was as a tragedy. They lose the title game, Boobie Miles is hurt, the coaches are selfish, snide, and condescending, and the last moment on the championship field is scarred by a player's racist remark. That was the price of this up-close look at high school athletics - everybody looks bad, including Bissinger; as the coach said after the fact, Bissinger ate dinner in their homes, then backstabbed everyone after he left town. That's an extreme way of looking at it, but truthful journalism means a hard look at everything.And, if a writer wants to present a true and lasting story - as opposed to a hagiography without weight or meaning - then the truth is their primary responsibility. Bissinger's not "on the team." He was there to tell a true story, and by all accounts that's what he did.In "After FNL: When the Games Ended..." Bissinger returns to wrap up this story with the focus on Boobie Miles, a primary 'character' of the book. Life hasn't been kind to Miles. He was made into a celebrity by the book and movie, but without any of the benefits - only the notoriety.The story Bissinger tells is not just "After" the book, but also what it's like for a reporter/journalist/nonfiction storyteller to face up to the mistakes and choices they might have made during the writing process. He didn't identify certain people in the book - decisions he now regrets. He's helped Miles over the years because of a sense of responsibility for putting Miles on this path.Reporting a great story often means the writer must only look forward, and not worry about the results to the sources the story needed. There's a price to pay for that, and only rarely does a nonfiction writer go back, years or decades later, to discover what they left behind. It's to Bissinger's credit that he kept in touch with Boobie over the years, and didn't just track him down for this sequel. This book wraps up the 'FNL' story for the reader - but it's clear that Miles and Bissinger's story and relationship will continue outside the pages, and it ends on a positive, somewhat hopeful note.This could be an interesting full-length book, but I think the Kindle Single format is ideal - it keeps the focus on Bissinger and Miles, and on the reflections about the choices and bad luck of the past. In a longer format, Miles story - and Bissinger's own reflections - would have to share space with other former players, and its impact would decrease. I'm sure plenty of the book's subjects turned out fine, but that's not the important part of this story.Bissinger has done a very good job of honestly confronting his past and present. Like he writes, the book remains his most successful project, and that was good and bad. Well worth the $2.99.