Paterno
Joe Paterno was the head football coach at Penn State for 45 years. He built a legacy of success, integrity, and honor, but it all came crashing down when it was revealed that he did virtually nothing after learning a former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, was a probable child molester. In the decade that followed Paterno’s inaction, Sandusky molested many other children and was subsequently convicted of more than 40 counts of child molestation. Posnanski, an award-winning journalist formerly with Sports Illustrated, had virtually unfettered access to Paterno, his family, and Paterno’s papers during the last year of Paterno’s life, as the scandal rolled out. Sadly, there are no answers in the book. Posnanski instead chooses to write mostly of the good deeds in Paterno’s life. No one is denying the positives in Paterno’s life, The question that remains unanswered— at least in this book—is what combination of hubris, greed, and self-aggrandizement led Paterno and the Penn State administration to look the other way for more than a decade. There have been millions of words written about the scandal and subsequent trial of Sandusky. Posnanski has added to the total without offering much substance. --Wes Lukowsky