Books

10 terrific football books

In his second novel, "End Zone," Don DeLillo, above, focuses his literary attentions on football. " 'End Zone' is the kind of novel Evelyn Waugh would have written had be been 6-foot-2, weighed 196 without shoulder padding and had already fumbled football scholarships at Syracuse, Miami, Pennsylvania, East Lansing," wrote Los Angeles Times reviewer Nelson Algren. "DeLillo's wit is so surgical you don't even know an artery has been severed. You don't laugh until you see you're bleeding."

In his second novel, “End Zone,” Don DeLillo, above, focuses his literary attentions on football. “ ‘End Zone’ is the kind of novel Evelyn Waugh would have written had be been 6-foot-2, weighed 196 without shoulder padding and had already fumbled football scholarships at Syracuse, Miami, Pennsylvania, East Lansing,” wrote Los Angeles Times reviewer Nelson Algren. “DeLillo’s wit is so surgical you don’t even know an artery has been severed. You don’t laugh until you see you’re bleeding.”  (Jean Christian Bourcart / Getty Images)

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The 2013 Super Bowl brings us a clash between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. Previous Super Bowls -- and the sport of football in general -- have inspired some great writers to turn to the page. Some see parallels between football and war; others connect football and American masculinity; others simply want to tell stories about the game. Here are 10 terrific football books, good for reading in any season.

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