 Not a book for beginners! |
| Review Date: August 13, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Laura L. Neal, Poulsbo, WA |
| Look, the author seems to really know his stuff, and from what I've scanned it looks like he's put it all in a pretty cogent format. But, and I suppose this is my fault, I bought this book because I wanted to *start* playing fantasy football. While the guide is, as it says, quite comprehensive, even for an experienced student like myself (I hold a doctorate) the sheer amount of detailed material squished in from cover to cover put me off even starting to read it. Maybe, someday, when I am an experienced fantasy football fanatic, I may want to read something this in depth. But I'm just looking to get started here, and Mr. Hendricks has written a textbook, not a fun guidebook. I'm going to return it and get Fantasy Football for Dummies, instead. I'm no dummy, but I can always count on the "For Dummies" format to make learning a new subject fun. If you want to know everything there is to know about fantasy football, this guide's for you. If you're just trying to grasp the basics you need to get started, I'd go for something a bit lighter. No offense, Mr. Hendricks -- I did keep your Fantasy Football Tips!Fantasy Football For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies)) |
The perfect Fantasy Football book.
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| Review Date: July 26, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Charlie Toms, |
For years I have been looking for a "Comprehensive" book on fantasy football. This 400 page book has it all. It has a great layout starting with the basics, history and progression of the hobby and then it dives into the types of leagues and drafts. After that the meat of the book is about strategies and tips of what to do and not to do in drafts and managing your team week in and week out. The last few chapters cover injuries, refererence materials and drum roll.......an entire chapter on rules that other leagues use. That alone is a great reference for anyone in a FF league that is getting boring.
It is a well thought out and well written book that wastes no space with silly drawings or blank pages. It is jam packed with tons of stuff. I have a few other FF books but most are TOO basic with lots of empty space or ads for websites. This one is by far the best!
I only wish there was an index so that I could reference the topics more easily when I go back to it from time to time.
I bought the hardback for $24 and a quarter (amazon sell 10% off) and it is great, but another buddy of mine got the paperback for $17.95 (again 10% off) and it seems pretty neat so I might go with the paperback next time when I get it for a friend for Christmas or his Birthday. I guess it depends on what they like either HB or PB. |
Probably the best fantasy football book yet written
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| Review Date: July 20, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Jeremy Crowhurst, North Vancouver, B.C. |
I ordered this and his F.F. 2009 Almanac at the same time. The Almanac came first. That's about all that can said in its favour. So I was more than a little suprised at the quality of this book. It's comprehensive, well-organized, professionally laid out, reads very easily, and in multiple aspects has advice that is a level beyond the titles that will come up in the "People Who Bought This Book Also Bought..." windows.
Let's face it, the fantasy football canon doesn't need another "it's a good idea to wait until late to pick your kicker" kind of book. This one covers the bases of types of leagues, types of scoring systems, and so forth in a couple of chapters, and then gets on to the main entree.
His chapter on ranking players tells some hard truths and gives the reader a solid foundation for doing (or not doing) his or her own research. The rest of the book deals thoroughly with the strategy and tactics involved in being in a league, from the draft through to trades, choosing your lineup, and other areas, in greater detail than is offered in any other source.
Really, the only other book that has anything useful beyond what's here is Zarzycki's "Drafting to Win". Zarzycki has a couple of good ideas in his book, as well as a whole lot of terrible ones, and it has to be recognized that he has the most highly evolved understanding of how strategies have to be fluid during the course of the draft. But Hendricks has summarized Zarzycki's positive contributions in a few pages, which is probably as much as any fantasy football player needs to see.
All in all, a great book, and a stunningly good bargain at $19.95. |
How to win at Fantasy Football
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| Review Date: January 28, 2009 |
| Reviewer: David C. Horne, Norman, Oklahoma |
Here's a staggering number: 30,000,000 - that's how many users worldwide are estimated to have played fantasy football this year. So you can be forgiven if you didn't win your league, unless, of course, you were an owner in half a dozen leagues or more, in which case you have no excuse for not winning at least one.
The popularity of online fantasy sports continues to grow, especially for football.
And with that popularity the number of competitive leagues offering huge prizes is soaring as well - which explains why so many of us now watch the NFL with one eye on the big screen, one eye on the computer monitor, and one hand on the mouse, repeatedly clicking the refresh button even though our real-time stats load automatically.
Here's another staggering number: $150,000,000 - that's the estimated cost of Tom Brady's season-ending injury to owners playing for a share of $500,000,000 in fantasy prizes (Darren Rovell, cited in an article on nfl.fanhouse.com).
With that much on the line, fantasy owners need all the help they can get - especially owners who failed in their primary mission this season: winning.
So here is what you need to do now that the fantasy season is over, buy this book: Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football, by Sam Hendricks.
And the emphasis here should really be on comprehensive - because that is exactly what the author provides, a complete and careful examination of fantasy football from its historical roots to drafting best-practices to dealing with Brady-like injuries to the psychology of the game.
Yes, that's right - the psychology of fantasy football.
And don't think for a moment that the psychology of fantasy football isn't a relevant topic - not when there are 30,000,000 owners worldwide.
In terms of qualifications, Sam Hendricks is a legendary figure in fantasy football, having won virtually everything there is to win over the past two decades. Hendricks frequently is invited to speak about fantasy football, offering seminars to people eager to learn firsthand time-tested strategies for winning on the virtual playing field, and he also participates yearly in the World Championship of Fantasy Football.
Hendricks says that playing fantasy football will make you a better NFL fan. I totally agree. And something else, too - using this guidebook that Hendricks created will make you a better fantasy football player.
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Great Book For Any and All FF Owners, Regardless of Experience!
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| Review Date: November 20, 2008 |
| Reviewer: John Kuczka, |
This is a super book. Sam's simplified tiering system makes ranking players easy for the beginner or the veteran. There are techniques for getting the best team on draft day and tips to guide you through the entire season. An added bonus are the detailed descriptions on the types of leagues that are out there and how all the scoring systems work. Get and read this book and you can be a champion in any league!
JK |
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