ROBERT GRIFFIN III: Athlete, Leader, Believer – Ted Kluck (2013)

Robert Griffin III: Athlete, Leader, Believer by Ted Kluck introduces readers to the legendary quarterback who leads the Washington Redskins.   RG3 singlehandedly re-energized the Washington Redskins in his first year as starting quarterback and has inspired thousands of young people to emulate his abilities as an athlete and his faith on and off the field.

The subtitle, “Athlete, Leader, Believer” accurately describes the basic elements of the book.  Unfortunately, most of the book is geared to all things “athletic” by surveying statistics and offering “SI like” analysis of the game of football.  While RG3’s leadership qualities and personal faith in Christ are discussed, they are presented with broad strokes which leave the  reader with more questions than answers.

The author knows his subject.  He knows sports and he certainly knows the game of football.  He writes with a great deal of transparency and isn’t starstruck by celebrities like most Americans.  He writes with a measure of humility and realism that is hard to find, especially amongst sports writers.  One wonders if a series of interviews with RG3 would have made the book more interesting.

This is a book I really wanted to like.  I anticipated its arrival and devoured it in a few days.  But sometimes expectations overshadow the final product.   Here’s the bottom line.  When I read a biography, I want to be better informed and educated.  But more than that, I want to walk away inspired (The only exception to this rule is when I read a biography about a murderer like Joseph Stalin or a heretic like Pelagius!)  Kluck’s book informed.  This much is true.  But it left me rather uninspired.

Make no mistake.  RG3 is certainly worth reading.  The book is interesting but disappointing at several levels.   Trent Dilfer nicely summarizes RG3: “He’s handled the enormity of the job as well as anybody can … It makes me want to move to the DC area and become a fan.  For the next 10-12 years this is going to be a special, special story.”  I may be uninspired but I’ll be watching as the RG3 story unfolds.

3 stars

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com  book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review.