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Friday night lights a town, a team, and a dream

Odessa isn't known to be a place big on dreams, but the Panthers help keep the hopes and dreams of this dusty town going. Socially and racially divided, its fragile economy follows the treacherous boom-bust path of the idol business. In bad times, the unemployment rate barrels out of control; i...

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Main Author: Bissinger, Buzz, 1954-
Format: Books Print Book
Language: English
Published: [Cambridge, Mass.] : Da Capo Press, 2000.
Edition: 1st Da Capo Press ed.
Subjects:
Permian High School (Odessa, Tex.) > Football.
Football > Social aspects > Texas > Odessa.
Summary: Odessa isn't known to be a place big on dreams, but the Panthers help keep the hopes and dreams of this dusty town going. Socially and racially divided, its fragile economy follows the treacherous boom-bust path of the idol business. In bad times, the unemployment rate barrels out of control; in good times, its murder rate skyrockets. But every Friday night from September to December, when the Permian High School Panthers play football, this West Texas town becomes a place where dreams can come true. [In this book, the author] chronicles a season in the life of Odessa and shows how single-minded devotion to the team shapes the community and inspires - and sometimes shatters - the teenagers who wear the Panthers' uniforms.-Back cover.
Physical Description: xiv, 367 p., [28] p. of plates ; ill. ; 21 cm.
ISBN: 0306809907 (pbk)
9780306809903 (pbk)
Author Notes: H. G. "Buzz" Bissinger graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1976. He has worked for many newspapers, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, and he shared a Pulitzer Prize for reporting in 1987 for a series on the Philadelphia Court System. He has written for magazines including Sports Illustrated, The New York Times Magazine, and Vanity Fair, for which he has been a contributing editor since 1996. Bissinger also co-produced and wrote for the ABC television drama NYPD Blue and published the nonfiction books Friday Night Lights, A Prayer for the City and Three Nights in August.

(Bowker Author Biography)

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