Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

mwald wrote:

BD Sullivan wrote: The fact that he couldn't get his book published through a reputable publishing house tends to put it in the line of self-publishing, whereby standards are negligible at best.

With all due respect, things have changed. There are excellent self-published books out there, and some old guard publishers have been left with egg on their face when a self-published book they didn't think had chance ends up being of quality, and sells.

While some people don't have standards, it comes down to the individual. John Maxymuk's recent self-published book on the Packers is one example of an excellent book with high standards by the author.

BD Sullivan wrote:
It obviously comes down to the author, but when the title of a book is "The mafia, football gambling, and Len Dawson," it's pretty much a given that this will be a hit job, no pun intended.

The whole conspiracy theory reminds me of the clown whose only purpose for coming on here a few years ago was to hype his book about how the NFL just casually fixed games. Of course, the most ridiculous "proof" he offered was that because Peyton Manning wasn't bursting with excitement before the Super Bowl game with New Orleans, that meant that the league had decreed that the Saints win the game.

mwald wrote:Also, I occasionally get a vibe of "If it isn't published by a PFRA member, it can't be good." I like the folks here and the work they do, but people that have no desire to join this group can also put out great work.

And, why the need to categorize anything that *might* be considered negative or controversial as automatically untrue?

Rhetorical questions, not necessarily directed at you.

Bryan wrote: I have read several different PFRA member books...some are better than others, but the baseline is that they are all at least factually correct.

mwald wrote:If the inference here is that only self-published books contain factual errors whereas reputable publishing houses only put out accurate books, then you haven't done much reading (and I'm sure you have).

Bryan wrote:That is not the inference. I trust what a PFRA member says about a topic regarding pro football history/pro football research...you know, the people who have dedicated their lives to pro football history/pro football research. By the same token, if you think that self-published books have the same journalistic standards as reputable publishing houses, then you haven't done much reading either. I would take a self-published hack job with a grain of salt.

On a side note, I think its pathetic and cowardly to put out a book titled "The mafia, football gambling, and Len Dawson". Its just a tabloid cash grab, and the author has no qualm if he sullies several innocent people in the process. If the PFRA had a mission statement, I would guess that Robert Grey Reynolds' work would be diametrically opposed to that statement.

Bryan wrote:

bachslunch wrote:True, but he was considered a close friend of Donald "Dice" Dawson

But Len Dawson wasn't a close friend of Donald Dawson, correct? Maybe I'm not understanding what you are getting at here.

Its like someone mentioning that Albert Einstein was a great physicist, and you reply with "True, but he was considered a Soviet sympathizer"...even though that claim was proven to be patently false years ago, and no new information has surfaced to make anyone think otherwise. Thats a terrible way to misconstrue history.

mwald wrote:

Bryan wrote:That is not the inference. I trust what a PFRA member says about a topic regarding pro football history/pro football research...you know, the people who have dedicated their lives to pro football history/pro football research. By the same token, if you think that self-published books have the same journalistic standards as reputable publishing houses, then you haven't done much reading either. I would take a self-published hack job with a grain of salt.

On a side note, I think its pathetic and cowardly to put out a book titled "The mafia, football gambling, and Len Dawson". Its just a tabloid cash grab, and the author has no qualm if he sullies several innocent people in the process. If the PFRA had a mission statement, I would guess that Robert Grey Reynolds' work would be diametrically opposed to that statement.

Yep, we'll have to agree to disagree.

I find the members of the PFRA to be neither smarter nor less smarter than the average person out there who is into football history, and self-published books to be of only slightly less quality than the average dreck put out there today by established publishers, although admittedly they don't look as pretty (the books ).