It's Better to Be Feared: The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-09-24 06:19:42
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Seth Wickersham
- ISBN：1324091991
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Summary
Over two unbelievable decades， the New England Patriots were not only the NFL’s most dominant team， but also—and by far—the most secretive。 How did they achieve and sustain greatness—and what were the costs？
In It's Better to Be Feared， Seth Wickersham， one of the country’s finest long form and investigative sportswriters， tells the full， behind-the-scenes story of the Patriots， capturing the brilliance， ambition， and vanity that powered and ultimately unraveled them。 Based on hundreds of interviews conducted since 2001， Wickersham’s chronicle is packed with revelations， taking us deep into Bill Belichick’s tactical ingenuity and Tom Brady’s unique mentality while also reporting on their divergent paths in 2020， including Brady’s run to the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers。 Raucous， unvarnished， and definitive， It’s Better to Be Feared is an instant classic of American sportswriting in the tradition of Michael Lewis， David Maraniss， and David Halberstam。
In It's Better to Be Feared， Seth Wickersham， one of the country’s finest long form and investigative sportswriters， tells the full， behind-the-scenes story of the Patriots， capturing the brilliance， ambition， and vanity that powered and ultimately unraveled them。 Based on hundreds of interviews conducted since 2001， Wickersham’s chronicle is packed with revelations， taking us deep into Bill Belichick’s tactical ingenuity and Tom Brady’s unique mentality while also reporting on their divergent paths in 2020， including Brady’s run to the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers。 Raucous， unvarnished， and definitive， It’s Better to Be Feared is an instant classic of American sportswriting in the tradition of Michael Lewis， David Maraniss， and David Halberstam。
Reviews
Monique
，
Might finish later
Adam Sanders
，
I have zero vested interest in the Patriots。 I am 1，000% much more of a college athletics fan than a pro fan， even though I do follow pro sports （and hate the Pats as much as the next guy）。 That being said， I could not get enough of this book and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone。 It covers the lowlights just as much as the highlights， so don’t go into it just assuming it’s going to be praise
Bart
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Intelligent and insightful; better than many of its readers deserve
Straker
，
While marginally better than Jeff Benedict's The Dynasty， this book still falls short of being the definitive chronicle of the Belichick/Brady era。 Serious issues like the Aaron Hernandez scandal， Robert Kraft's massage parlor adventures， and Belichick's decade of unproductive drafts aren't given the attention they deserve while Kraft， as in Benedict's book， is wildly overpraised。 Pointless and gratuitous shots at the Trump Administration abound but Wickersham is an ESPN guy so that's to be expe While marginally better than Jeff Benedict's The Dynasty， this book still falls short of being the definitive chronicle of the Belichick/Brady era。 Serious issues like the Aaron Hernandez scandal， Robert Kraft's massage parlor adventures， and Belichick's decade of unproductive drafts aren't given the attention they deserve while Kraft， as in Benedict's book， is wildly overpraised。 Pointless and gratuitous shots at the Trump Administration abound but Wickersham is an ESPN guy so that's to be expected。 Recommended only if you can get it at a steep discount。 。。。more
David Baer
，
It definitely helps to already know the broad outline of the Tom Brady / Patriots dynastic story: TB fighting for opportunity at Michigan， 6th-round pick in the NFL， capitalized on the lucky break of the Patriot’s starting QB’s injury， 3 quick Super Bowls， married a supermodel， Spygate， Deflategate， 3 more Super Bowls and an unfathomable number of Super Bowl appearances， cozied up to Donald Trump， developed some non-reality-based beliefs and launched TB12 ， became tired of cold weather and Belic It definitely helps to already know the broad outline of the Tom Brady / Patriots dynastic story: TB fighting for opportunity at Michigan， 6th-round pick in the NFL， capitalized on the lucky break of the Patriot’s starting QB’s injury， 3 quick Super Bowls， married a supermodel， Spygate， Deflategate， 3 more Super Bowls and an unfathomable number of Super Bowl appearances， cozied up to Donald Trump， developed some non-reality-based beliefs and launched TB12 ， became tired of cold weather and Belichickean negativity， became a free agent and a TB Buccaneer。 There you go… for more （much more）， read the book。 The author had great access over the years and has produced a highly credible， if sprawling， depiction of the Patriots phenomenon via the disparate stories of Tom Brady， Bill Bellichick， Kraft， and various other personages。 。。。more
MC
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While this is a good foundation re the Kraft era， would recommend Jeff Benedict’s Dynasty for a great deal more color （both in the Kraft takeover and the conclusion of TB12’s time in NE）。
Tyler Hohman
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Interesting read on the Patriots dynasty and how things led up to Kraft having put together the management he had， Belichick doing what he needed to to keep a strong contender rolling while keeping in budget， and Brady doing Brady things for some rings！！
Caroline Lemieux
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very good and cool to see behind the scenes but some things felt over explained or dragged out
Caleb
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A truly enjoyable read about the 20-year dynasty of the Patriots and about the three key figures in it--Belichick， Brady， and Kraft。 Wickersham's access is incredible and so this is a comprehensive story of all three of them and what bound them together and eventually drove Brady out。 It's unsparing without being vindictive。 As a Pats fan throughout， parts of it I knew and parts were new。 I think this book will age well as the story of an epoch。 A truly enjoyable read about the 20-year dynasty of the Patriots and about the three key figures in it--Belichick， Brady， and Kraft。 Wickersham's access is incredible and so this is a comprehensive story of all three of them and what bound them together and eventually drove Brady out。 It's unsparing without being vindictive。 As a Pats fan throughout， parts of it I knew and parts were new。 I think this book will age well as the story of an epoch。 。。。more
Robert
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This is a book about the New England Patriots and their reign as the most successful NFL team of the last two decades。 So yes， it’s about football。 But more than that， it’s a story about what it takes for an organization to sustain a prolonged culture of excellence and the factors that can hasten its demise。 It’s also a case study in how failing to show appreciation for your players — even those you'd think must have all the confidence in the world （in this case， quarterback Tom Brady） — can slo This is a book about the New England Patriots and their reign as the most successful NFL team of the last two decades。 So yes， it’s about football。 But more than that， it’s a story about what it takes for an organization to sustain a prolonged culture of excellence and the factors that can hasten its demise。 It’s also a case study in how failing to show appreciation for your players — even those you'd think must have all the confidence in the world （in this case， quarterback Tom Brady） — can slowly deteriorate their relationship with the team。 When ego and poor communication start to fracture the core triumvirate of Brady， Coach Bill Belichick， and owner Robert Kraft， you know that the end of the Patriots’ dynasty is imminent。 。。。more
Mark Gaskins
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Great book！ A must read for any sports fan！
Craig Schorling
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*Listened to this on audiobookI am not a Patriots fan。 I grew up and still am a 49er fan。 That being said， as someone that really enjoys football and have shared many great times with family and friends watching football this was a great read。 It held my interest the entire time。 It covered some many people besides the big names that you would expect。 There are countless stories being told and the little moments behind the scenes were what really took the spotlight。 What New England did in that *Listened to this on audiobookI am not a Patriots fan。 I grew up and still am a 49er fan。 That being said， as someone that really enjoys football and have shared many great times with family and friends watching football this was a great read。 It held my interest the entire time。 It covered some many people besides the big names that you would expect。 There are countless stories being told and the little moments behind the scenes were what really took the spotlight。 What New England did in that 20 year span is something that I am not sure I will ever see again in my life。 This book was a great way to dive deeper into a historic series of events for a game that I love。 Another thing that I really enjoyed is that the book was not a rosy "Look at how great this team and all its personnel are！" type。 Instead， it was a strict account of what happened and took place。 If you are a football fan I would absolutely reccommend this book。 Also， the narrator did a great job。 。。。more
Keri
，
3。5 starsI enjoyed this overall。 It did take me awhile to get through it…and not because it’s long （but it is！）。 I have a few football lovers in my house and I enjoyed sharing parts of this book with them and asking them to help me understand the plays haha。 The book is well written and covers some politics and even Covid。 But why do coaches and pro players have such filthy mouths？
Mathieu Gagnon
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Lots of details and stories。 It felt like a slog about halfway through but I still enjoyed what it offered。 Most of the angles in this book revolve around Bill Belichick， Robert Kraft and Tom Brady。
Chris Ahrens
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Fantastic behind the scenes look！
Cameron
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Absolutely fantastic。 This is a book you wont want to put down， regardless of weather or not you are a football fan。 This is not a football book as much as it is a character study of forgotten underdogs who， by chance， landed at the most miserable franchise in sports， and turned it into the greatest dynasty this century
Brian
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This book was fine。 It kind of felt like a series of long articles， you know， since that's what this guy does。 I think he mentioned it at the beginning of the book， but you could really tell that the majority of this book up to like 2017 or 2018 was in the can。 Meaning it felt like it was written years ago and was just sort of stale by now。 The Dynasty by Jeff Benedict was much better overall。 This book was fine。 It kind of felt like a series of long articles， you know， since that's what this guy does。 I think he mentioned it at the beginning of the book， but you could really tell that the majority of this book up to like 2017 or 2018 was in the can。 Meaning it felt like it was written years ago and was just sort of stale by now。 The Dynasty by Jeff Benedict was much better overall。 。。。more
Evan
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Book 24 of 2022。
Cheryl
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It was very long but I listened for my husband。
Michael
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Audio version beware- narrator seemingly has no familiarity with sports terms （says records as 9-7 "nine seven" rather than 9 and 7） and mispronounced so many names。 The only aggravating part。 Audio version beware- narrator seemingly has no familiarity with sports terms （says records as 9-7 "nine seven" rather than 9 and 7） and mispronounced so many names。 The only aggravating part。 。。。more
Abiman
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4-4。5。 Fun read about the good， bad， and the ugly about the Patriots Dynasty with a focus on the three Bs （Bill， Bob， and Brady）。 Whether you like the Patriots or not， highly recommend for football fans。
Caitlin Finnegan
，
4。5
Josh Peterson
，
Sports books like this absolutely rule。 I knew all of the beats of the story， all of the important and memorable wins — but the deep dives into everything was incredible。 The reporting was great and the characters were memorable。 9/10
Ryan Howell
，
This book was a very exciting read。 As someone who grew up in Indiana， I have heard the view of the Patriots from one side， the bitter Colts fan side。 I really wanted to know more about this incredible trio that brought 6 Super Bowls to New England。Very informative and doesn't really pull any punches。 Really enjoyed the 2000-2010 era， since I was in my teens during that time and when Brady hate in IN was at it's height。 However， there were sections that seemed disjointed。 Whenever politics was i This book was a very exciting read。 As someone who grew up in Indiana， I have heard the view of the Patriots from one side， the bitter Colts fan side。 I really wanted to know more about this incredible trio that brought 6 Super Bowls to New England。Very informative and doesn't really pull any punches。 Really enjoyed the 2000-2010 era， since I was in my teens during that time and when Brady hate in IN was at it's height。 However， there were sections that seemed disjointed。 Whenever politics was inserted into the book， it seemed random and sporadic rather than serving the story。 All around a must read for a NFL fan or sports historian。 。。。more
Eli Kaberon
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A fantastic inside look at the most fascinating sports franchise of this millennium。 Even the most casual of football fans will find this book compelling。
Mark Barnes
，
Stories you likely never knew about arguably the greatest sports franchise， head coach， and quarterback ever。 Loved every minute of it。
Katharine Pelican
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My Patriots fandom started in 2007， spurred exclusively by my teenage infatuation with Tom Brady。 Listening to this audiobook had me reliving the ecstasy of their win over the Seahawks and the devastation over their second loss to Giants。 Over time， I became disillusioned with the franchise， devolving into a state of casual fandom as Brady became kookier with his TB12 lifestyle and and as， despite the continued success， the team just didn't look like they were having fun anymore。 At risk of soun My Patriots fandom started in 2007， spurred exclusively by my teenage infatuation with Tom Brady。 Listening to this audiobook had me reliving the ecstasy of their win over the Seahawks and the devastation over their second loss to Giants。 Over time， I became disillusioned with the franchise， devolving into a state of casual fandom as Brady became kookier with his TB12 lifestyle and and as， despite the continued success， the team just didn't look like they were having fun anymore。 At risk of sounding sanctimonious， I can't in good conscience support the Patriots， even casually， going forward。 In his superbly written chronicle of the rise and fall of the Patriots dynasty， Seth Wickersham reveals the dark underbelly of an organization led by two men who were willing to sacrifice everything - their time， energy， relationships， honor， integrity - to win。 This book was equal parts captivating and demoralizing， shedding light on Spygate， Deflategate， and the irreversible fissures that grew over time。 Wickersham stays largely unbiased， though definitely paints Brady with a more forgiving brush。 I also found the addition of the political leanings/participation of Kraft/Belichick unnecessary。 At 19 hours in audiobook， it's definitely not for everyone， but I think any current/former Patriots fans will eat it up。 4 stars。 。。。more
Kevin Utz
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book looks intimidating by the number of pages。 However， it is fantastic and kept me interested。 The three parts were fantastic and each brought great insight and detail to the Patriots reign the past twenty years。 I also enjoyed how it focused on the successes and failures and how the Patriots reign impacted Kraft，Belichick， and Brady。
Carl Wunsch
，
Well written behind the scenes account of the Patriots domination of the NFL for two decades。
CLM
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