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Runnin' with the Big Dogs: The True, Unvarnished Story of the Texas-Oklahoma Football Wars | 
 enlarge | Author: Mike Shropshire
Publisher: William Morrow
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $4.94
You Save: $20.01 (80%)
New (8) Used (8) from $4.85
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 1286949
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9 x 5.8 x 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.332630976431
ASIN: B000QW7QF4
Publication Date: September 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 History of Longhorn vrs OU March 8, 2007
Wonderful read, got for a gift and he has loved reading all about the history, says it is very neat to learn where it all began!
 An Okie Perspective on the Red River Shootouts...The Truth is Still Out There January 3, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
As an OU Alumni, who "was there" at more Sooner Red River victories in the "Switzer and Stoops Eras" than covered in the book, my recommendation is that "Runnin with the Big Dogs" should be renamed "Fightin with the Gladiators"! Shropshire numerous attempts at home spun humor often fall incomplete(not up to par with Dan Rather and certainly not Will Rogers). The book has the same familar style of Texan "truthiness" to it that we're use to hearing from another Longhorn Fan who lives in the White House. The author is clearly biased toward the Longhorn side of the barbed wire fence (otherwise he would have mentioned Oklahoma's victory in a real "Red River War" in a long standing border dispute between Oklahoma and Texas in 1931 with Oklahoma National Guardsmen standing down the Texas Rangers). The one subject covered extensively that I enjoyed was on former OU Player Joe Don Looney. It brought back memories attending football games with my Dad in the early 60s when Looney was star halfback at the UCLA of the Southwest (University of Cameron Lawton Area).
Been There, Done That, Gotta Lotta T-shirts October 28, 2006
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
Dallas, TEXAS, denizen Mike Shropshire, former drinkin' buddy of Joe Don Looney, claims to have written a balanced look at "the True, Unvarnished story of the Texas-Oklahoma Football wars." Bevo poop! Although the cover resembles a myopic blimpbasket view of the Cotton Bowl 50 yard line on gameday (1/2 crimson, burnt orange,) the book starts with a long, lugubrious re-celebration of the 2005 Longhorn National Championship in Pasedena. Their first in 35 years. [Hoopla. Hoopla. yawn. yawn.] Shropshire forgets to mention that during this long Longhorn dry spell, the Sooners cruised the Sooner schooner to 4 more (1974, 1975, 1985, 2000.)
At times wallowing in egregious generalizations - like the hallucination that all Sooners were cheering FOR the Longhorns in the Rose Bowl (Dude! My favorite football teams are the Sooners, Da Bears, whoever is playing UT at the time and whoever is playing Oregon (Duckin' corrupt cheatin' - karma gotta get `em!) once the book settles into its purpose, it does live up to its titular hype. Shropshire's premise, supported with aplomb and humour, is that both program's goal is to beat the other in the annual contest - that they frequently happen to have to amass enough talent to beat everybody else in the country in the process is just gravy on the grits.
There are some photos in the middle - more would be better, and color (to see the beautiful crimson and cream) would be best. And it has an index - how else to locate the shy, quiet, blushing Boz?
/TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer, former annual Adolphus resident, Commerce & Cotton Bowl Survivor, urging everyone to watch TV's bright "Friday Night Lights" before the dullards at NBC prematurely end its season.
A book Sooners and Horns can appreciate September 5, 2006
12 out of 17 found this review helpful
Don't get misled by that nasty orange dustcover, this is a fun and rowdy read for both Sooner and Horn fans as well as for anyone who wants to get a taste of the most colorful sports rivalry in America. Shropshire's witty essays give insight into the culture of both locker rooms and include some stories that even diehard fans will not have heard. Don't read this book in bed--my wife finally got tired of being awakened by my laughter and took refuge in the guestroom. Two corrections for the author: 1)it was OU President George Lynn Cross, not President Bill Banowsky, who first told the regents that "he wanted to build a university that the football team could be proud of" and 2)it is the Oklahoma-Texas rivalry, not the Texas-Oklahoma rivalry.
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