Snake: The Legendary Life of Ken Stabler

I liked the read. Good history of the life of Stabler. He to me was one of the great. I really enjoyed the book.I wished now I would have gotten the hard copy rather then the paper back.

This book deserves a 5 star rating because like other "look at me" athletes are all about show and that's all you see. This book covers everything from college football at Alabama, to partying to NFL, to more partying and collecting women like game balls and none if it is sugar coated. You wanna Snake, read this book and you'll damn near know him like a teammate without actually collecting a laundromat full of women's undergarments with him!! Snake taught teammates, children, family, coaches, and Raider fans, you can have fun playing the game by being who you are and not listen to all your critics. And at the same time, he was one of the most charitable men of his time with most his efforts going to kids charities. And even in Snakes death, he was still teaching by bringing further attention to CTE and it being a real thing and may have helped prolong some teammates lives. It's still true that the worst part of a snake is it's bite but his bite was a pass downfield because the sting the defense felt afterwards.

This is a different kind of biography. The author says part of the idea of writing the book was show a different side of Ken Stabler than the womanizing, heavy drinking, partying Stabler of his youth through his NFL playing career. He wanted to show the side of Ken Stabler that genuinely care about people, including his teammates, his kids, and even his ex-wives.So we have three sides of Ken Stabler.First, the rebellious, woman loving (in many ways), and partier Ken Stabler of his youth through his football career. Stabler was not only upfront about his partying ways, he kind of bragged about it. And he embraced the bad boy image of the Oakland Raiders. It is hard for me to believe that Bear Bryant had two of the most iconic rebel rousing athletes of their day at the University of Alabama in both Joe Namath followed by Ken Stabler. Both got into deep trouble with Bear Bryant because of their wayward ways and eventually rehabilitated themselves with him. Also interesting, both love the Bear and it seems the Bear deeply cared about them too. Stabler continued his fun loving ways with the Raiders, having a lot of fun along the way.Second, there is the athlete Ken Stabler. In some ways that goes hand in hand with the rebelliousness as an average athlete probably just doesn’t get away what Stabler did in college and the pros. He was obviously and outstanding athlete who eventually won a Super Bowl ring and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Here the author makes a strong case for Stabler as a Hall of Famer. Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? He was certainly a great leader on the football field and the right one for the Raiders. I think he does belong partly because you couldn’t think of the NFL in the 1970’s without Stabler. He was a gunslinger and he won a Super Bowl. But, he also had a woeful number of interceptions. He had a touchdown to interception ratio of of .87. But his statistics easily stack up against other Hall of Fame quarterbacks of his error. Terry Bradshaw, who’s career almost parallels Stabler’s, had statistics that closely mirror that of Stabler and Stabler has a better career passer rating than Bradshaw. So yes, he belongs.Third there is the empathic Ken Stabler who cared for his teammates, his family, his kids and his friends. He was, by all accounts, a great father to his kids even after his divorces and even more so after he retired from football and had more time with them. He stood up for his teammates and while it might sound odd now, was colorblind. He exhibited traits, even at the University of Alabama, where he treated all equally regardless of race. And in his later years he chilled out and relaxed with family and his grandkids.Stabler had a grand life and this biography does him justice.

If you want a giant belly laugh, read this. Ken Stabler and The Raiders were one of a kind!

I waited a while for this book when I read I found it to be average. In Ken's autobiography he said Isabel was his first wife and Debby was his second. I find it interesting that he didn't mention his kids in his book and Freeman mentions it often in the new one. Miami never played Oakland in a super bowl as they are in the same conference and he just glanced over his Houston and new Orleans days and I found the book at points repetitive and dull. Stabler was a heck of a competitor and a great leader. What he did in his personal life was his businessI give three stars to this. Freeman skipped through to many parts to make it complete

Great book! Freeman, with wonderful contributions from the Stabler family, gives football fans an excellent and insightful portrait of one of the most underrated players in NFL history. Kenny Stabler is often forgotten when we think about great quarterbacks. Mike Freeman explains why that is a big mistake. Stabler wasn't just a great quarterback-he exemplified a style of play and passion for the game that we often don't see anymore.For football fans, this is a great book. For Raider fans, this is a must-read. It's right up there with Peter Richmond's "Badasses".Go buy this book.

A very in depth view into the multi faceted life of Ken Stabler contains both the good times and tough times. This book was very interesting, well written and comprehensive in looking into Stabler’s life and putting it all together in this excellent biography.

I remember and admired "Snake" from his great playing days with the Raiders.Knowing the story of his life, through his eyes, makes one appreciate him even more.I recall a quote from some interview where, when asked about spending a warm day/summer,he explained it would be with Wickedly Wonderful Wanda on board "Boogie" his boat.

Fab!

Nice book

Love the original version by SnakeNew version by daughter is toned down.

ok