Many biographies have been written about the larger-than-life college football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant as well as an autobiography containing the coaches own memories. Other works have focused on an aspect of Bryant's career, his coaching methods, or his philosophy. The Bear: The Legendary Life of Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant stands alone among them all.

Based on a screenplay by the late sportswriter and columnist Al Browning, it showcases many of the most memorable moments of Bryant's life—many of them told by the coach himself—as stories filled with the immediacy and drama that go with a good story told well. The relationship Bryant and Browning shared went beyond that of coach and journalist. They were close friends, giving Browning a unique view of the man that few people had ever seen, especially in Bryant's final years before his retirement and death a short while later.

Some of the stories in this book have been heard before, but without the rich background and detail conveyed here. As such, the book validates many of them while clarifying others and occasionally correcting some inaccuracies.

“I just have a taken for finding the heart of a football team,” Bryant once explained, and it was certainly true. It is equally true that All Browning found the heart of Bryant, and The Bear: The Legendary Life of Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant has captured the essence of the man from Fordyce, Arkansas, for whom winning was no just the most important thing. It was the only thing.

Don Keith