Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

The Mannings are to football what the Kennedy and Bush dynasties have been to politics. Ribowsky, author of numerous sports biographies, has included three life stories here in one volume. Archie, the patriarch of the clan, became a high-school football hero in Drew, Mississippi, and then an All-American quarterback at Ole Miss. His professional career with the New Orleans Saints was made up of individual triumphs but never ongoing team success, as the Saints failed to surround him with talented teammates. The drama with his sons, both quarterbacks, began when Peyton, perhaps the most coveted player in his prep class, chose Tennessee over Ole Miss. He failed to deliver a national championship there, but that changed in the NFL, where he won Super Bowls with both the Colts and the Broncos. Then there's the enigmatic Eli, who did go to Mississippi and then to the New York Giants, where he won two Super Bowls. Ribowsky relies too heavily on game detail, but it's worth it for the insight he provides into the very different personalities and approaches to the game of each of the Mannings. A fascinating account of a football family.--Lukowsky, Wes Copyright 2010 Booklist

Library Journal
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Ribowsky (The Last Cowboy) is known for providing serious looks at substantial sports and popular music personalities. This volume fits into that pattern and concerns the NFL's first family of quarterbacks: Archie, Peyton, and Eli Manning. In this group biography, Ribowsky fully examines his subjects, detailing both their features and flaws. His research is thorough and his writing professional, yet he profiles familiar faces who received similar treatment just two years ago with Lars Anderson's The Mannings. VERDICT Overall, well done, but for those who -enjoyed The Mannings, this title might be redundant. © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly
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Ribowsky (The Last Cowboy) exuberantly explores the ongoing story of the Manning dynasty: former NFL quarterback Archie Manning and the sons who followed in his footsteps. Archie was born in 1949 Mississippi, played for Ole Miss, and spent his pro career with the New Orleans Saints. Cooper Manning, Archie and Olivia Manning's first-born son, appeared NFL-bound until he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis at age 18. Sons Peyton and Eli, meanwhile, followed similar career paths as their father, and Ribowsky recounts practically every major game they've played since high school. Peyton attended the University of Tennessee and had an outstanding career with the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos; he retired in 2015 at age 39 with an armful of NFL records (including most passing yards and most touchdown passes). Eli, meanwhile, attended his father's alma mater and quarterbacked the New York Giants for 14 seasons, winning the Super Bowl twice. Ribowsky thoroughly covers the on- and off-field drama in this sprawling biography, in which he traces the Manning lineage in the U.S. back to 1745; he discusses personal setbacks along the way, including allegations against Peyton of sexual harassment and performance-enhancing drug use. Football fans will be drawn to this inside look at the Mannings, one of the most talented sports families in American history. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

An in-depth look at American football royalty.The Manning quarterbacking family has figured prominently in the nation's football landscape for nearly 50 years. In his latest book, veteran biographer Ribowsky (Hank: The Short Life and Long Country Road of Hank Williams, 2016, etc.) chronicles the careers of father Archie and sons Peyton and Eli. The author draws interesting comparisons between the obsessive, publicity-hungry Peyton and the quiet, phlegmatic Eli. Whereas the former has superior statistics and will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, the latter has just as many Super Bowl wins (two) and a reputation as a better performer in the clutch. Ribowsky also illustrates how Archie, whose father committed suicide, made a point to be more invested in the lives of his children. Unfortunately, in telling this family history through the conduit of the American South and race, the author never misses an opportunity to take cheap shots at the protagonists. Thus he accuses Archie of "racism acceptance," adding that while there is no evidence that the Mannings of Drew, Mississippi (where Archie grew up), joined the Ku Klux Klan, "neither is there any reason to believe they opposed" it. Ribowsky also wields his acerbic pen against Manning contemporaries: Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is a "choker," while the decision of University of Florida star Danny Wuerffel to decline a spot on Playboy's All-America team was nothing but "self-serving treacle." Moreover, the author's put-downs are compounded by numerous errors. Texas Western won the NCAA men's basketball championship in 1966, not 1965. Ryan Zimmerman plays for the Washington Nationals, not the Philadelphia Phillies. The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. occurred before that of Robert F. Kennedy, not after. When President Barack Obama called Peyton following the latter's loss in the Super Bowl, Obama was in office for more than a year, not "weeks into his first term."The book has its moments, but not enough to overcome Ribowsky's flubs and irksome penchant for mockery. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.