From Darkness to Dynasty: A Must-Own Patriots Book

It may come as a real shock to all of you, but I'm not a full-time sportswriter.

I know, I know; with my acerbic wit and ultra hot takes, how are they not paying me the big bucks to cover the Patriots full time? I'd tell you if I could, but my guess is that it's some odd combination of corporate politicking, blatant nepotism, and my total and utter lack of talent that's holding me back. Who knows.

And since I'm not a full-time sportswriter, I have to pay the bills in other ways. Those beers don't buy themselves, unfortunately. And at the moment, what keeps a roof over my head and Patriots games on my TV is my job in the publishing industry. The book biz is an interesting one to say the least, and one that I like very much at the end of the day; believe it or not, I like to read, and getting to work with books and authors that I enjoy is a pretty sweet gig. My only complaint about being a book agent is that it has yet to get me into the Patriots locker room or allowed me to extend an in-person invite to my birthday party to Tommy B.

All that may change, though, when a book I'm especially proud of hits the shelves this September. From Darkness to Dynasty: The First 40 Years of the New England Patriots, is due out on September 6th, and I can't wait. If you truly call yourself a Patriots fan, you know the author, Jerry Thornton, quite well. From his Knee Jerk Reactions to his Thornography blog to his daily appearances on the Dale and Holley Show, Jerry Thornton is one of the original Defenders of the Wall and one of the funniest, most popular, and most relatable Patriots writers out there. He has also been a fan since before a lot of us were even born - so who better to recount the history of the team, from their inception all the way up through that fateful first Super Bowl win, than the man who was there for all of it?

I'm not one to shamelessly hawk something I don't believe in - and I wouldn't be sharing the news of this book with all of you if it wasn't as Patriots-centric as it gets - but I think that you're all going to love From Darkness to Dynasty. It's funny, it's interesting, it's well-written, and it serves as an important reminder that we need to milk every last second out of these successful seasons. It wasn't that long ago that the Patriots were bad. Really, really bad. Reading Jerry's account of it should make us all appreciate the fact that there are currently college students who were two years old the last time New England had a losing record.

As I mentioned, the book isn't officially out until September 6th, but you can pre-order a copy at a discount here. You won't regret it.