REVIEWS
A compelling read!
Tom O'Brien's was path was clear. As a high school senior, he was a star football player who worked hard to achieve his goal of playing football for Ohio State and possibly even playing professional football. But after a career ending injury, he suddenly found himself without a compass.
In this captivating story of Tom's search for a new direction and purpose for his life we view the turbulent time of the 60s and 70s through the experiences of Tom and his friends. We follow him in his search for not just a career but a way to change the culture for the better. An inspiring and compelling read, I can recommend this book to all, especially those of us who lived through this period in history.
Reviewed by: Kathy
What are you searching for?
I grew up in the 60's and still play the music. The story is not much different than mine but, in the end, I found God and was saved.
Robert Johns captured the time and place where we lived as kids, suffered as young adults, and grew to adults. To rebel while searching and failing and succeeding while overcoming a time which was forever changed after World War Two.
To describe this time in the 60's when parents wanted their kids to have what they didn't have, to live like they couldn't and explore the world like they could only dream about, is a world changing event and not always for the better.
Thank you, Bob, for taking our childhood and putting it down in words so that we can now as adults see where we came from, where we failed and found success in a way we never imagined at the time.
I look forward to the sequel where O'Brien finds what he is really searching for.
I recommend the book for all who strive to understand to learn and grow in not just our own experiences but all viewpoints.
Your classmate B. Davey
Reviewed by: Robert L.
Good story
Since I lived through the same time period, it was interesting to remember those turbulent times. Robert Johns was right on in describing the divide between generations and friends over the war. A whole generation started looking at things differently and searching for answers. It’s a good story, well written.
Reviewed by: Carol MacDonald
Wonderfully written story about growing up!
Robert Johns captured so many facets of growing up during the 50’s, 60’s, and beyond. His characters were interesting and relatable with their differing visions of the future, and their responses to life’s twists and turns, including a physical injury that required a whole new confrontation of life. We’ll done!
Reviewed by: KAR
This is about much more than just football
Don’t think this book is about football just because there’s a football on its cover. It’s about making the best of things when plans fall through which, when it happens in football, is called a broken play. Things have gone wrong for Tom O’Brien despite his winning game plan for life both on and off the field. This story begins with Tom starring for the Massillon Tigers high school football program and then moves on to the turmoil of Kent State University in the spring of 1970, and eventually follows him to the Hawaiian island of Kauai. It candidly shares his deepest self-reflections as he learns to let his life flow beyond the rigid course he’d planned for it. Overall, this is a very authentic feeling depiction of the era, especially in the idealism expressed by several of the characters. It's also well-written and clearly well researched.
Disclosure: The minute I saw this was set in Ohio back in the ‘60s and ‘70s I clicked the Goodreads ‘Enter Giveaway’ button and was lucky enough to win.
Reviewed by: Wanda E.
Great Read!
I am one year younger than Tom the main character, so I lived through the same tumultuous time. At first most of us supported the war but as we listened to friends with different views as Tom did, we came to oppose the war and to question many things about our capitalist society and tried to figure out where we fit into it. This beautifully written book captures the difficulty of finding that path and the reality that not all came through it well. I was especially moved by the character of Kevin who as the story ends is suffering from dementia from his use of drugs, a fate that many in our generation suffered. However, through Tom and Jennine we see how many of us in different ways found ways to embody our values in the lives that we have lived.
Reviewed by: David Prevost
Not a football book!
I am one year younger than Tom the main character, so I lived through the same tumultuous time. At first most of us supported the war but as we listened to friends with different views as Tom did, we came to oppose the war and to question many things about our capitalist society and tried to figure out where we fit into it. This beautifully written book captures the difficulty of finding that path and the reality that not all came through it well. I was especially moved by the character of Kevin who as the story ends is suffering from dementia from his use of drugs, a fate that many in our generation suffered. However, through Tom and Jennine we see how many of us in different ways found ways to embody our values in the lives that we have lived.
Reviewed by: Kier Mcaulay
O’Brien’s Broken Play
A well written novel has three components - a compelling story line, rich character development and vivid physical descriptions. Bob John’s O’Brien’s Broken Play has these and more. It evokes strong memories for those of us who lived in the era described . It also serves as a bold reminder that a democratic society, in order to thrive, must allow for the free exchange of ideas.
I was a college senior in 1965-66 when this novel begins and can attest to its’ historical accuracy - the domestic turmoil caused by the Viet Nam war, the emergence and subsequent failure of a counter culture and the success wrought by individual initiative and perseverance.
O’Brien’s Broken Play is a must read!