cover image Undefeated: Inside the 1972 Miami Dolphins’ Perfect Season

Undefeated: Inside the 1972 Miami Dolphins’ Perfect Season

Mike Freeman. HarperCollins/It, $25.99 (309p) ISBN 978-0-06-200982-1

As the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the Miami Dolphins’ perfect season gear up this year, Freeman, a national NFL writer for CBSSports.com, has assembled a new book hailing Coach Don Shula’s ragtag squad’s improbable rise after a heartbreaking Super Bowl loss the previous year. A letter from then President Nixon did nothing to soothe the defeat, but the coach gradually transformed his team from losers to winners, taking the team from the bottom to glory. Whether it’s inside the testy locker room or the brutal action of game day, Freeman ticks off the challenges to perfection: ace quarterback Bob Griese breaking a leg in the fifth game; shifty running back Mercury Morris’s tirades to the media about the coach; the conflicts inside the team, and the mental chess game between Shula and various coaches around the league to get a win. The Dolphins didn’t possess elite players, but contained a colorful crew: Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick, Paul Warfield, Marv Fleming, and Manny Fernandez. In this homage to the 1972 Miami Dolphins, Freeman’s classic book will enthrall readers with the extraordinary story of a team that went through 14 regular season games and two playoff games to capture Super Bowl VII. Agent: John Monteleone. (Sept.)