Total Access: A Journey to the Center of the NFL Universe

Named after and authored by the host of the NFL Network's signature program, this loosely-structured year-in-the-life memoir is essentially the book version of the network, established in 2003 to provide unprecedented access to players, coaches, games and events (from draft weekend to Hall of Fame inductions). Bookended by the Super Bowl and the debut of the NFL Network's ""Eight Game Package"" (a series of Thursday and Saturday games that began late in the 2006 season), this sportscasting odyssey follows Eisen in and out of makeshift studios at football's biggest occasions, reprints verbatim his interviews with everyone from quarterback Brett Favre to former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, and provides insight into NFL luminaries-turned-on-air-colleagues such as Deion Sanders, Marshall Faulk and Steve Mariucci. Along the way, there are plenty of insider-only tidbits, including how veterans haze rookies at the Pro Bowl and what really happens during the top-secret Scouting Combine. Eisen writes with the same dry wit he uses on-camera, a likable voice that's unfortunately prone to name-dropping and network-boosting; still, there's much vicarious pleasure to be found in Eisen's on-the-job adventures.