From Publishers Weekly
In this slapdash effort, former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor and a supporting cast of characters recall the football legend's career and personal struggle with drug addiction. On the field, Taylor was universally regarded as the greatest defensive football player in the game's history. His size, speed and ferocity led the Giants to two Super Bowl championships in 1986 and 1990, and earned Taylor an exalted place in NFL folklore, as well as in the record books and in the Football Hall of Fame. All this for a player, readers learn, who rarely worked out, practiced lazily and played many of his awe-inspiring games hungover. While he was succeeding on the field, off the field Taylor's life was out of control. He was addicted to cocaine and to a hard-partying lifestyle that eventually led to a divorce, numerous arrests, financial ruin and employment prospects that sunk as low as professional wrestling. Although billed as an autobiography, the book (written with New York Post columnist Serby) is more an oral history, interweaving Taylor's remembrances with those of former teammates, coaches, sports writers and friends. While there are some memorable anecdotes and a few intimate glimpses, there is surprisingly little new here for Taylor fans beyond the depressing details of his most recent travails. That's unfortunate-underneath it all, Taylor' is a truly rich, compelling story. He remains a larger-than-life personality, and one who made extraordinary football history in one of the NFL's most colorful eras. Still, in this, his second shot at autobiography (his first was LT: Living on the Edge in 1987), the true substance of Lawrence Taylor goes woefully unexamined.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"When I was on the field, I was Superman. It was almost like I operated on a higher plane: I knew what the offense was going to do, where the ball was going and how I was going to get it--and no one could stop me. But when I came off the field, something happened. LT became Lawrence Taylor and Lawrence Taylor was completely clueless. Like Clark Kent on crack."

Taylor's motto seemed to be live fast, perhaps die young, and leave a trail of battered quarterbacks in your wake. He was technically listed as an outside linebacker, but he was more like a force of nature. After being unleashed on the NFL in 1981, Taylor's unparalleled will and wildness spurred the New York, Giants to two Super Bowl tiles.

In 1986 he recorded a career-high 20-1/2 sacks and was the league's MVP, becoming the first defensive player to wind the award since 1971. Taylor didn't just play the game, he revolutionized it. He was 6'4" of athletic fury, fast enough to cover receivers, strong enough to bully offensive linemen, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. And help any quarterbacks who got in his way. With his 142 sacks, LT ranks among the all-time leaders. He was voted to the Pro Bowl a record ten straight years.

He was insanely tough. He once suffered a concussion and the Giants trainer had to hide his helmet to keep him from going back into the game. He suffered a leg fracture in a game in 1987 and was back on the field in one week. He broke a bone in his foot in 1989 and missed only one game. And in 1988, with the aid of a harness, he played with torn shoulder ligaments and a detached pectoral muscle in a key game. He had seven tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles.

The wildness that made him a magnificent player often streaked into his personal life. He battled substance-abuse problems during and after his career, unable to bring his appetite for destruction under control. In 1985 he admitted to cocaine abuse and was suspended for 30 days in 1988 for failing a drug test. He came back from that to help the Giants win the Super Bowl in 1991. Not even Taylor could will himself to completely overcome a ruptured Achilles in 1992. He played one more season before retiring at the age of 34.

Free of the shackles of NFL's drug abuse policies, LT gave in to his addiction, in a wild ride of booze, cocaine and sex. He entered rehab twice in 1995. Then he was arrested two times in three years on charges he tried to buy cocaine. Getting out of the fast lane was difficult for aman who did everything at full speed.

After intensive therapy and rehab, by 1999, LT was finally clean and able to pull his life together. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In this slapdash effort, former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor and a supporting cast of characters recall the football legend's career and personal struggle with drug addiction. On the field, Taylor was universally regarded as the greatest defensive football player in the game's history. His size, speed and ferocity led the Giants to two Super Bowl championships in 1986 and 1990, and earned Taylor an exalted place in NFL folklore, as well as in the record books and in the Football Hall of Fame. All this for a player, readers learn, who rarely worked out, practiced lazily and played many of his awe-inspiring games hungover. While he was succeeding on the field, off the field Taylor's life was out of control. He was addicted to cocaine and to a hard-partying lifestyle that eventually led to a divorce, numerous arrests, financial ruin and employment prospects that sunk as low as professional wrestling. Although billed as an autobiography, the book (written with New York Post columnist Serby) is more an oral history, interweaving Taylor's remembrances with those of former teammates, coaches, sports writers and friends. While there are some memorable anecdotes and a few intimate glimpses, there is surprisingly little new here for Taylor fans beyond the depressing details of his most recent travails. That's unfortunate-underneath it all, Taylor' is a truly rich, compelling story. He remains a larger-than-life personality, and one who made extraordinary football history in one of the NFL's most colorful eras. Still, in this, his second shot at autobiography (his first was LT: Living on the Edge in 1987), the true substance of Lawrence Taylor goes woefully unexamined. (On sale Nov. 25) Forecast: Despite its flaws, this book will nonetheless reach Taylor's many, many fans. Mike Wallace plans to interview Taylor on 60 Minutes on November 30. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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