Gunslinger

The Remarkable, Improbable, Iconic Life of Brett Favre

By: Jeff Pearlman

Narrated by: Barry Abrams

Length: 17 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's Summary

A towering figure on the field for two decades and destined for the Hall of Fame, Brett Favre was one of the game's last cowboys, a fastball-throwing, tobacco-chewing gunslinger who refused to give up without a fight. This peerless quarterback guided the Green Bay Packers to two Super Bowls and one championship win, shattering countless NFL records along the way.

Gunslinger tells Brett Favre's full, definitive story for the first time, drawing on more than 500 interviews, including many from the people closest to Favre. Jeff Pearlman charts Favre's journey, from his rough rural childhood and lackluster high school football career to landing the last roster spot at Southern Mississippi to a late-night car accident that nearly took his life. Favre clawed back, getting drafted into the NFL, first to Atlanta, then to Green Bay, where he restored the Packers to greatness and inspired a fan base as passionate as any in the game. Yet he struggled with demons: addiction, infidelity, the loss of his father the day before he honored him by playing the greatest game of his career, and ultimately a fraught, painfully prolonged exit from the game he loved.

©2016 Jeff Pearlman (P)2016 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

No Aaron Rodgers by any Stretch

I'v been a Packer Fan my entire life. There were some pretty rough rooting years through the 70's and 80's, and when Don Majkowski came on the scene in the early 90's, I thought the Packers had indeed turned the page and they would no longer be the door mat to the NFC. I had no idea when Favre stepped in after a "Magic Man" injury, that I, along with the entire Packer fan base would witness 15 years of phenomenal football lead by arguably the best Quarterback to play the game. Teams like Denver, and Miami, and Dallas will argue in favor of their respective HOF QB, but they must agree, there will never be another to play the game like Brett Favre. Never!

This was a pretty decent book, with excellent insight into what Favre experienced as a player both in college, and in the NFL. And there is a glimpse of what it must've been like to line up behind center in some of the games most memorable games. One can only imagine. One might also wonder how such a great player continued to struggle off the field with everything from pain killers to infidelity when it seemed he had the world at his finger tips. Nobody is perfect, and this book does an excellent job of confirming that notion by including every detail, regardless of the topic. What is simply mesmerizing is how he is able to deal with each event while playing a professional sport at the level he did. Amazing!

I was disappointed with the narration. The reader tries too hard to mimic the voices of those he is reading about which (to me) becomes a distraction from an otherwise very interesting topic. I don't need him to raise the pitch in his voice every time he quotes a female. It just sounds...weird. Read the book! I get that Brett's sister is being quoted, I don't want to hear the high-pitch voice inflection of a man.

All-in-all, if you're a Packer fan like me or a Football fan looking to augment your library with a story about one of the games best, put this title in your library. It's well worth the credit, and the 17+ hours to get through it.

ah shucks

pretty good book, Brett was kinda of a shit head but learned alot about him

nice side stories

Some good stories I had never heard. Maybe a little too much play-by-play action. The narrator did a good job except the voices were a little goofy

Good stuff

Stop idolizing athletes. They are flawed like everyone and that's in my mind what makes their accomplishments even more amazing. Great book

A flawed man, great quarterback

As a fan of all of Jeff Pearlman books.. I think this one is a compelling story of a flawed man but a great quarterback… I’ve been at Brett Farve fan for a while and to hear his backstory and to hear how he overcame addiction, infidelity, and a horrible end to his packers days Is a must read for anybody who is Brett Farve fan

Brett wasn't Perfect , the The Best Packer Player

Brett Favre was not perfect , but saved the Packer Franchise. Lot in the book I never knew about his personal life I never knew. Highly recommend AAAAA++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Must listen!!

Great book...A must listen for any Favre fan. Couldn’t stop listening once I started..finished in 4 days.

Gunslinger

Good book, loved the butchering of the city names...LOL. Go Pack Go Brett Favre

Narrator tries to hard

Good book, stories are good. I'm very distracted by the narrator trying to take on a southern accent...I feel like at times I'm listening to a 17 hour long King of the Hill episode.

Favre is a colorful character

What did you love best about Gunslinger?

Favre has a really interesting life story with all of the ups and downs. Book went into great detail.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Gunslinger?

Favre throwing up his Vicodin pills, picking them off the floor, rinsing them, and ingesting them again. Gross!

What does Barry Abrams bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Accents which gave some variety to the listening. They weren't great accents but were just enough.

Any additional comments?

Never had any interest in Favre or the Green Bay Packers, bu this book was worth listening to anyway.