Their Life's Work

The Brotherhood of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers

By: Gary M. Pomerantz

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

Length: 16 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s won an unprecedented and unmatched four Super Bowls in six years. A dozen of those Steelers players, coaches, and executives have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and three decades later their names echo in popular memory: "Mean" Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Mike Webster, Jack Lambert, Lynn Swann, and John Stallworth. In ways exhilarating and heartbreaking, they define not only the brotherhood of sports but those elements of the game that engage tens of millions of Americans: its artistry and its brutality.

Drawing on hundreds of interviews, Their Life's Work is a richly textured story of a team and a sport, what the game gave these men, and what the game took.

©2013 Gary M. Pomerantz (P)2017 Tantor

Critic Reviews

" Their Life's Work will be compared to Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer (1972), a nostalgic look back at the 1950s Brooklyn Dodgers. As good as Boys is, this is better...A wonderful book." ( Booklist)

Great Book

I wasn’t a Steelers fan back then, but I’ve grown to revere their dominance of the 1970s. What a tremendous organization, built on toughness, intelligence, and love.

There’s something peculiar about these “narrators” though. They mispronounce so many names that it’s becoming quite obvious that these books aren’t being read by actual people.

Finally, this book recounts a commonly known story about the Steelers hiding John Stallworth’s college film. It strikes me as odd that this little violation of the rules has been laughed off and dismissed as mere mischief over the years. But if say New England were accused of any such wrongdoing today, there’d be fines, suspensions, and most likely a congressional hearing about it.

good listen

i enjoyed this book. real good story and told well. it was nice to hear how these guys got along and at times not

The best you ca read.

I moved to the Pittsburgh area with my family in 1970. I was only 4 but by 1980, I loved, breathed, and was Black and Gold. If ever in my generation you could live a fairy tale it was then. When men were football players and things like contracts and contact came second to their love of the game. Say what you wil about the 9ers of the 80’s, Dallas I the 90’s or the Patriots of the 21 st century. There wil never be a franchise fro top to bottom like the Steelers. This book not only captured that decade, but gave me an insight and knowledge of my team I never thought possible. A must read for Steeler fans and sports fans alike.

Great history of the Steelers

Should be required reading for all life long Steelers fans. Awesome book. Read it a while back. Then listened to it after I found the audio.

Narration sounded computerized.

Being a pittsburgher by birth, I was excited to listen to this book. the story is great, but the narration is terrible. I don't know if it was run through a voice synthesizer, but it certainly sounds computerized. Cadence and Rhythm was all off. I tried to listen for a few hours, but I eventually returned the book. Looks like I'll have to finish the story the old fashioned way...by picking up the book and reading it.

go Steelers

I enjoyed the book. Great learning about Steelers History. I recommend it to everyone here

Must Listen for any Pittsburgher or Steelers Fan

Tremendous behind the scenes tales and insight! Super, just like the Team! This is a must listen.

Sleeper Hit

Okay, I glanced at the other reviews. I would argue you don't have to be a girl to enjoy the book. Joshua Bennington varies his narration speed. He is slow and soft where needed. By His character voices allow the soft humor to come through so you can paint a picture in your mind of say the surprising first kiss and the surprised smile that likely follows. So maybe girls will like the story better but I have no wear and tear on me for having listened to this story.