Dent's use of voice in this book adds to both its realism and its characterization of Nagurski and his cohorts. The author's voice is very formal, disdaining the casual language often found in sports biographies. On the other hand, when quoting football men, Dent uses the gruff, unpretentious, occasionally crude dialect that we usually associate with aggressive, masculine athletes. The contrast here is effective. Dent does not try to be "one of the guys", and his implied acknowledgement of the distinction between authors and football players is refreshing.

Dent also makes good use of liberal tropes in presenting Nagurski and his Bears as heroic figures. The Bears' 1943 quarterback, Sid Luckman, endured disgusting Anti-Semitic epithets from both opposing fans and players. Dent shows Nagurski and the other Bears exacting retribution for these taunts, with Nagurski himself facing down a bench full of Anti-Semitic spectators in Henry Ford-era Detroit. Their fight against bigotry adds a moral thread to Dent's heroic portrayal of Nagurski's Bears, and it plays well here.

Through all this idealization, Dent is never overtly dishonest. He quotes Nagurski as brushing off the more grandiose tales of his prowess, including his shattering of Wrigley Field's brick wall and giving directions in rural Minnesota by pointing with his plow instead of his finger. According to Nagurski, the only thing anyone ever saw him plow was the defensive line. Through all the adulation, one gets the sense that Dent's superhero is not too far removed from the real Bronko after all.

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:

Best book I've ever read on pro football in its golden age.  Oct 25, 2003

Bronko Nagurski's comeback with the Chicago Bears in 1943 is just one of the greatest sports stories ever--reading the chapter in which he wins the final regular-season game for them to get into the championship game gave me goosebumps, I swear to God. But I also loved the wonderful atmosphere of the period Dent evokes here, and the many colorful characters--even Al Capone plays a part.

If you've ever read the great Junction Boys, you know what a wonderful writer Jim Dent is. This is his best since that book. I highly recommend it.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Bronko Nagurski Dominates, Takes a 6-year Break, Dominates Again  Mar 29, 2011
By Jason
Whether all minor details of Jim Dent's biographical retelling of Bronko Nagurski's career are accurate is as difficult to verify as it is inconsequential to the story. Nagurski was Paul Bunyan in a helmet, a wrecking ball running back standing 6ft. and weighing 225 lbs. - average offensive linemen of the time weighed slightly less and were considered overweight at 235 lbs. He was legendary from the moment he was "recruited" to play for Minnesota, where his future coach would tell tall tales of a man with extraordinary strength and drive who could lift a plow with vise-grip hands full of fingers requiring 19.5 sized rings. Bronko Nagurski was a man who lived up to the reputation, and often exceeded it.

The greater majority of Monster of the Midway chronicles how the Bronk terrorized the NFL as a Chicago Bear. Read as a historical account, many commonplace changes and advances of the game took place during his era. The T-Formation, the forward pass, the draw play, all intricately connected to Nagurski. Bizarre substitution rules, leather helmets, and two way players were all common during his rugged playing days that favored a heavy dose of between-the-tackles running. Then more of the same. Men were men; wimps and part time players need not apply. Blood is just uniform decoration and some bones don't really need to be straight. During the Bronk's eight seasons, Dent provides game-by-game highlights of the highpoints, concentrating on the feel and the result rather than the minutiae of yards per carry, time of possession, and the cybermetrics of today. Revealing details about Nagurski's personality and relationship with many on the Bears' team (good friends with the great George Musso), Dent delves into what it meant to be a player in an NFL landscape where Bears owner George Halas having difficulty profiting. From Red Grange to Musso, Bulldog Turner to Sid Luckman, the Bears' greats are given ample descriptions and are linked in their own way to Bronko.

In an era that provided us the "Tennis Shoe Game" and the "Paper Blizzard Game," it comes as no surprise that men such as Halas gained notoriety for their one-upmanship while berating officials and opposing coaches yet avoiding ejection. Less surprising are the bitter rivalries borne of that time. More than one punch led to the Chicago versus Green Bay hatred fueled on twice a year still today. It's not so much about the various stats, and Dent doesn't dwell in that domain. But, instead, it's Bronko Nagurski's gridiron dominance for eight seasons, his destruction of opponents during a six year wrestling hiatus, and his triumphant return in 1943 at 35-years old that serve as the building blocks of a Hall of Fame career (charter member) and legend.

Jason Elin

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Somewhat disappointed  Dec 17, 2004
By tom williams
Jim Dent's Monster of the Midway is less a biography of Bronko Nagurski, and more of a historical look at the era in which Nagurski dominated the National Football League.

If you are a sports fan, you may enjoy this book; if you are an NFL fan you will love learning about the story of one of the league's most endearing names and a charter member of the pro football hall of fame. If you are a sports history afficianado like myself, you will enjoy the stories Dent has to tell and appreciate the way he makes this book read like a novel at times. In some ways I even feel this book will translate well to a television movie -- like the Junction Boys.

It took me about two weeks to finish this book which is my average pace of about one chapter per night. Where Jim Dent fails to deliver to the reader is an inside look at the life of Bronko Nagurski. After completing this book, I did not feel as if I had spent those two weeks with Bronko himself, rather, I felt I had just spent the entire time watching old films of the Bears against the Packers and reading old newspaper clips from the Chicago Tribune.

Jim Dent is a good writer, but I would not put his Monster of the Midway in the same league as Jane Leavy's biography of Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy -- one of my favorite sports books. Leavy's work made me feel as if I had spent a September evening at Dodger Stadium sitting next to Sandy Koufax reliving his glory days. I did not get that type of feeling when I read Monster of the Midway.

Perhaps this is an unfair comparison. Part of the problem that Dent may have faced, primarily is that Nagurski is no longer with us, but also, there probably was not a whole lot said or heard about Nagurski for him to work with. The National Football League at the time was in it's infancy and nowhere near the media monster that it is today, or what Baseball was in the 1960's for that matter.

Regardless, I added this book to my collection because it is a good book. As a football fan, and a Bears fan in particular, I enjoyed this book and will cherish what I learned.

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