Barbara M. reviewed on 8/10/2019 + 151 more book reviews

The author has some writing skills. The first chapter was very descriptive about how people were dressed, etc. It read like a novel and, in fact, I questioned if it was a novel (it's not). The first chapter was engrossing. However, it bogged down in the second chapter when the author decided it was necessary to provide background on Dr. Omalu and his life as a young boy in Africa. As other reviewers (on Amazon) have noted, this part of the book was less interesting. Also, as other Amazon reviewers mentioned, this seemed to be more of a biography than a book about concussions in football. The author wrote about Omalu's quest to become a success in America which meant having nice, expensive clothes, watch, car and home.

I had heard of Dr. Cyril Wecht, Omalu's mentor, because I watch true crime shows and Dr. Wecht is sometimes involved in a case that is featured. However, I don't know that the court case (which started in chapter one) where Omalu reluctantly testified against Wecht really brought anything relevant to the story of Omalu's concussion research.

The most interesting parts of the book were the stories of the football players and boxers who had significant changes in behavior, apparently from repeated head blows, and the NFL's unwillingness to admit that football could be responsible.

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