If These Walls Could Talk: San Francisco 49ers: Stories from the San Francisco 49ers Sideline, Locker Room, and Press Box

First of all, I'm a lifelong Cowboys fan. Please, don't stop reading. Since watching The Catch as a 9 year-old kid and the epic NFC Championship battles between the Cowboys and 49ers in the '90s, I've secretly, painfully admired the latter team (while my love of the former has waned...). Memories remain of those Sunday afternoons in the '90s, of sunny, muddy Candlestick Park; the crispness of the blocking and hitting; all the supreme athletes, legends, and personalities on one field... it really was too much. But what happened since then? I know what has (not) happened to my Cowboys; but what about my guilty pleasure that is the 49ers? Let's all forget the late '90s into the 2000s, nothing to see there, and move on to where Matt Barrows' book, If These Walls Could Talk, picks up (we'll talk some other time about how Amazon knew to toss this book across the recommended reading list in my account)...If you love football and want to know how great teams are built and the personalities, backstories, effort, and sometimes silliness involved; you will read ITWCT in a day. And that's coming from a guy who last read a book a couple of years ago (something about sapiens or climate change) over the course of a couple of years. Every chapter has such a purpose, but it's not cookbook. Barrows' writing is not self-indulgent (like this review); it doesn't get in the way of telling a rollercoaster (as he puts it) of the Niners story in the 2000s. You read about both the larger than life and quiet (respectively), heroes like Justin Smith or Alex Smith -- things that only a writer embedded in the team for almost two decades could glean. And then the new generation of Niners freaks (me having admired them from afar), swoop in and out throughout the book: Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman, Joe Staley, Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, Aldon Smith, ?Michael Crabtree leading to the current crop of badasses -- Kittle, Bosa, Garapo.Rich, detailed, and rolling. Barrows' writing flows like video and you can tell he has cultivated trusting relationships with the players he writes about. The highlights of ITWCT for me include:- rebuilding the team in the 2000s and the players who had to endure it (Staley, Smith)- the Harbaugh era and the building momentum of the franchise culminating in the epic Saints 2011 playoff game chapter. I recommend supplementing this chapter with the highlights of the game on youtube: one truly appreciates how well the author has described just how hardcore and punishing this game was. It reminds me of the upstart Cowboys team in the '93 NFC Championship game finally overcoming their nemesis, but I digress...- more of the good stuff from Barrows in the 2013 NFC Championship game against Seattle, giving new color to the term "blood, sweat, and tears."- how the current Lynch-Shanahan regime came to be, in their own wordsThis reader is left satisfied at how the Niners are going, as a product of where they've been. My only wants from Barrows' book would be even more behind-the-scenes details of the two most mystical figures, fleeting as they may have been, of the Niners this century: Harbaugh and Kaepernick. Perhaps a 2nd volume is in order?

I really enjoyed this book!I grew-up a Washington Redskins fans, but we had a 49ers fan in the house. So it was all Joe Theisman and Joe Montana at home and in neighborhood football games when I was a kid. While that makes me a closet 49ers fan, I don’t normally read a lot of books about that team. This book caught my eye, given the author (Matt Barrows) has been embedded with the team for so long. I’ve read Barrows’ stuff for years when he was with the Sacramento Bee, and more recently in his time with The Athletic. Well, Barrows delivered again, as this book combines a real insider’s view on the 9ers — some of this I knew, and some of it was new to me, but all of it was fascinating to read (given Barrows’ unique vantage point). Add in Barrows’ typical witty and easy-to-read style, and you end-up with a book any football fan would probably enjoy reading.

This is a great read for 49ers fans and actually football fans in general. It looks at the 49ers in the 21st century and consists of a chronological compilation of stories that are detailed by the players and coaches. From Dennis Erickson to Kyle Shanahan and everyone in-between, you get a fly-on-the-wall perspective of what went down, why, and what effect it had on everyone. As a diehard Niners fan who follows them religiously, there's no way the details that are in this book get spilled in everyday reporting. The thinking behind drafting Alex Smith over Aaron Rodgers, the intensity and dedication of Frank Gore, Nolan and Singletary's deficiencies at understanding/developing a QB, Harbaugh's mentality, and so many other events. These are all stories that can be told only by an insider and Barrows certainly has been covering the Niners for a long time. Great job, Barrows!

This is a great quick read about some of the years of the San Francisco 49ers. Not too deep, but enough fun stories to make a fan feel like they have insider information. The highs and lows were on display. Deep political issues were avoided. Probably best, that is a book in itself, and is still playing out. I especially like that Joe Staley is a big part of the book. I will miss him for a long time to come. He made the right personal choice for his family but he was a great stablizing force on the team for a lot of yeare. The book came out at a perfect time to remind me how and why I have followed this team for 35 years. Thanks.

I ordered this book after my 49ers Fanatic Friend urged me to do so. I wasn't disappointed. Although I grew up as a Washington Football Team Fan, I love reading about the innerworkings and behind the scenes stories of NFL Players and Coaches and this collection of narratives from Barrows absolutely delivered. His unique and hilarious writing style kept me flipping the pages. I really hope he writes another one soon as this was a fantastic read.

Must read for any 49er fan or anyone interested in a behind-the-scenes look at a professional sports franchise. The biggest moments of the franchise’s successes and storylines over the past 20 years are told with the knowledge and insights only available to someone like Matt Barrows. He’s the best journalist that covers the team, and he’s a heck of an entertaining writer. Great read!

It’s not the most memorable time frame for 49ers fans, but those were some good moments. Love Barrows’ reporting in general, and his storytelling was great here.

I figured I’d read one chapter before bed ... and ended up reading half the book in one sitting. I always wondered why the Niners took Smith over Rodgers, now I know (though I can’t say I agree). Some good yarns, some mysteries solved, some excellent strolls down memory lane.

Matt Barrows relata la historia de los San Francisco 49ers desde 2003 hasta la temporada 2019, el periodo de tiempo que lleva este periodista cubriendo la actualidad del equipo. Se compone de once capítulos, siendo la campaña 2011 la gran protagonista del libro con cinco de los mismos. Aquel año los 49ers rompieron años de frustraciones en una sorprendente temporada que les condujo hasta un paso de la Super Bowl.El libro es fácil de leer y engancha en todo momento. Va salpicando los acontecimientos que vivimos en el campo y que conocemos todos con anécdotas de fuera del mismo que resultan en algunas ocasiones sorprendentes e incluso hilarantes.Lo considero una lectura muy recomendable para los fans del equipo como forma de rememorar bonitos recuerdos y para ganar una mayor apreciación de los hombres que levantaron la franquicia de unos años muy malos: Frank Gore, Joe Staley, Patrick Willis y Justin Smith.Eso sí, es un libro que para ser de un 'insider' se queda bastante en la superficie y no aborda los temas más escabrosos de la franquicia en estos años. Me he quedado con ganas de saber más sobre la relación fallida entre Jim Harbaugh y Trent Baalke, acerca de las idas y venidas del propietario Jed York, las caídas de Colin Kaepernick y Aldon Smith y como el mismo autor comenta, la espectacular campaña 2019 apenas recibe unas pocas páginas por estar completamente fuera de plazo de lo marcado con la editorial. Quién sabe si para una segunda parte...

A good read, but I found disappointing that it did not even mention the more controversial,and potentially most interesting, events of the 49ers tenures he is describing, such as the leaving of Smith,and more importantly, the Colin Kaepernick story.

La couverture du livre a des marques de stylo dessus. Le livre est censé être tout neuf. Je ne peux plus l'offrir car c'était censé être un cadeau d'anniversaire pour demain ! Je demande à être remboursé. Merci