Reviews
Neal Rozendaal has written four books, and all of them have had sparkling reviews. Here are a few reviews of each of Rozendaal’s books.
The Women’s Football Encyclopedia
Lisa King, Director of Football Operations for the Women’s Football Alliance:
The Women’s Football Encyclopedia recognizes the pioneers of women on the gridiron, the thousands of women who have lived out their dream to play football. This book is unbelievable and truly a gift to women’s football.
John Konecki – Head Coach for Team USA Women’s Football (2010 & 2013):
I love it! This book blew my expectations away, by far. This encyclopedia is loaded with accurate statistics, and the level of detail is amazing.
Duke Slater
“[Duke Slater] should be on the bookshelf in every library in the state and in the private library of every Iowan…It is very well-written, extremely well-documented, and a joy to read.”
“It’s a wonderful book…I recommend it to everyone. It’s well-researched and well-written. Rozendaal has done an outstanding job.”
“Every football fan in the state of Iowa ought to latch onto this book. It’s one of those books you can’t put down once you get into it…If you’re into history at all, this is an absolute must-read.”
What It Means to Be a Hawkeye
Seth Roberts (Daily Iowan), 7/28/11:
“The real strength of the compilation is its range of contributors, from the wife of 1930s offensive end Erwin Prasse to Brad Banks, the closest Iowa has come to a Heisman Trophy since Chuck Long. Each author carries memories of his time with the Hawkeyes that are refreshing, novel, and sometimes downright hilarious…That’s why What It Means to Be a Hawkeye should be read. It’s a collection of stories that an Iowa football fan will devour and come away feeling as if he learned something about his heroes.”
“The reason I think it’s worth a look is it’s Iowa players from the 1940s to 2010 telling their own stories, what led them to come to Iowa, their memories and feelings about big and little moments in their careers. It’s people with some distance from the program who have a perspective about their college experience…These are good stories from people who describe far more than winning ballgames, and who have found real value in sports. It reminds us why we like this stuff.”
Hawkeye Greats, By the Numbers
“What these young authors have done is create a debate for the reader because they’ve made a judgment on whom they think is the greatest Hawkeye athlete at each of those uniform numbers with others that they considered at those numbers listed as honorable mentions. This means in many cases some football players are picked as the greatest over basketball players wearing those same uniform numbers and vice versa, all of which allows the reader to get in on the debate…Each of the author’s selections as the greatest Hawkeye at that uniform number is backed up by a detailed story of that player’s career with quotes on him from others like me. All of which makes for fun reading in a concept I’d never heard of before in a sports book.”
“The authors list jersey Nos. 1 through 50 and select the most outstanding Hawkeye to wear each number, along with honorable mentions for each. The authors don’t claim to be the last word. They published the book to have some fun and provoke discussion, and they hit the bulls-eye. Each of the 50 Hawkeyes chosen as the greatest gets several pages in the book, those who made honorable mention get shorter summaries. Each chapter is loaded with interesting anecdotes, facts, figures, photos, and illustrations.”