A good read. The author did a good job of intertwining stories from different people into one coherent narrative. The chapters go back and forth between Army and Navy and the author uses this to compare and contrast the cadets for both schools. It then follows the graduates into their roles in WWII. Overall, an easy to understand read with interesting insights to some of the soldiers who fought to stop Germany and Japan. ( )

Interesting story about the origins of college football, through the eyes of the Native Americans brought to the Carlisle School to learn the ways of the white man. Especially of interest is to realize that while the Native Americans of Carlisle were fighting the cadets of West Point on the gridiron in football, it was their fathers who fought in a very different way in the Indian wars of the Plains. The football stories also point out just how unregulated, and just how brutal the game was during those formative years. ( )

This is absolutely one of the best sports history books I’ve ever read. Sally Jenkins tells the full history of the Carlisle Indian football team, truly an amazing part of football history.

The Carlisle Indian Industrial School was opened by Lt. Col. Richard Henry Pratt in 1879. Pratt had been the Superintendent of a prison for Indians incarcerated during the various outbreaks of violence on the plains where he taught Indians to read and write and believed they were every bit the equal of white men. When Pratt opened the school, some of the students were sons of the very same men imprisoned by the U.S. government under Pratt, and in fact some of the students were essentially hostages of the U.S. government. Pratt believed that through education, discipline, and adoption of white man’s ways, that Indians could fully succeed in the growing American nation. While horribly paternalistic, it was enlightened for the times, as Pratt firmly believed Native Americans were every bit the equal of white men if given the chance to succeed.

Once the school opened some of the students became enamored of a new game evolving, American football, then dominated by the Ivy League schools, especially Yale and Harvard. Pratt agreed to put together a team called the Carlisle Indians, and eventually hired Glen “Pop” Warner to be its head coach. The school opened its inaugural football season in 1895, when they went 4-4 despite being robbed by the referees in some games. Given a very small recruiting pool and the violence of the game in that era, Pop Warner eventually made an undersized, and often undermanned team competitive with the likes of the dominant Yale, Harvard, and Army teams of the era.

The team soon had one of the most famous athletes in American history, Jim Thorpe. Jenkins does an excellent job of providing a mini-biography of Thorpe in this book and what he meant to the school. Thorpe was a somewhat eccentric, fun loving, even lazy character but his athletic prowess was amazing. Jenkins does an fantastic job of exploring Thorpe and the way Pop Warner got the best out of him, most of the time.

This book succeeds on many, many levels. First, it acts as a history of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and the regime of Pratt. It fully places this amazing football team within the context of its times and what it meant for a team, all Native Americans, to be facing and competing equally with the scions of high society, and military teams, on the football field. She also puts the football team into the context and mission of the school itself, which was to instill education and discipline among its students, and how the team gave the school an additional reason to be proud. In fact, the team’s successes, and even its character when being cheated against by referees, was proof of Pratt’s philosophy and a showcasing of the proud, smart, solid character of its students.

Second, it acts as a biography, of sorts, of Glen “Pop” Warner and his unique coach-player relationship with the often recalcitrant Jim Thorpe. Warner was able to get the best out of Thorpe, and is the man who shepherded him to his gold medals in the Olympics. Further, Jenkins brings out how Warner was an innovator in the game, loving trick plays, but also devising strategies to take advantage of the smaller but speedier Indian teams against larger foes in an era when smashing into the line of scrimmage and sheer brawn and violence was the norm.

Third, she brings the team and drama to life in some of its biggest accomplishments and its biggest games. Maybe the most storied game of the Carlisle Indian team was its defeat of Army in 1912, only 22 years removed from the Army massacre of Indians at Wounded Knee. The Carlisle team featured Jim Thorpe, and the Army team included Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Indians won and had a great trick play. Read about it.

Finally, she follows the later careers of the players on this team. Some went on to serve in the U.S. military, including World War I. Others became successful in law or business. Yet others went home and become militant agitators for Indian rights. Not something Pratt had in mind, but their independence and intelligence was also something instilled in them at Carlisle.

This is a fabulous, well researched, and well written history of a forgotten team. It is a piece of history that goes beyond sports and beyond football. I highly recommend it.



( )

In The Real All Americans author Sally Jenkins tells the history of the founding of the Carlisle Indian School and its famous football team.

Founded by Lt. Col. Richard Henry Pratt in 1879, the Carlisle Indian School was a misguided attempt to help the Native Americans cope with the ever encroaching white man. Pratt was disgusted at the ill use the Native Americans experienced at the hands of the Indian Bureau, but felt the best way to help was to separate children from their families, strip them of their culture, and try to teach them employable skills. Out of this experiment, the school started a football team which become legendary. Coached by Pop Warner, the team was a national force to be reckoned with and had players such as the legendary Jim Thorpe. Yet, like the school itself, the team is largely forgotten in history and their accomplishments rarely discussed.

An episode of Radiolab about football prompted me to pick up this book. Though enjoyable, I felt the story lacked in comparison to other good sports histories that I've read (The Boys in the Boat for one). Jenkins tries to tell the whole history of the team and the history surrounding the school, but there lacks a central driving conflict. I never get the sense of a dramatic climax. I'm not sure if that is because there isn't one main event that is focused on or if there isn't enough exploration of different rivalries and conflicts. Still, with the dramatic nature of sport, I guess I was hoping there would be something more.

I did enjoy learning about a team that I think is largely neglected in history, as well as school which had good intentions but horrific methods. The brutality of early football was also fairly fascinating. I would recommend this to fans of the game who want to know more about its early history. To the casual reader though, it might seem a bit tedious. ( )

"Whenever I see one of those All America teams I cannot help but think what an eleven could have been selected from those real All Americans who blazed such a trail of glory." (Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner, referring to the football players at the Carlisle Indian Industiral School. The Real All Americans, p. 295)

This is the story of the end of an era for Native Americans told through the story of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and its football team, its trials and triumphs, but it is much more than that. It is also the story of Richard Henry Pratt, the man who brought the school into existence and was its Superintendent for most of the school's life. Finally, it is the story of the beginnings of football and an inventive coach, "Pop" Warner.

Jenkins skillfully weaves toegether all of these stories, using the additional stories to place the story of the school and its team in the broader context of history. Through the story of the conquest of the Native Americans and the story of Richard Henry Pratt, Jenkins explains the mood of the times and the kind of thinking that lead to the creation of the school. Through the story of the school and its football team, she also tells the history of early football and its first professional coach, "Pop" Warner. Along the way, she constantly sets the whole story in the broader context of history, setting scenes as the story moves through time by mentioning the current political and social issues, new inventions and fashions. The one minor issue with the book is that it moves back and forth in time, and it was occasionally difficult to keep track of the timeline.

The Real All Americans is a book of history, but does not read like a history book. It is highly recommended for those intersted in the history of Native Americans, the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, or football.

Sally Jenkins has written several best-selling books, including It's Not About the Bike with Lance Armstrong. She is a journalist for the Washinton Post, winning awards for her work. She has had work featured in magazines including Sprots Illustrated and GQ. She has also been a correspondent on CNBC and NPR's All Things Considered.