Since 2006, Whitman Publishing of Atlanta has been issuing football vault books, a series of richly produced, slipcase-bound memorabilia volumes focusing on the major college football factories. To date, coverage has been exclusively on Southeastern Conference schools, but forthcoming editions are promised for Texas and Notre Dame (and presumably others). The latest, Auburn University Football Vault: The Story of the Auburn Tigers, 1892-2007, follows true to form, with fascinating archival and gorgeous color photos wedded to gung-ho text, the entire package studded with nostalgic reproductions of game-day tickets, programs, mini-pennants and similar ephemera. Former Auburn publicist and athletic director David Housel provides the copy, which charts the early years of the Alabama school’s longstanding football program, then moves through the decades with fan-like fervor, recounting the tenures of great coaches (Shug Jordan, Pat Dye, etc.), the contributions of great athletes (Bo Jackson, Pat Sullivan et al.) and the team’s high-water marks and disappointments. It’s a veritable treasure-trove for impassioned Auburn fans (of which there are many) and a terrific example of the high-quality work in Whitman’s uniquely attractive ongoing efforts.
Valiant Women is a vital and engrossing attempt to correct the record and rightfully celebrate the achievements of female veterans of World War II.
