Hardcover
272 Pages, 5.45 x 8.47 x 0.97 in
September 24, 2007
0385525001
9780385525008
From the Publisher
Rick Dockery was the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland
Browns. In the AFC Championship game against Denver, to the
surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually got into
the game. With a 17-point lead and just minutes to go, Rick
provided what was arguably the worst single performance in the
history of the NFL. Overnight, he became a national laughingstock
and, of course, was immediately cut by the Browns and shunned by
all other teams.
But all Rick knows is football, and he insists that his agent,
Arnie, find a team that needs him. Against enormous odds Arnie
finally locates just such a team and informs Rick that,
miraculously, he can in fact now be a starting
quarterback. Great, says Rick-for which team?
The mighty Panthers of Parma, Italy.
Yes, Italians do play American football, to one degree or another,
and the Parma Panthers desperately want a former NFL player-any
former NFL player-at their helm. So Rick reluctantly agrees to play
for the Panthers-at least until a better offer comes along-and
heads off to Italy. He knows nothing about Parma-not even where it
is-has never been to Europe, and doesn't speak or understand a word
of Italian.
To say that Italy-the land of opera, fine wines, extremely small
cars, romance, and Football Americano- holds a few
surprises for Rick Dockery would be something of an understatement.
From the Jacket
"Enthralling." -People
"Score another one for Grisham...This is a fish-out-of-water tale
that perfectly suits his strengths as a storyteller." -USA
Today
"A light-hearted story of football, food and love." -Richmond
Times-Dispatch
"Football in Italy? Who knew? Grisham means to have a sweet time
with this story of a fallen NFL quarterback. And he does."
-Daily News (New York)
"Delightfully comic...a deeply satisfying story." -The Boston
Globe
"Charming...the author's love letter to Italy." -Publishers
Weekly
About the Author
Bestselling novelist John Grisham is a former lawyer and politician. He was born in Jonesboro, Ark. in 1955. He was admitted to the bar in Mississippi in 1981 after earning his law degree from the University of Mississippi, specializing in criminal law. While a lawyer in private practice in Southaven, Miss., Grisham served as a Democrat in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1983 until 1990, when Paramount Pictures paid him $600,000 for the film rights to his second novel, The Firm (1991). With this success, he retired to write legal thrillers full-time. Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill (1989), was written mornings before work and is based on his reaction to the testimony of a real-life preadolescent rape victim. It took him two years to finish and three years to get 5,000 copies published. However, the critical acclaim of The Firm led to the republication of A Time to Kill in 1992. Since then, it has sold more than 8.6 million copies and lasted 80 weeks on the bestseller list. First editions of the work are now worth almost $4,000 each. Since 1991, Grisham has published a book a year. He is a prolific writer-- he began writing The Firm the day he completed A Time to Kill. All his books are works of suspense, featuring a lawyer as the chief character and involving complex conspiracies and controversial legal issues such as the death penalty and lawyer-client privilege. His books include The Pelican Brief (1992), The Client (1993), The Chamber (1994), The Rainmaker (1995), The Runaway Jury (1996), The Partner (1997), The Street Lawyer (1998), and The Testament (1999).