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The Vikings Reader Armand Peterson Table of Contents EVENTS: 11/21/09 Apple Valley, MN 12/12/09 Blaine, MN PRESS: MPR interview Sports Literature Association review Star Tribune review VikingsGab.com interview VikingsTailgate.com OTHER: Armand Peterson talks about his earliest Vikings memories, his Game Day routine, and of course, Brett Favre, on the University of Minnesota Press blog.		$25.95 cloth/jacket ISBN: 978-0-8166-5337-9
Relive fifty years of glory and defeat as a Minnesota Vikings football fan The Minnesota Vikings are one of pro football’s most successful franchises, with seventeen divisional championships, twenty-five postseason berths, and four Super Bowl appearances to their name. Yet as any Minnesotan can attest to, life as a Vikings fan can be a maddening affair—while the Vikings were the first team to appear in four Super Bowls, they were also the first to lose four Super Bowls. Armand Peterson’s The Vikings Reader is the fascinating, yard-by-yard chronicle of fifty years of Vikings football from the perspective of the sportswriters and other commentators who were there as the stories unfolded. Through a wide range of regional articles, national columns, and book excerpts—all framed by Peterson’s own insightful narrative—this impressionistic history invites readers to relive such defining moments as: • Fran Tarkenton’s four touchdowns as the Vikings beat the Chicago Bears in their first game on September 17, 1961 • the inspirational “40 for 60” team of 1969 and the Vikings’ first Super Bowl appearance • the dominance of the 1970s, the vaunted “Purple People Eaters” defense, and three more crushing Super Bowl defeats • the 1998 Vikings’ NFL scoring record, led by Cunningham, Carter, Moss, and Smith • roller-skating cheerleaders, the “Last Great Tailgate Party” at Met Stadium, ownership controversies, and Adrian Peterson’s single-game rushing record • classic reportage from Jim Klobuchar, Sid Hartman, Frank Deford, Patrick Reusse, Peter King, Jim Murray, and many others From the early days of Fran Tarkenton to the rushing records of Adrian Peterson, from the bleachers of Met Stadium to the locker rooms of the Metrodome, The Vikings Reader revels in the plays that have brought generations of purple and gold fans to their feet—or left them groaning in their seats—and brings Vikings football to life for fans everywhere. “This is the best collection of purple prose I've ever read, a rich and varied account that ends—like so many operatic Viking seasons—too soon.” —Steve Rushin “I have no doubt in my mind that Vikings fans (new or old) will enjoy reading this, and I have nothing but positive things to say about it.” —Nam Huynh, Minnesota Sports Zone “Perfect for any Minnesota football fan. Readers can seemingly go back in time with the words of the players who said them and writers who wrote them and get as close of a glimpse as possible of Viking’s glory and failure. . . . All fans will enjoy Peterson’s travels through time. I wish I read a book like this when I was younger so I could have had a better perspective on the 1998 team. In fact, I recommend it for any fan born around that time.” —Oakdale Lake Elmo Review “Fans of the Vikings will love The Vikings Reader. It’s a must have, must read for everyone who has ever followed the Minnesota Vikings.” —Examiner.com Armand Peterson is a retired engineer and the coauthor of Town Ball: The Glory Days of Minnesota Amateur Baseball (Minnesota, 2006). 376 pages | 56 b&w illustrations | 6 x 9 | 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface 1. The Dutchman and 36 Stiffs: The Birth of the Vikings 2. 40 for 60: Bud Grant Builds a Powerhouse 3. Super Losers: Championship Seasons and Big Game Disappointments 4. The Magic Bounces Away: The Difficult 1980s 5. A New Sheriff in Town: Dennis Green Restores Winning Ways 6. Purple Pride: An Offense for the Ages 7. All Day Long: New Owner and New Stars Publication History

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