Pittsburgh Steelers: Fans Must Read "The Ones Who Hit the Hardest"

As an avid reader, I'm always on the lookout for a new book that can capture me. As a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, I'm always looking to learn more about the team that I grew up watching, loving and rooting for every week in fall and winter.

My friends and family have considered me somewhat of an expert on the team and its history, particularly when it comes to the early days and the 1970s. I was curious what The Ones Who Hit the Hardest could bring to my knowledge base.

Let me tell you this: I was floored by how much I didn't know.

With this book, Chad Millman and Shawn Coyne have done a masterful job at creating a history of one of the proudest eras in the history of any NFL franchise. They've also used the games and team as a vehicle to explore the dark side of employment and industry in the 1970s, when some of the production that the city of Pittsburgh was built on was in decline.

This book includes a ton of information that's never been easily accessible before. There's great information about Chuck Noll and the Rooney family, the life of an NFL player in the 1970s. If you've ever heard someone tell you that it was "a different time back then," this book will make every NFL fan believe it.

But it doesn't end at the gates into Three Rivers Stadium. The book has a ton of great historical attention paid to the city itself. The book includes the rise and fall of the steel industry and gives new life to the legend of how the Steelers' success saved a city that was in a deepening depression.

The book isn't just about the Steelers either. It takes a look at their arch-nemesis, the Dallas Cowboys, as well. The book will give Steelers fans a very different look at Dallas and also make you revisit how you feel about Tom Landry, the legendary Cowboys coach.

The book reads quickly and is well worth the time for any fan of Pittsburgh, the Steelers or American history. Coyne even ties in his family history to give the story an extra dose of reality.

If you're looking for some late summer reading, check out The Ones Who Hit the Hardest. It's available now in paperback!