Let me start by saying that I do not play Fantasy Football. I do watch some NFL games, but I am by no means a hard-core football fan. I am however, a hard-core reader. I confess that I did not think I would like this book before I started reading it. After the first few pages, however, I was hooked.

Here was a very readable story, a story that was laid out in such a way that I wanted to follow it to its end. As I read through the story I was introduced to a number of characters that I am still interested in. I also feel as though I got to know the author a little bit. Here is a guy that was crazy enough to quit his job to pursue Fantasy Football yet sane enough to remain “committed” to the most important things in his life.

I think he was able to achieve his stated goal of introducing me, the reader, to the world of fantasy football in such a way that I am interested in perhaps joining a league next year.

He also told me something about his wife and his friends, all of whom sound very real and very “normal”. In short, he shared something of his life with me, a perfect stranger.

I must give a warning though, there were times while reading this book that I laughed so hard I had to stop reading. It hurt my back for me to laugh that hard. Even though I knew I was in for some physical pain, I still read the book cover to cover.

You know how it is when someone insists on telling you about their Fantasy Football team? What if it was their Fantasy Team from three years ago? That’s where this book gets a bit cumbersome for me but if you are interested in what it’s like to be insane about Fantasy Football this is a good read.

It’s a fun book and an excellent first effort by a pretty talented writer. Definately worth a read and the perfect “vacaction” book.

I saw the author (St. Amant) in a funny segment on ESPN’s “Cold Pizza” and picked up the book that afternoon…and finished it by the following evening. Literally couldn’t put it down, and this is no thin paperback (it’s 300 pages, plus some funny appendices). The tone is personal, self-deprecating and humorous; the information about the rise and explosion of fantasy football, and why so many millions of people are obsessed with it, is enlightening and interesting; the tips and strategies for “newbies” of the hobby are helpful; and the best part, the story – St. Amant quit a great job to play fantasy football full-time because he’d never won his local fantasy footbal league before and had grown tired of being “always a bridesmaid” (which, sadly, all of us can relate to in one way or another) – is original and outrageous; finally, his sarcastically funny wife, who lets him quit in the first place, is a saint.

His no-holds-barred, participatory immersion into this exploding national subculture made me think of him as a sort of “crazy grandson of George Plimpton,” with hints of Exley’s “A Fan’s Notes,” what with the sports obsession themes. While it’s not exactly a “how-to-win-your-league” textbook, I’m glad it wasn’t; there are plenty of those dry, one-season-only manuals out there already. Instead, “Committed” is the first book of its kind on fantasy football (or fantasy sports, for that matter), a timeless, must-read for fantasy football fans, for sure, but also for sports fans in general, for the wives and girlfriends of these sports/fantasy nuts, or anyone who just likes to kick back on a plane, a beach or under a blanket with a quick, smart, original, hilarious tale that reels you in from the start. GET. THIS. BOOK. TODAY. I’m eagerly anticipating St. Amant’s next book, be it fantasy sports or otherwise…

Edit to add that I picked up the paperback and it has a hilarious new epilogue, priceless stuff! even though I read the hardcover only a year ago, I re-read it in the softcover version, cover-to-cover, all in about two days. Fantastic, hilarious, true, accurate, original, and entertaining, even the second time around. I look forward to the next book, Mr. St. Amant!