Newton’s Football: The Science Behind America’s Game
by Allen St. John and Ainissa G. Ramirez, Ph.D., 2013

The writing style is reminiscent of Freakonomics, and the book is very well-written. I did find a lot of the science-references to be silly and forced, but they didn’t detract much from the exposition. The book has great insights into the evolution of the sport, with injury-prevention playing a heavy role.

I particularly liked all the references to Bengals players. I didn’t take a full survey, but I think Bengals’ coaches and players were discussed more than members of any other team. Greg Cook, Sam Wyche, Bill Walsh, Ken Anderson, and Boomer Esiason all feature prominently in various stories. The authors did a good job of incorporating interviews from both football and science experts into the book.