Philadelphia Eagles' starting quarterback Michael Vick has gotten some heat in recent days due to his new book - an autobiography entitled Finally Free. He has at least temporarily cancelled a book-signing tour due to death threats. Now ESPN's LZ Granderson is criticizing the Pro-Bowl quarterback for the title of his book - Finally Free.
From reading the article, it appears clear that Granderson has yet to read the book, as he focuses all his attention on the title of the book and not the content inside of it. He says:
"So giving the book that title -- even in the context of serving 18 months in federal prison -- was a colossal miscue because it gives the impression that Vick's punishment was an unjustified obstacle that had to be overcome. The title gives the impression that it was something thrust upon him, something he's not responsible for. And based upon the testimony from the trial, nothing could be further from the truth (and I'm not even a dog person)."
Like I said, the guy seemed to solely focus on the title, giving me the impression he hasn't read a page of the book. Angela Guzman of the religious site Beliefnet.com, reviewed the book and wrote the following:
"There is no point in the book where Vick excuses his animal cruelty conviction or tries to gain validity fro his actions; he knows that he did wrong and openly says throughout the book that he has made a lot of mistakes but those mistakes made him into a better man."
and
"Whether you believe he's a changed man or not, Vick has walked the walk to redemption. He is involved with several charities and organizations for great causes. And more importantly he's found his connection with God again. Who are we, the public, to judge whether or not he's finally free? He did the time for the crime(s) he committed. Only God can judge whether or not he's finally free."
I haven't read the book and I doubt I will, but will take Ms. Guzman's word over Mr. Granderson's, given the fact she's obviously read the book and he has not. While I fully admit I kind of cringed when first seeing the title of Vick's book, after reading Ms. Guzman's review, I have to wonder if the words Finally Free deal more with the quarterback finally freeing himself of all that led him to make the very poor decisions he did which led him to prison for 18 months and less with being free from prison itself, or if the title is ambiguous in that Vick has finally freed himself from his own mental and emotional prison while also being freed from actual prison. In any case, while on first look, I didn't think the title was a good move by Vick, upon thinking about it more, I have a feeling both Mr. Granderson and I were inaccurate with our initial interpretations. Until either of us read the thing, though, perhaps it would be best for both of us to follow that old rule of not judging a book by its cover.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9048264/michael-vick-book-miscue
http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Books/A-Review-on-Michael-Vick-Finally-Free.aspx
From reading the article, it appears clear that Granderson has yet to read the book, as he focuses all his attention on the title of the book and not the content inside of it. He says:
"So giving the book that title -- even in the context of serving 18 months in federal prison -- was a colossal miscue because it gives the impression that Vick's punishment was an unjustified obstacle that had to be overcome. The title gives the impression that it was something thrust upon him, something he's not responsible for. And based upon the testimony from the trial, nothing could be further from the truth (and I'm not even a dog person)."
Like I said, the guy seemed to solely focus on the title, giving me the impression he hasn't read a page of the book. Angela Guzman of the religious site Beliefnet.com, reviewed the book and wrote the following:
"There is no point in the book where Vick excuses his animal cruelty conviction or tries to gain validity fro his actions; he knows that he did wrong and openly says throughout the book that he has made a lot of mistakes but those mistakes made him into a better man."
and
"Whether you believe he's a changed man or not, Vick has walked the walk to redemption. He is involved with several charities and organizations for great causes. And more importantly he's found his connection with God again. Who are we, the public, to judge whether or not he's finally free? He did the time for the crime(s) he committed. Only God can judge whether or not he's finally free."
I haven't read the book and I doubt I will, but will take Ms. Guzman's word over Mr. Granderson's, given the fact she's obviously read the book and he has not. While I fully admit I kind of cringed when first seeing the title of Vick's book, after reading Ms. Guzman's review, I have to wonder if the words Finally Free deal more with the quarterback finally freeing himself of all that led him to make the very poor decisions he did which led him to prison for 18 months and less with being free from prison itself, or if the title is ambiguous in that Vick has finally freed himself from his own mental and emotional prison while also being freed from actual prison. In any case, while on first look, I didn't think the title was a good move by Vick, upon thinking about it more, I have a feeling both Mr. Granderson and I were inaccurate with our initial interpretations. Until either of us read the thing, though, perhaps it would be best for both of us to follow that old rule of not judging a book by its cover.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9048264/michael-vick-book-miscue
http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Books/A-Review-on-Michael-Vick-Finally-Free.aspx
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