Hell-Bent: The Crazy Truth About the "Win or Else" Dallas Cowboys

A Dallas fan will find it fascinating to learn about the myriad of interwoven relationships, some sweet and smalltown, others downright adulterous, that make up the infrastructure of "America's Team".

If you didn't like Barry Switzer as a coach then you may not even like him as a human after reading this tell-all. After all this amazing team has accomplished in the nineties, the one most remarkable feat may be the survival of the Jerry Jones-Barry Switzer era however short it was.

One final note; If you come away from reading this book with any shread of respect for Larry Lacewell I suspect you may be a regular viewer of the Jerry Springer show. Get this and read it.


Not a book for Cowboy Fans!   September 24, 1998
All I can say is, if you like the Cowboys, don't buy this book. It's a hard look at the the nonsense that goes on behind the scenes. It will give a good parent chills to think that their child might actually look up to some of those people. A must read for anyone with an interest in the fact behind the front. And remember, just because you disagree with something doesn't mean it isn't valid. Good job, Mr. Bayless.


A little more football please, and a little less gossip!!   March 11, 2002
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

This book wasn't nearly as good as Skip Bayless's book 'The Boys', for one big reason: 'The Boys' focus was mainly on what happened on the field. This book is filled with unsubstantiated rumors, and gossip (from questionable sources I might add). Worst of all, this keeps Bayless from discussing what an incredible season the Cowboys had. For example: in discussing the opening day win (on Monday Night Football) over the New York Giants Bayless doesn't even mention Emmitt's (Smith) first carry of the season: an up the middle 60+ yard touchdown run that was spectacular because Smith smoked the Giants secondary. He also fails to mention Prime Times (Deon Sanders) awesome interception against the Raiders (leaping over the top of Rocket Ishmail while running stride for stride with him).............and on and on. He also failed to mention that Jay Novachec was out late in the season (getting his knee surgically repaired), and how this affected the teamýs performance. (I mean lets face it as much respect as I have for Kevin Williams, that offense was a 2 receiver offense.) Bayless preferred to lay the blame of the late season slump at the feet of the alleged conflict between Troy Aikman and Barry Switzer.
Later in the book is a chapter on the cowboy's "family secrets" and Bayless reports all sorts of unfounded rumors and half-truths about many Cowboys. At one point Bayless claims he knew all about the "real" Michael Irvin but choose not to report on it because what he was doing wasn't "breaking the law, and certainly hasn't affected his performance". Well Skip why are you reporting it now? Hmmmmmmmmm? Buying drugs, (which Irvin later pleaded no contest to) isn't illegal?
I will give Bayless credit for giving Barry Switzer more respect as a football coach than probably anyone else. Everyone who knows anything about football knows the man's a good coach. (3 National titles, 4th highest win percentage in college football history, and oh yeah, a world championship with Dallas.)
Overall this book would interest you only if you are more interested gossip than football.


A Very Entertaining Book   September 23, 1998
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This book gave some great insight to the Cowboys (mostly Jerry, Barry & Troy) and their situation with Jimmy Johnson & Barry Switzer. Comical at times, it kept me wanting to read on. Although this team is almost always in the media, this book gave insights that you would never hear about on the radio or TV. I enjoyed it thoroughly. The only thing that I didn't enjoy is the fact that it felt a bit too much like hearing gossip from a friend who knows too much.


Skip's Bent Views   June 6, 2001
Kevin Lynn (Sewell, NJ)
A very intersting book for Cowboys fans. The access that Bayless was given during this championship run gives readers a unique insight about the ups and downs of a football season. However, as in his two previous books, Bayless makes himself too much of a part of the story, trying to make it seem as if he's more important than he really is. He also continuued a pattern of going overboard with innuendos, in this case potentially damaging the reputation of Troy Aikman. Skip always thinks it's necessary to combine football with National Enquire type material, and in this case it ruined what had the potential to be a great book and essentially ended his career in Dallas and on ESPN.