Rob Ruck is a professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh. His documentaries include The Republic of Baseball: Dominican Giants of the American Game. He has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Salon, and other publications and is the author of Tropic of Football: The Remarkable and Bittersweet Rise of Samoans in the NFL (The New Press). He lives in Pittsburgh.
[T]his book shines a new light on football’s past and present. . . An engaging sociological study for football fans of all levels.
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
A fascinating investigation into the role of football in American Samoan culture and the role of Samoans in American football. . . . A penetrating probe into one of the most intriguing and misunderstood sporting stories of our time.
