iUniverse would like to announce the release of Into the Fire by John Owen

Dec. 29, 2009 - PRLog -- For more information contact:
John Owen
410-956-8068
rainfisher@usa.net
www.john-owen.net

Never Back Down; Never Give Up
The story of the 2007 Naval Academy football team

There is no story more essentially American than that of the underdog who refuses to give up, and who triumphs in spite of overwhelming odds.  This is the story of the 2007 Naval Academy football team, who every week took the field against teams that were bigger, stronger, and had dramatically larger recruiting bases than they did.  But Navy had determination, heart, and the legacy of American Sailors and Marines that gave them a willingness to pursue victory, no matter the odds.  Into the Fire: A Season of Navy Football, Fortitude and Faith, by John Owen, is the story of Navy’s historic 2007 season, told from the author’s perspective and experience as the team chaplain.

While Owen touches on Navy football history, season statistics and game highlights, it is the players themselves that he brings to life, and the challenges they have accepted as future commissioned officers and leaders of our nation’s Navy and Marine Corps.  The book is constructed around the weekly inspirational messages that Owen offered to the team prior to every pre-game meal.  Around this framework Owen interweaves what happened on the field with stories and observations of the players and events that unfolded off the field, out of public view.  

“Each week, I did my best to put their experiences as football players into the larger context of their preparation as future officers of Sailors and Marines,” Owen recalls.  “For most college football players, practice is the hardest part of their day.  But for these guys, the twenty-one hours that they spend off the field each day are where they work even harder, and encounter even greater challenges.”

The book follows the unfolding of the season, with each chapter recalling a particular game.  After providing a glimpse of the lead-up to each game, Owen shares the thoughts he shared with the team, and then provides a “game wrap” of the some of the highlights—and heartbreaks—of the game.

“I wanted to help readers remember the excitement of the season,” Owen says.  “Especially the amazing moments and thrilling wins like the triple-overtime victory over Notre Dame.  But more than that, I wanted to tell the story of this amazing group of guys, and hopefully inspire others with their courage, their determination, and their stories.”

Into the Fire reflects the fighting spirit constant faithfulness of Sailors and Marines throughout history, embodied by the football players at the United States Naval Academy.  For college football fans, it is college football at its purest and most exciting.  For people of faith, it is a collection of devotional lessons that demonstrate how personal faith can inspire and elevate individuals to exceed expectations, and achieve the unthinkable.  And for all Americans, it is a glimpse into the lives and spirit of the next generation of young men and women who will lead our country’s armed forces into an uncertain and perilous future.

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