Friday Night Lights Pathfinder
[Dewey number: 796.332 BIS]
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 [ The Book | The Reaction | Related Sites ]


Some questions for reflection:
  • 1. Describe the town of Odessa, Texas: location, population, local economy, entertainment, cultural events, environment, etc.
  • 2. World events: what were the main current events in the U.S  and the world in the late 1980s---list 5 events (political, economic, cultural)

    •         (Go to Web links)
  • 3. Compare Permian High School with Redwood High School. View both school's web sites and compare/contrast in terms of academics, student activities and student newspaper articles.
  • 4. Describe what was happening in the Middle East oil countries during the late 1980s and how the U.S. was involved.

    •         Check back issues of Time and Newsweek magazines. Use the Readers' Guide for 1987, 1988, 1989 and look under United States--Foreign relations--Middle East, United States--Foreign relations-Persian Gulf region and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
            See Britannica Book of the Year for 1989 and 1990 (REF 031 BRI)
  • 5. What was popular with teenagers in the late 1980s---what type of music, movies, entertainment, fashion?

    •         American Decades 1980-1989 (REF 973.9 AME 80's)
            Check library's shelves at 973.927 and 973.928
            Check back issues of Time and Newsweek magazines.
            (Go to Web links)
  • 6. What impact did the book Friday Night Lights have on Odessa?

    •         (Go to Web links)

    The Book and It's Author

    Friday Night Lights - http://www.dacapopress.com/fridaynight/
    From the publisher of the book, Da Capo Press, this web site has links to the afterword to the 10th edition, and address to the National Association of Independent Schools by the author, H.G. Bissinger, teacher testimonials and a short bio of the author.
    Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060974060/002-6153604-5812856
    This is the page Amazon.com has developed for this title. Includes editorial (print) as well as personal (customer) reviews. You are encouraged to add your own review to the database.

    Reaction to the Book

    Friday Night Lights: Ten Years Later - http://www.oaoa.com/specialsections/fridaylights/fridaylights.htm
    This is a series of articles which appeared in the Odessa American, a newspaper in the town of Odessa, Texas, the locale of the book. The series ran in 1998, ten years after the book was first published. Article titles are as follows: Wounds are still tender; ECISD academics improve; Book's impact on Odessa; Local reactions after 10 years; Odessa economy is changing; Players make their marks; Where are the players, coaches; "Hoosiers," "Friday Night Lights"; "Friday Night Lights" film shelved; and Author finds success.
    Friday Night Lights: The Rest of the Story - http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Loge/2631/friday.html
    This personal web site discusses football at Permian High School, the setting for the book.

    Related Sites

    Friday Night Lights Not Completely Popular - http://www.detnews.com/2001/college/0105/11/college-220701.htm
    An article about high schools having football games on Friday nights and college teams playing on Saturday. Not all agree that it should be scheduled that way and the NCAA recently rescinded a rule that restricted the playing of games after 7 p.m. on Fridays.
    "Friday Night Lights" Football in Small Town America - http://www.cornbeltsports.com/football/fridaynightlights.html
    An article about high school football in the "corn belt."
    Permian High School - http://www.ecisd.esc18.net/per/default.htm
    The Web site of the school in Odessa, Texas documented in the book.
    U.S History-1980-1999 -  http://redwood.org/library/20th_cent.htm#1980-1999
    The library's list of links to Web sites about the last two decades of the twentieth century.
    History: USA: 1980's - http://www.ku.edu/history/VL/USA/ERAS/20TH/1980s.html
    Year by year index of links to web sites about the 1980s from the end of Jimmy Carter's presidency to the first George Bush presidency and the war against Iraq. (WWW-Virtual Library)
    History: USA: 1990-2000 - http://www.ku.edu/history/VL/USA/ERAS/20TH/1990s.html
    Index to the last decade of the twentieth century. Includes links to site about the Persian Gulf War and the adminstration of Bill Clinton. (WWW-Virtual Library)
    American Cultural History 1980-1989 - http://www.nhmccd.edu/contracts/lrc/kc/decade80.html
    "The purpose of this web and library guide is to help the user gain a broad understanding and appreciation for the culture and history of the 1980s.  In a very small way, this is a bibliographic essay.  While there is no way we can link to everything, we have attempted to find areas of special interest and to select information that we hold dear today - movies we still watch, songs we sing, food, events that move us, people we admire."
    Yahoo! Odessa Metropolitan Area - http://local.yahoo.com/?spid=9255392
    Yahoo's directory to the area in Texas where Permian High School in located.
    Return to the Redwood Cybrary English Page
    Created by the Webspinner: October 17, 2002.
    Tom Kaun, Library Media Teacher -- The Bessie Chin Library @ Redwood High School, 395 Doherty Drive, Larkspur, CA 94939 -- 415.945.3662