The Dynasty

By: Jeff Benedict

Narrated by: Todd Menesses

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Now a 10-part docuseries on Apple TV+

From the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of Tiger Woods comes the definitive inside story of the New England Patriots—the greatest sports dynasty of the 21st century.

It’s easy to forget that the New England Patriots were once the laughingstock of the NFL, a nearly bankrupt team that had never won a championship and was on the brink of moving to St. Louis. Everything changed in 1994, when Robert Kraft acquired the franchise and soon brought on board head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. Since then, the Patriots have become a juggernaut, making ten trips to the Super Bowl, winning six of them, and emerging as one of the most valuable sports franchises in the world.

How was the Patriots dynasty built? And how did it last for two decades? In The Dynasty, acclaimed journalist Jeff Benedict provides richly reported answers in a sweeping account based on exclusive interviews with more than two hundred insiders—including team executives, coaches, players, players’ wives, team doctors, lawyers, and more—as well as never-before-seen recordings, documents, and electronic communications.

Through his exhaustive research, Benedict uncovers surprising new details about the inner workings of a team notorious for its secrecy. He puts us in the room as Robert Kraft outmaneuvers a legion of lawyers and investors to buy the team. We listen in on the phone call when the greatest trade ever made—Bill Belichick for a first-round draft choice—is negotiated. And we look over the shoulder of forty-year-old Tom Brady as a surgeon operates on his throwing hand on the eve of the AFC Championship Game in 2018.

But the portrait that emerges in The Dynasty is more rewarding than new details alone. By tracing the team’s epic run through the perspectives of Kraft, Belichick, and Brady—each of whom was interviewed for the book—the author provides a wealth of new insight into the complex human beings most responsible for the Patriots’ success.

The result is an intimate portrait that captures the human drama of the dynasty’s three key characters while also revealing the secrets behind their success. “The Dynasty is…[a] masterpiece…It’s a relationship book, it’s a football book, it’s a business book…you’ll just eat up these stories” (Colin Cowherd).

author goes soft on the Krafts

this was a nice, single volume that captures the full history of the modern pats.

however, i nearly returned the book on multiple occasions due to the author's insistence on not challenging the Krafts.

first, the unchallenged Jonathan Kraft quotes: anytime Jonathan is quoted, the tone of the book shifts from "good writing" to "frat-boy story full of bravado meant to impress... who exactly?"

Example, he claims to have stood face-to-face with Bill Parcells to defend the honor of women and portray the Krafts as nothing but beyond reproach in their treatment of women. And in his version, Parcells virtually cowered away in fear. (riiiiiight!!!!)

Mind you, this is the same Jonathan who fired the entertainment director (cheer director) for daring to protect her team from his demands of skimpier outfits and white only music. The author let's him run with the narrative with zero challenge.

Despite many more examples, the next best example was the author WAY downplaying Robert Kraft's massage parlor arrest. He touches it near the end, but instead of giving both sides of the story, the author blatantly promotes the Kraft's preferred narrative that he was innocent--the author says the case was dismissed because the evidence was supremely flawed. The reality was he got out of the charges due to deficiencies on the initial warrant... NOT that the video evidence proved Kraft innocent. But the author frames the judge's decision ever so delicately to imply that the video evidence exonerated Kraft--not once balancing it with what the video actually portrayed.

The author, throughout, kissed the Krafts' ring and only passively challenged them. And he seems blissfully unconcerned of this.

If you can get past this kowtowing, the rest of the book was a good history of the pats. But if you've followed them for a while and are up-to-date on the actual newstories (not the sensational headlines), you'd still be hard pressed to explain why the author went so soft on the Krafts, while digging deep on Brady and Belichick and even Goodell. The author went way deep in his Tiger Woods book. And even in this book he also went deep on Ray Rice and Adrian Petersen.

But any Kraft controversy? "Oh, they were just a good honorable billionaire family that just weren't understood by the public."

Amazing book

This book provided a great behind the scenes look of the Patriots dynasty. Great read

great?

Good back. if you're looking for a tell all of success, this is it. if you're looking for the scandals, this is not the book for you. this is a book purely about the success of the new england patriots.

Patriots porn.

Decent overview of the Belichick and Brady era but the best story is about Robert Kraft. His dream of owning the team one day to his tough decisions along the way and his surprising realization of just how much the team meant to his and his family's life. This book was never meant to be a critical breakdown of how the greatest run in professional sports happened. It is an examination of the relationships, good and bad, that made this story so unique.

I could not put this down!

This long book is an outstanding narrative about the New England Patriots and their unparalleled 20 year dynasty in the NFL. The main character is Robert Kraft. The story of how he actually became the owner of the Patriots is as interesting as any part of the book. I am a Patriots fan, but knew little about this. Kraft, quarterback Tom Brady, and Coach Bill Belichick are the main characters in this true story of a football team. There are so many interesting subplots in this book. This was one of the year's best books. I loved it. It is one of my all-time favorite sports books, and NOT just because I am a Pats fan. (My other favorites are Bill Parcells: A Football Life and Yogi Berra: A Life Behind the Mask - both associated with teams that are Boston rivals). In The Dynasty, Benedict did a great job weaving the personal stories behind the scenes together with football action and controversies. While it is a long book, my only criticism would be that I wanted to know more about many of Belichick's on-field decisions, especially ones that ran counter to conventional wisdom. I see why the author chose not to make this longer. When I finished this book, I felt like I do after finishing a great epic novel, one which transports you to its world. I did not want to leave. This is sports writing at its best.