HOMEInstitutional Knowledge commentariesBioFilm rights, Screenplays, RepresentationOlympic Affair: Hitler's Siren and America's HeroTHE WITCH'S SEASONThird Down and a War to GoHORNS, HOGS, AND NIXON COMING'77: DENVER, THE BRONCOS, AND A COMING OF AGEMarch 1939: Before the MadnessPLAYING PIANO IN A BROTHELSave By RoyA Selection of Terry Frei's writing about World War II heroesThe OregonianThe Sporting NewsDenver PostESPN.comGreeley TribunePress CredentialsThey Call Me "Mr. De": The Story of Columbine's Heart, Resilience and RecoveryOlympic Affair: Chapter 1, Leni's VisitOlympic Affair: Chapter 15, Aren't You Thomas Wolfe?The Witch's Season Excerpt: Air Force Game, Bitter Protest, a Single ShotThird Down and a War to Go genesis: Grateful for the Guard, Jerry FreiHoneymooners Meet the Boys of SummerTommy Lasorda, the Spokane Indians, and My Summer of '70Smoke 'em inside: On Ball Four and Jim BoutonEarthquake at the World SeriesMosquito BowlOmnibus profile: Lt. Col. John Mosley, Aggie and Tuskegee AirmanA Year with Nick Saban before he was NICK SABANPhil Guardado and High Plains Honor FlightJon Hassler, Terry Kay and other favorite novelistsKids' sports books: The ClassicsBig Bill Ficke's Big HeartBob Bell's Food For Thought

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Welcome to the Home Page

 

Contact: terry@terryfrei.com

 

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Terry Frei's Bio

 Institutional Knowledge commentaries here 

 

Scroll down for Terry Frei's book catalog. For separate and more detailed book pages, click on covers or links below, 

or in the navigation bar at left. 

 

Archived journalism work highlights and other writing also can be accessed via the navigation bar.  

 

Screenplay and film rights information here. 

 Online ordering from ...

 

Amazon

 Olympic Affair 

Horns, Hogs, and Nixon Coming 

Third Down and A War to Go

  '77: Denver, the Broncos, and A Coming of Age

The Witch's Season (Exclusively)

Playing Piano in a Brothel

March 1939: Before the Madness

Save By Roy 

They Call Me "Mr. De"

 

Barnes & Noble 

Olympic Affair

Horns, Hogs, and Nixon Coming 

Third Down and A War to Go  

'77: Denver, the Broncos, and a Coming of Age

Playing Piano in a Brothel 

March 1939: Before the Madness 

Save By Roy 

 

Wisconsin Historical Society Press 

Third Down and a War to Go 

 

Globe Pequot Catalog

Horns, Hogs, and Nixon Coming (PB)

'77: Denver, the Broncos, and a Coming ofAge (HB)

'77: Denver, the Broncos, and a Coming of Age (PB) 

'77: Denver, the Broncos, and a Coming of Age: (e-book) 

Playing Piano in a Brothel (HB) 

Playing Piano in a Brothel (e-book)

Olympic Affair (HB)

Olympic Affair (e-book) 

March 1939: Before the Madness (HB)

March 1939: Before the Madness (PB) 

Save By Roy (PB) 

Save By Roy (e-book) 

 
       

 

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OLYMPIC AFFAIR (Fact-based novel)
 
"Give a talented journalist an engrossing storyline – especially a sports writer accustomed to the drama of games – and he will keep you mesmerized by the who, what, where, when and why of the unfolding adventure. And so it is with Terry Frei’s Olympic Affair. Set against the 1936 Berlin Olympics – remembered primarily for Jesse Owens’ four gold-medal performance and Adolf Hitler’s disdain for him – Frei focuses on the decathlon champion, America’s Glenn Morris, and his affair with the renowned German actress and Olympic film director, Leni Riefenstahl. It is, then, a compelling look at an historic sporting event and a love/sex scandal cloaked in intrigue and danger. Frei’s style is reporter/novelist, cleanly balanced between event and character, offering a panorama of human triumph saddened by failure."
--Terry Kay, Townsend Prize and Southern Emmy winner, author of To Dance with the White Dog and The Book of Marie
 
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(RIP, Terry Kay, who passed away December 12, 2020)
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

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THIRD DOWN AND A WAR TO GO (Foreword by David Maraniss)  
 
"Third Down and a War to Go will put you in the huddle, in the front lines, and in a profound state of gratitude -- not only to the Badgers and the hundreds of thousands of veterans like them, but to Terry Frei."
-- Neal Rubin, Detroit News 
 
 "Many times you hear athletes called heroes, their deeds and accomplishments on the field or court are characterized as courageous. After reading Third Down and a War to Go, I am embarrassed to have ever been thought of as brave or courageous. Enjoy this adventure in history, life, and in courage and take it from a so-called ‘tough guy’...keep the hanky close by.”
-- Dan Fouts, Hall of Fame quarterback
 
"Terry Frei has captured the spirit of a different time in this country, a time of faith in school and in country, a time of intense loyalty to teammate and fellow soldier. Third Down and a War to Go tells the story of one University of Wisconsin football team during World War II. But to limit the tale to that is like saying Angela's Ashes is about Ireland. This book brings to life, in shades of black and blue and blood red, the idea that certain things are worth fighting for."

--Rick Morrissey, Chicago Tribune

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Third Down and a War to Go page

 

 

 
 

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HORNS, HOGS, AND NIXON COMING

 

"One of the better -- and more readable -- books of social history published in recent years."

-- Paul Greenberg, Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial writer, Arkansas Democrat Gazette 

 

"A great story, well-told, with more delicious details than a linebacker could handle."

--David Hendricks, San Antonio Express-News

 

"Frei possesses the football expertise, an uncanny ability to buttonhook diverse personal anecdotes together and the appreciation for history to best tell this remarkable tale."

--John Moore, The Denver Post 

 

Horns, Hogs, and Nixon Coming page

 

 

 

 

 
 

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MARCH 1939: BEFORE THE MADNESS
 
"From humble beginnings, Oregon's ‘Tall Firs’ became the best basketball team in the country, helping to break the New York monopoly on an increasingly national game, and the NCAA tournament became an unstoppable financial juggernaut. Once again, Terry Frei has vividly captured a pivotal moment in history, for the world of college basketball and for a world about to go to war. The exploits on the court are enthralling not only for their drama, but held up for comparison against what the tournament has become today—as well as the danger lurking only a few years away."
-- Luke DeCock, sports columnist, Raleigh News & Observer 
 
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"Few writers are able to put sports into real-world context like Terry Frei. Reading March 1939 is like crossing ESPN with the History Channel. Frei brings the '39 Oregon Webfoots to life and takes us inside their victory in the first NCAA basketball tournament -- played as Germany and Japan marched the world (including a hesitant United States) to the brink of war."
--Steve Luhm, Salt Lake Tribune
 

 
 

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'77: DENVER, THE BRONCOS, AND A COMING OF AGE

 

"The games, the politics and the culture with which Frei deals here unfolded 30 years ago, but they're brought to life again in this book with a clarity and a luster that makes the story of Denver and the Broncos seem as fresh as the upcoming football season. It's a rite-of-passage tale for a city and a team as they reach and pass the cusp of the 'Big Time' in tandem. Would one have happened without the other? Maybe. But Denver and its football team grew up hand-in-hand during this extraordinary season, making this history a must-read for fans of the NFL, of the 1970s and of the American West. You didn't have to live through it in Denver to appreciate this account of the flowering of a franchise and its love affair with a town, but this book takes those of us who did straight back to those thrilling days of yesteryear in unforgettable fashion. Frei has written Denver's version of `Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning.'" 

-- Michael Knisley, Senior Deputy Editor, ESPN.com


'77: Denver, the Broncos, and a Coming of Age page

 

 

 
 

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THE WITCH'S SEASON (Novel)

 

“Events carry the story forward swiftly, and that alone would make it a good read. But Frei has a larger point to make. It’s during times of upheaval, when the very foundations of normalcy are being shaken, that personal courage, honor and the willingness to stand fast on principle matter most. All of the central characters in Frei’s story will have to decide whether to make that stand, and if so, how to make it. Frei has written three nonfiction books, most notably Horns, Hogs, and Nixon Coming. This book proves he can write fiction too.”

—Ken Goe, Portland Oregonian
 

 
 
 

 
 

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PLAYING PIANO IN A BROTHEL

 

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“For every story, there’s a story behind the story, and Frei’s book captures hundreds of them. Frei provides never-before-read tales of legendary athletes, monumental events and games behind the games, as well as his own opinion of newspaper sports journalism as a whole—and its future . . . A must-read for every sports fan.”

—Doug Ottewill, Mile High Sports Magazine

 

Playing Piano in a Brothel page 

 

 

 

 
 


 
Collaborations include ...   
 
 
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