New Release Books by Tom Coughlin with David Fisher

60 plantations owned by my cousins. 30 in Georgia! I'm from Massachusetts and surprised to find Rebels in my family tree. My background is much more "Irish need not apply" than "Johnny Reb"! And what I found was not just one or two Rebels but any army of them. JFK in his book "Profiles in Courage" wrote about one, L.Q.C. Lamar. Confederate (CSA) battle markers honor two fallen cousins at the battlefield at Crampton's Gap, Maryland. Outside of Charleston, S.C. there is a "Fort Lamar" at the Secessionville battlefield. One Lamar helped the rebel cause before the war got started, when as a Wall Street bank entrepreneur he was legally buying guns for GA and SC from the Federal arsenal. Another wrote the articles of secession for Mississippi. He then went on to raise and commanded a company of Confederate soldiers from Ole Miss, the university where he taught and later went on to serve as Confederate Ambassador to France. The banker who bought the guns, after the war started, founded and ran a blockade running company and his son, who was a firebrand, came to a fitting end as the last Confederate officer killed in battle. This last-to-die fellow was the same one whose ship had run the U.S. and British slave blockade before the war with the slave ship Wanderer, which after unloading its hapless cargo was seized and the ensuing trial in Federal Court produced a written record ensuring that it was often written about, including at least one book "The Slave Ship Wanderer". Damned, the more I researched, the more Confederates I found! And after growing up in New England around people whose families traced back to the colonial days of America and thinking that with my Irish roots I wouldn't be able to trace back much past my great-grandfather, I suddenly found that my middle name was key to discovering tons of family history dating the earliest days in America. Rapper Kendrick Lamar, Senator Lamar Alexander, NBA's Lamar Odom, NFL's Lamar Jackson and Lamar Miller, MLB's Lamar Johnson and Bill Lamar, Superbowl founder Lamar Hunt all share the name Lamar. As a first name, Lamar has received widespread acceptance as some of these indicate. The name links directly back to the first Lamar in America whose entry to Maryland in 1663 is on record there. His direct descendants went on to own sixty plantations by 1860. I'm the author, Tom Lamar Coughlin, a Massachusetts-born descendant of the immigrant, Thomas Lamar. With years of research I've uncovered tales that I know to be unique and interesting, all about the members of this early immigrant family which has been extensively involved in the settlement and growth of the United States with a heavy emphasis on the plantation south and their involvement in the Civil War. My feelings about those slave owning ancestors is strong and while not holding their history against them, I condemn them for pushing the country into a Civil War to maintain slavery, a rejected and repudiated system of forced labor that was at that time being banned in most other countries around the world. With so many Lamar owned plantations I was not surprised to find cousins with DNA links to both plantation owners and slaves (or sharecroppers after the war). I was able to locate several of those cousins and writ about that. My efforts to reach out to African-Americans with the last name Lamar has not been the success I would have liked. While I expect someday to find some black Lamar with an interest in history and the origin of their family name, I know and understand that pleasant memories are few and far between because it links directly to a period when Africans in America were very poorly treated. I continue to reach out to black Lamars to hear their stories and perhaps this effort that may just lead me to my next book. It has been my goal to make these stories very interesting but I don't subscribed to the theory of "Never let facts get in the way of a good story". My goal is to entertain accurately. TLC

A top NFL coach offers leadership advice that applies from the field to the office Tom Coughlin led the New York Giants to two Super Bowl victories with his unique system of relentless preparation and resilience. He teaches his players that you can never guarantee a win, but you can always earn the right to win-with focus, hard work, and anticipation of obstacles. Now Coughlin shows how his teachings apply beyond the gridiron, illustrating his points with previously untold stories about players like Eli Manning, Doug Flutie, and Michael Strahan. His wisdom can help leaders in any field rev up their own organizations. 'Tom Coughlin challenged us and prepared us to handle anything that was thrown at us ... The lessons I learned from him weren't limited to football. They were applicable to every aspect of my life' -Michael Strahan Tom Coughlin is one of the most successful coaches in NFL history. Before winning two Super Bowls with the New York Giants, he coached the Jacksonville Jaguars for nine seasons, leading them to two appearances in the AFC Championship Game. David Fisher is the co-author of seventeen New York Times bestsellers.

After a tough 2006 season, the New York Giants appeared to be heading for more disappointment–and potential shake-ups–in the coming season. Instead, they fought their way to an unforgettable Super Bowl finish against the previously undefeated New England Patriots. In A Team to Believe In, head coach Tom Coughlin gives the ultimate insider’s account of the Giants’ 2007 campaign and reflects on the resilience and selflessness that allowed the team to succeed. Behind the saga of persistence and on-the-field triumphs, however, is the story of how Coughlin, a proud and intensely private man, often mischaracterized by the press as a strict disciplinarian, has continually made subtle adjustments to his approach to the game and to the new players. Whether giving the right speech for the right occasion, drawing media criticism away from his players, or fostering team unity with offbeat events and smartly timed relaxed curfews, Coughlin approached the season willing to make the necessary changes to his management style–and the team followed. In gripping detail, Coughlin takes us on the Giants improbable 2007 journey: the tough staffing and free-agency decisions; the early-season setbacks that again placed the team in the media’s crosshairs; late-season near misses, comeback victories, and goal-line stands; the play-off march through Tampa Bay and Dallas and the overtime victory against Green Bay in the subzero cold of Lambeau Field; and the amazing two weeks that ended with Super Bowl XLII. Along the way, Coughlin explains what life experiences prepared him for the season’s challenges and what lessons helped his team achieve a string of improbable victories. The 2007 New York Giants are an inspiring example of team and trust, hope and perseverance, and A Team to Believe In is the thrilling story of their astounding underdog season. From the Hardcover edition.