Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty

Boys Will Be Boys, author Jeff Perlman’s rollicking, completely unabashed account of the glory days of “America’s Team”—the NFL Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s—was a New York Times bestseller in hardcover and selected by GQ as one of the Best Books of the Year. The uncensored exploits of Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, and the rest of the ’Boys on and off the football field, Boys Will Be Boys makes for riveting, shocking, often wildly hilarious reading.

They were America's Team—the high-priced, high-glamour, high-flying Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s, who won three Super Bowls and made as many headlines off the field as on it. Led by Emmitt Smith, the charismatic Deion "Prime Time" Sanders, and Hall of Famers Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin, the Cowboys rank among the greatest of all NFL dynasties.

In similar fashion to his New York Times bestseller The Bad Guys Won!, about the 1986 New York Mets, in Boys Will Be Boys, award-winning writer Jeff Pearlman chronicles the outrageous antics and dazzling talent of a team fueled by ego, sex, drugs—and unrivaled greatness. Rising from the ashes of a 1–15 season in 1989 to capture three Super Bowl trophies in four years, the Dallas Cowboys were guided by a swashbuckling, skirt-chasing, power-hungry owner, Jerry Jones, and his two eccentric, hard-living coaches, Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Together the three built a juggernaut that America loved and loathed.

But for a team that was so dominant on Sundays, the Cowboys were often a dysfunctional circus the rest of the week. Irvin, nicknamed "The Playmaker," battled dual addictions to drugs and women. Charles Haley, the defensive colossus, presided over the team's infamous "White House," where the parties lasted late into the night and a steady stream of long-legged groupies came and went. And then there were Smith and Sanders, whose Texas-sized egos were eclipsed only by their record-breaking on-field perfomances.

With an unforgettable cast of characters and a narrative as hard-hitting and fast-paced as the team itself, Boys Will Be Boys immortalizes the most beloved—and despised—dynasty in NFL history.

“It’s tempting to call Boys Will Be Boys the real-life sequel to North Dallas Forty. But in fact, it’s more than that. With immaculate reporting, Jeff Pearlman has constructed a marvelous rise and fall narrative. Here’s the truth about America’s team delivered in a profane page-turner—entertaining, enlightening, and where you least expect it, inspiring. Put another way: This book rocks.” - Mark Kriegel, New York Times bestselling author of Pistol and Namath

“The Cowboys of the 1990s had everything: great players, great characters, great parties, great hair. Now, finally, they have the great writer to tell their story. Jeff Pearlman has written a rip-roaring book filled with terrific reporting and vibrant prose. To appreciate football’s modern era in all its crazy glory, you’ve got to read Boys Will Be Boys. It’s a flat-out winner.” - Jonathan Eig, New York Times bestselling author of Opening Day and Luckiest Man

“Jeff Pearlman is an insider’s insider. With vivid details that place you in the Dallas huddle – and in the team hotel rooms - Pearlman expertly peels the hedonistic layers off the unforgettable characters of the dynastic Cowboys, taking you on a raucous and reflective joyride behind the color, chaos and karma of America’s team in the ‘90s.” - Selena Roberts, columnist, Sports Illustrated

“Just when I thought I knew all the inside info from the glory days of the ‘90s, along comes Jeff Pearlman with this look back. A truly great read.” - Randy Galloway, columnist, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“A gritty, no-holds barred portrait.” - Barry Horn, The Dallas Morning News

“Jeff Pearlman does a masterly job of exposing the ‘90s Cowboys as shameless frauds and adulterers, sex addicts, and drug fiends.” - John Gonzalez, The Philadelphia Inquirer