Men of Troy: The Legendary Afternoons, Wild Nights, and Enduring Legacy of Pete Carroll's Usc Trojans

From a New York Times bestselling author, a deeply reported account of how the USC Trojan football team captivated the sporting world in the 2000s.

The University of Southern California received thousands of calls, emails and letters in 2001, after hiring former NFL coach, Pete Carroll, to resurrect its moribund program. Carroll was a "failure," a "fraud," and a "flake" according to USC boosters, the fans in Los Angeles and the college football cognoscenti. But by the middle of the decade, he had turned USC into a legendary juggernaut, with multiple Heisman Trophy winners and national championships.

In Men of Troy, Monte Burke, provides the definitive account of this singular dynasty, based on original reporting and more than 150 new interviews. Burke illustrates how Carroll and his colorful cast of coaches and players--including cross-eyed quarterback turned national heartthrob, Matt Leinart, and the electric, generational running back, Reggie Bush--not only took over college football, but Los Angeles and the country, as well.

Burke not only takes readers through the iconic games of the era, but also behind the scenes--in the locker room, on the recruiting trail and into the LA nightlife scene, where the players enjoyed their celebrity status and, at times, succumbed to illicit temptations. He also puts the dynasty in proper context, tracing the breathtaking rise of the program, the sudden and inglorious fall, and the scandal that left a program in ruins and precipitated the drastic changes that led to the current era of college football.

Author: Monte Burke
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 01/13/2026
Pages: 448
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.40lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.30w x 1.60d
ISBN: 9781538772584


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 01/01/2026

About the Author
Monte Burke is the New York Times bestselling author of "Lords of the Fly," "Saban," "4th and Goal," "Rivers Always Reach the Sea" and "Sowbelly." He has been chosen for Barnes and Noble's "Discover Great New Writers" program and has won an Axiom Award for biography. His books have been named to "best of the year" lists by Sports Illustrated, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, the (London) Times and Amazon. After a 14-year stint as a reporter, staff writer and editor at Forbes, he is now a contributing editor at the magazine. He is also a contributing editor at Garden & Gun and The Drake. You can reach him via Twitter (@monteburke), Instagram (@monteburke13) or through monteburke.com.