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What: “Butkus: Flesh and Blood” by Dick Butkus and Pat Smith. Doubleday.

Price: $22.95 (hardcover).

If only Dick Butkus had written this book as he played the game--on the edge of abandon--it would be a compelling read.

Or perhaps that’s an unreasonable expectation. So, instead, it’s a nice book by a seemingly nice guy.

Ouch. “Nice guy?” Somewhere a Chicago Bear fan is wincing at the the thought of that.

But why not? It seemed reasonable enough in those Lite beer advertisements of the 1970s.

It’s a nice cruise through his life. There doesn’t seem to be that much inside information on the life of Butkus. For the most part, the reader is left wanting more.

One notable exception is his depiction of “Papa Bear” George Halas. Butkus’ contractual battles with Halas were fairly well publicized at the time, but the specifics of the negotiations presented here provide an intriguing look at negotiations of a different era.

As revered as Halas is, Butkus does a great job of portraying him as a hard businessman. Not a mythological figure and not an evil man. Just a hard businessman.

Another exception is his description of his various injuries and the team’s hideous approach to helping heal his wounds.

“Every player who has ever put on a jersey and pads has experienced fear,” he writes. “The trick is to feel the fear and rise above it. The only way I know to do that is to get good and mad. Anger defeats fear every time.

“From the Romans to the Native Americans to the U.S. Marine Corps, the battle cry remains the primary method of pushing the fear down so far the whimpering can’t be heard. On the football field there was no one louder than me.”

The book needs more moments like that.

Then it would be something to shout about.