The Lion in Autumn: A Season with Joe Paterno and Penn State Football.

The title, The Lion in Autumn, could evoke a picturesque view of the Lion Shrine, framed by the changing leaves. Maybe one thinks of the Nittany Lion mascot sprinting out on to the field on a brisk fall day in Happy Valley. Or maybe instead of the Lion, it is arguably Penn State's most noticeable icon, Coach Joe Paterno, running out on to that same field.

Perhaps more appropriately, the title refers to that legendary coach, in the twilight of his storied career, with the end nearly in sight. The fall months of his tenure are changing, much like the leaves in Happy Valley will as the season rolls along.

Frank Fitzpatrick's book, which went on sale Sept. 12, takes a look at Joe Paterno -- the coach, and the man -- during the tumultuous 2004 football season. Fitzpatrick, now covering the football team for The Philadelphia Inquirer, took a less than conventional look at Paterno and the Lions, following the team during a dark hour in the program's history.

"The dynamics change during a losing season; you can see the warts on the program more easily," Fitzpatrick said of the Lion's 4-7 campaign. "You can sense the frustration from the coaches, the players, even the fans."

That frustration, which has been creeping through the program for the better part of the decade, is starting to overwrite, for some, the glorious past of the Blue and White. Fitzpatrick illustrates how that past success is starting to catch up with the aging Paterno in the introduction. Paterno, attempting to rearrange a trophy shelf, was struck by the 12-pound Timmie Award, given by the Washington Touchdown Club for the Coach of the Year in 1986.

The frustration mounting on a team with its coach being "clobbered by his past," as Fitzpatrick said, is also been felt by those who look for answers within the program. The Lion in Autumn was unauthorized, giving Fitzpatrick very limited access to the team. Like all media members, Fitzpatrick relied on Tuesday press conferences with Paterno and the standard post-game interviews.

"It's extremely frustrating, when writing the book with limited access, when what you hope to be selling is access," Fitzpatrick said.

Making sure to gather any information he could from fellow media sources and traveling to all of Paterno's fundraising events and appearances, Fitzpatrick was able to piece together more in-depth stories, like the trophy incident. He was also privy to some coveted one-on-one interviews with Paterno to flesh out the book. The stories he searched for were about Paterno the man, not just the icon that has been portrayed.

"There have been enough hackographies written about him," Fitzpatrick said. "I wanted to see him as a real person -- you can see the warts on him."

The book weaves in and out of the glory days to last year's disappointment, giving small "nuggets" of the standard Paterno lore: from his players always wearing socks policy, to his propensity for recruiting great players, a la Dan Marino, as linebackers. But then it snaps back into the reality of a program that has seen only one winning season this decade, and the off-the-field mishaps not usually associated with a Paterno team.

Fitzpatrick's limited peek into the world of Penn State football shows readers the state of the 2004 season -- struggling, haunted by its past and shrouded in secrecy.

Whether Paterno is still heading into the winter months of his career, or the goal-line stand that preserved the win against Indiana in 2004 will bring the Lions back to the glory days, has yet to be seen. In the meantime, Fitzpatrick hopes The Lion in Autumn gives "an interesting juxtaposition between the glorious past and their struggles at present."