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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
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I’ve long been a fan of David Maraniss since he wrote When Pride Still Mattered: A Life Of Vince Lombardi some years ago. A Madison, Wisconsin native, Maraniss has a day job in Washington but writes biographies on the side. Path Lit by Lightning is his 12th book. Coincidentally, this biography of Jim Thorpe is coming out just weeks after Thorpe made the news once again, when his Olympic titles were returned to him officially and his records added to the books.
Thorpe was a Native American who was sent to the Carlisle Indian School, one of many institutions in this country that attempted to assimilate the indigenous population and get them to follow the white man’s rule. The school, which taught all ages, was well-known for it’s sports teams, competing against ivy league colleges every season.
Jim Thorpe was not a great student, and he hated school so much that he ran away several times. But when he found sports, his life changed. It turned out that not only did he like sports, he excelled at everything he tried. Under the teachings of Pop Warner (yes, that Pop Warner that all those younger kids’ football leagues are named after) That would lead Thorpe to the 1912 Olympics, where he competed in both the pentathlon and the decathlon. Can you imagine a modern-day athlete competing in BOTH competitions?
About six months after the Olympics, it was “discovered” that Thorpe played minor league baseball for pay prior to the Olympics. I say discovered because no one actually hid the fact that Thorpe played ball; he played under his own name and was in the newspapers all the time. At first Olympic officials said there was nothing to be done because any dispute must be made within 30 days of the games, and it was well past that. But there was pressure from several amateur organizations so Thorpe’s Olympic medals and trophies were taken away from him, despite the fact that other countries regularly paid their “amateur” athletes to train.
David Maraniss does a deep dive into Thorpe’s life, giving great detail to every period of Thorpe’s life. I mean, really deep dive. This is a hefty book with massive amounts of detail, and at times, it did bog down the book. Thorpe’s life is well-documented through the many newspaper stories throughout his playing career in major and minor league baseball, the birth of professional football, and the many odd jobs Thorpe held once his playing days were over. While I appreciate the detail, at times I found myself skimming sections because it was too much.
The author doesn’t have to do much to show the racist feelings against Jim Thorpe and his fellow Native American athletes. It’s really cringing to read some of the excerpts from the newspaper reports of the time. I can’t imagine what it was like to be on the receiving end of such bile. Throughout his life, Thorpe would also use his heritage by saying he didn’t know any better, he was just a poor, ignorant Indian, whenever things didn’t go his way. Maraniss portrays a sympathetic look to Thorpe and his plight, showing how white men repeatedly put him in his place, or screwed him over.
It was sad to read of Thorpe’s nomadic lifestyle after he left the Carlisle Indian School, and how little time he spent with his wives and children. I know the time he spent away from his family was because he was trying to earn money to support them, but he often gave away or drank away his earnings. Other times, he was simply cheated out of money by broken promises from whatever team owner convinced Thorpe to play in their league. After a while of reading about the same pattern over and over again, I found myself skimming those sections because it was heartbreaking.
As sad as Path Lit by Lightning is at times, it’s also a good look at how the world treated indigenous people a century ago, and how far we have come, and how far we still have to go. And in case you were wondering where the title of the book came from, Path Lit By Lightning is the rough translation of Thorpe’s Indian name. Pretty accurate if you ask me.
I’ve long been a fan of David Maraniss since he wrote When Pride Still Mattered: A Life Of Vince Lombardi some years ago. A Madison, Wisconsin native, Maraniss has a day job in Washington but writes biographies on the side. Path Lit by Lightning is his 12th book. Coincidentally, this biography of Jim Thorpe is coming out just weeks after Thorpe made the news once again, when his Olympic titles were returned to him officially and his records added to the books.
Thorpe was a Native American who was sent to the Carlisle Indian School, one of many institutions in this country that attempted to assimilate the indigenous population and get them to follow the white man’s rule. The school, which taught all ages, was well-known for it’s sports teams, competing against ivy league colleges every season.
Jim Thorpe was not a great student, and he hated school so much that he ran away several times. But when he found sports, his life changed. It turned out that not only did he like sports, he excelled at everything he tried. Under the teachings of Pop Warner (yes, that Pop Warner that all those younger kids’ football leagues are named after) That would lead Thorpe to the 1912 Olympics, where he competed in both the pentathlon and the decathlon. Can you imagine a modern-day athlete competing in BOTH competitions?
About six months after the Olympics, it was “discovered” that Thorpe played minor league baseball for pay prior to the Olympics. I say discovered because no one actually hid the fact that Thorpe played ball; he played under his own name and was in the newspapers all the time. At first Olympic officials said there was nothing to be done because any dispute must be made within 30 days of the games, and it was well past that. But there was pressure from several amateur organizations so Thorpe’s Olympic medals and trophies were taken away from him, despite the fact that other countries regularly paid their “amateur” athletes to train.
David Maraniss does a deep dive into Thorpe’s life, giving great detail to every period of Thorpe’s life. I mean, really deep dive. This is a hefty book with massive amounts of detail, and at times, it did bog down the book. Thorpe’s life is well-documented through the many newspaper stories throughout his playing career in major and minor league baseball, the birth of professional football, and the many odd jobs Thorpe held once his playing days were over. While I appreciate the detail, at times I found myself skimming sections because it was too much.
The author doesn’t have to do much to show the racist feelings against Jim Thorpe and his fellow Native American athletes. It’s really cringing to read some of the excerpts from the newspaper reports of the time. I can’t imagine what it was like to be on the receiving end of such bile. Throughout his life, Thorpe would also use his heritage by saying he didn’t know any better, he was just a poor, ignorant Indian, whenever things didn’t go his way. Maraniss portrays a sympathetic look to Thorpe and his plight, showing how white men repeatedly put him in his place, or screwed him over.
It was sad to read of Thorpe’s nomadic lifestyle after he left the Carlisle Indian School, and how little time he spent with his wives and children. I know the time he spent away from his family was because he was trying to earn money to support them, but he often gave away or drank away his earnings. Other times, he was simply cheated out of money by broken promises from whatever team owner convinced Thorpe to play in their league. After a while of reading about the same pattern over and over again, I found myself skimming those sections because it was heartbreaking.
As sad as Path Lit by Lightning is at times, it’s also a good look at how the world treated indigenous people a century ago, and how far we have come, and how far we still have to go. And in case you were wondering where the title of the book came from, Path Lit By Lightning is the rough translation of Thorpe’s Indian name. Pretty accurate if you ask me.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
I enjoyed this detailed bio but like many other biographers, the author would repeat information which I find annoying and even insulting! I can remember details, thank you very much! Lol maybe that’s the editor’s fault.
informative
sad
slow-paced
Listened to the book and learned a lot from the author. Much detail is not found in other Jim Thorpe stories. Well researched. Another tragic sports icon.
DNF at 66%. It seemed like every fact within 6 degrees of Jim Thorpe was wedged into this book.
Woof. This was a marathon.
I am not typically a sports or non-fiction person, so when Larry talked it up to me and let me borrow his copy, I was interested, but worried I'd fizzle out before I finished. Even though it took me more than 10 months, I can now say I know more about the history of an American icon- including all his troubles and celebrations. This work dives deep into the history of American football (which was surprisingly interesting), the Olympic games, and America's (and the World's) treatment of Indigenous people throughout the life of one of the greatest athletes of all time.
I am not typically a sports or non-fiction person, so when Larry talked it up to me and let me borrow his copy, I was interested, but worried I'd fizzle out before I finished. Even though it took me more than 10 months, I can now say I know more about the history of an American icon- including all his troubles and celebrations. This work dives deep into the history of American football (which was surprisingly interesting), the Olympic games, and America's (and the World's) treatment of Indigenous people throughout the life of one of the greatest athletes of all time.
(3.5 stars)
I've been a huge fan of Jim Thorpe ever since I read about him when I was a kid. I mean, the guy won the decathlon at the Olympics AND played professional football AND play professional baseball. Are you kidding me? And then the tragedy of having his Olympic medals taken from him for playing a little minor league baseball during the summers to support himself? An injustice! Terrible! Bogus! (even by the rules of the time. A charge had to be made within 30 days of the award, but Thorpe was charged 180 days afterwards. This didn't stop the IOC from taking away his medals. Grr...)
This is an okay biography of Thorpe, definitely extensive. Perhaps its greatest strength is the amount of sheer research that went into the book. Mr. Maraniss sets several records straight during the course of the book that had been overlooked by others simply due to poor research. There is also a lot of background material which helps fill in Mr. Thorpe's life and legacy.
Avery Brundage, who was a teammate of Thorpe's at the Olympics comes in for scathing criticism. Mr. Brundage went on to become a part of the International Olympic Committee and eventually its president, refusing for his entire life to even consider giving Thorpe his medals back.
The book has a couple of flaws in my view. First, Mr. Maraniss harps repeatedly on how Indians were treated and written about during Thorpe's years. A sample headline when Carlisle, the school for Indians, won a football game might read something like "Redskins Torch Harvard," stuff like that. My problem with it is that Mr. Maraniss writes from the benefit of history, not from within Thorpe's own time, so his constant harping on this stuff gets tiresome and exhibits a sort of chronological snobbery that isn't necessary.
The other flaw is that the book is just too long. Mr. Maraniss did so much research it seems like he wanted to put literally EVERYTHING in the book, which makes it long and at points tedious. I mean, after his sporting career, Mr. Thorpe's life didn't go so well. He bounces around from place to place basically looking for money to live off of. All well and good, but we don't need hundreds of pages of this, at least in my view. Indeed, Mr. Maraniss for some odd reason decides to describe the movie about his life "Jim Thorpe-All American," scene by scene. Really? Is this necessary.
At any rate, it is a good book about a hero of mine and I would certainly make the argument that Thorpe was the greatest overall athlete that America has produced.
I've been a huge fan of Jim Thorpe ever since I read about him when I was a kid. I mean, the guy won the decathlon at the Olympics AND played professional football AND play professional baseball. Are you kidding me? And then the tragedy of having his Olympic medals taken from him for playing a little minor league baseball during the summers to support himself? An injustice! Terrible! Bogus! (even by the rules of the time. A charge had to be made within 30 days of the award, but Thorpe was charged 180 days afterwards. This didn't stop the IOC from taking away his medals. Grr...)
This is an okay biography of Thorpe, definitely extensive. Perhaps its greatest strength is the amount of sheer research that went into the book. Mr. Maraniss sets several records straight during the course of the book that had been overlooked by others simply due to poor research. There is also a lot of background material which helps fill in Mr. Thorpe's life and legacy.
Avery Brundage, who was a teammate of Thorpe's at the Olympics comes in for scathing criticism. Mr. Brundage went on to become a part of the International Olympic Committee and eventually its president, refusing for his entire life to even consider giving Thorpe his medals back.
The book has a couple of flaws in my view. First, Mr. Maraniss harps repeatedly on how Indians were treated and written about during Thorpe's years. A sample headline when Carlisle, the school for Indians, won a football game might read something like "Redskins Torch Harvard," stuff like that. My problem with it is that Mr. Maraniss writes from the benefit of history, not from within Thorpe's own time, so his constant harping on this stuff gets tiresome and exhibits a sort of chronological snobbery that isn't necessary.
The other flaw is that the book is just too long. Mr. Maraniss did so much research it seems like he wanted to put literally EVERYTHING in the book, which makes it long and at points tedious. I mean, after his sporting career, Mr. Thorpe's life didn't go so well. He bounces around from place to place basically looking for money to live off of. All well and good, but we don't need hundreds of pages of this, at least in my view. Indeed, Mr. Maraniss for some odd reason decides to describe the movie about his life "Jim Thorpe-All American," scene by scene. Really? Is this necessary.
At any rate, it is a good book about a hero of mine and I would certainly make the argument that Thorpe was the greatest overall athlete that America has produced.
DNF @24%. Wow, this is detailed. Too detailed. Incredibly dry. Play-by-plays of multiple football games. Life stories of anyone tangentially related to Thorpe. I did enjoy all the direct quotations, especially from Thorpe himself, and I appreciate all the work showing how everything in the world at the time influenced and shaped Thorpe, but in the end I just can’t read this. Gotta keep looking for a book about the Olympics for the reading challenge!
Such a wonderful read. And delightful to have Thorpe officially recognized as the sole winner for his two 1912 Olympic gold medals while reading the book. Looks like an update to th manuscript will be needed before the book is released.