Reviews - Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe

100 reviews for:

Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe

David Maraniss

3.9 AVERAGE

jessiriel's review against another edition

2.0

DNF—this book would have been really enjoyable if it had been half as long and if Maraniss had stuck to talking about Jim Thorpe :/

Damn this was a tough read.

Overall, I feel really bad for Jim Thorpe and how he was exploited by white people for his entire life, literally basically from teens until death and then post-death by his third wife. He made mistakes, he wasn’t perfect but damn he really went through it and did not catch any breaks. This is a story I really knew nothing about and am happy I read this to learn a bit more about his journey and about what Native Americans went through (and continue to go through) in the United States.

chloexcoy's review against another edition

4.25

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

beardedreader's review

4.0

David Maraniss managed to balance the nuance of a story filled with historical narratives into something informative and enlightening. Jim Thorpe’s life is filled with a series of highs and lows and strength and perseverance. History is filled with unreliable narrators, folklore, and legend and this story manages to show respect while unraveling these threads.