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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
A pretty sad story. Rather than be bitter Jim Thorpe went about living. He didn’t thrive but he survived. The greatest athlete this country has produced was failed repeatedly by mentors who were manipulative, toxic, and self absorbed- Pop Warner and John McGraw. Lots of heartbreak. He was thrown to the wolves but did not succumb. His life became an itinerant hustle. Never home. Touring the country as some sports minstrel catering to white stereotypes of Native Americans. Three marriages, seven children who barely knew their father. His last wife burying him in a town in Pennsylvania named after him- when he wanted to be interred in his family and tribal lands in Oklahoma. A Jerry Springer Show spectacle.
Just a well written and thorough biography of a man who didn’t get a fair shake. He lived life payday to payday and was too often stiffed.
Just a well written and thorough biography of a man who didn’t get a fair shake. He lived life payday to payday and was too often stiffed.
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Child abuse
David Maraniss is a terrific author, biographer, and researcher. After reading this book I was left feeling very sad for Jim Thorpe, who had a few years in the sun but spent the rest of his life just trying to establish a stable, decent life for himself and his family. He was certainly a victim of racial prejudice and indifference, but it's also true that in many ways he couldn't get out of his own way. I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened had an athlete been as transcendent as Jim Thorpe today - it would sure as hell have been a very different and much happier story. Ultimately this is a book about a tragedy.
The book kept mixing in myths and inflated boasts about the man when I only wanted facts.
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Big Book
Very good Indigenous book.
However, that being said, I found it very verbose, detailed, long, and historical.
It was interesting, but could probably have been 150 pages less, and more succinct.
3.7/5
Very good Indigenous book.
However, that being said, I found it very verbose, detailed, long, and historical.
It was interesting, but could probably have been 150 pages less, and more succinct.
3.7/5
This book was SOOOO long, I got about 25% read and started something else, but I finally finished it months later. (And I love big books) I appreciate the story of Jim Thorpe, but there is so much extra information about others - sometimes going pages at a time about others with little to no mention of Thorpe. If you love sports and history (football and baseball mostly) you may really like this book. There are so many references to players that I had never heard of (I’m a millennial)… I just wanted a story about Jim and this book gave so many side stories and a lot of repeat information, it just made it hard for me to maintain interest. I finished it only because I was determined to get through it.
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I am very mixed about this book. On one hand, Maraniss, as he notes in his epilogue, spent a long time consulting Indigenous activists and experts alongside librarians and archivists in order to complete this book, and there are references in the back which is appreciated. The book is nearly 600 pages and Maraniss goes to great lengths to contextualize a lot of the events Thrope went through. Some are more important than others (i.e. which football team first began using the forward pass!). But, on the other hand, I think Thorpe's own life, voice, and place get lost - with the exception of two chapters that are largely just letters he wrote to a partner. My final issue is that while this book goes to lengths to point out the racism and stereotypes Thorpe faced, it still very much is a western narrative of an Indigenous man in America. Perhaps other books or authors provide an Indigenous worldview on Thorpe's life that this book does not engage with - indeed, Thorpe's Indigenity sometimes falls to the wayside as Maraniss focuses on other tangents and topics.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Detailed and informative look into Jim Thorpe and just how complicated he was. It is long but WELL worth the read!