A review by liberrydude
Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe by David Maraniss

4.0

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.