Jim Thorpe: 20Th-Century Jock (Superstar Lineup) - Hardcover

Lipsyte, Robert

9780060229894: Jim Thorpe: 20Th-Century Jock (Superstar Lineup)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060229896 ISBN 13: 9780060229894

Publisher: Harpercollins, 1993

A biography of the American Indian known as one of the best all-round athletes in history for his accomplishments as an Olympic medal winner and as an outstanding professional football and baseball player

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About the Author:

Robert Lipsyte was an award-winning sportswriter for the New York Times and the Emmy-winning host of the nightly public affairs show The Eleventh Hour. He is the author of twelve acclaimed novels for young adults and is the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring his lifetime contribution in that genre. He lives in Manhattan and on Shelter Island, New York, with his wife, Lois, and his dog, Milo.

From Publishers Weekly:

Lipsyte ( The Contender ; The Brave ) kicks off his Superstar Lineup series of sports biographies with two thoughtful works. Thorpe uses the story of "perhaps the greatest all-around male athlete in American history" as a lens through which to examine the effects of racism on Native Americans, adroitly placing Jim Thorpe in the larger context of Native American history. Lipsyte is particularly good at outlining the chilling effects of the white-run government schools on Thorpe, who later had to fight against an image of himself as "a great performing animal." The same measured approach raises the Schwarzenegger book above the ordinary as well. Here Lipsyte situates Arnold among the famous strong men of history (Samson, Hercules), then places Schwarzenegger's bodybuilding fame in the context of fitness crazes of the past 150 years, skillfully synthesizing some of the important recent work in sports history and sociology. Schwarzenegger emerges warts and all, with Lipsyte touching on reports of the hero's father's Nazi sympathies, Schwarzenegger's steroid use and bullying of weaker people. Both works offer balanced portraits of memorable individuals. Photos not seen by PW . Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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