Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe, a Native American, may have been the greatest athlete the world has ever seen. He rose to fame as a mythic talent who excelled at every sport. He won gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, was an All-American football player at the Carlisle Indian School, became the star of the first class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and played major league baseball for John McGraw's New York Giants. Even in a golden age of sports celebrities, he was unique. But despite his colossal skills, Thorpe's life was a struggle against daunting odds. As a member of the Sac and Fox nation, he encountered duplicitous authorities who turned away from him when their reputations were at risk, among them his Carlisle coach Pop Warner and U.S. Olympic official James E. Sullivan. At Carlisle, he dealt with the school's racist assimilationist philosophy "Kill the Indian, save the man." His Olympic gold medals were unfairly rescinded because he had played both Warner and Sullivan knew. His later life was troubled by alcohol, broken marriages, and financial distress. He roamed from state to state, trying to earn a living from his celebrity. He took bit parts in Hollywood, but even the film of his own life failed to improve his fortunes. Despite all his travails, Thorpe did not succumb. The man survived, complications and all, and so did the myth. Path Lit by Lightning is a great American story from a master biographer. SIMON & SCHUSTER, HARDCOVER, 1ST EDITION, 1ST PRINTING, 2022 THIS IS A BRAND NEW BOOK.…