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Jim Thorpe
American Indian Jim Thorpe made great feats a routine during his athletic career, winning gold medals in the Olympics and playing professional baseball and football. Although he faced bitter racism during his life, Thorpe continued to excel. When he received his gold medal for the decathlon in the 1912 Olympics, the King of Sweden proclaimed him the "greatest athlete in the world." Author Michael A. Schuman relates this American's exciting story, including the revocation and ultimate return of his gold medals, using interviews with Jim Thorpe's son and daughter as part of his research.
* Reviews *
These biographies of men who overcame racial barriers to become recognized leaders each opens with a dramatic incident from his life, followed by an overview of his entire life that includes personal details but emphasizes achievements. Schuman is generally admiring, but also includes discussions of weaknesses, including Douglass's reputation for arrogance and Thorpe's struggles with alcohol. Douglass is the better of the two, relating the man's struggles to gain an education, escape from slavery, establish himself as a free man, and become one of the country's foremost advocates of abolition and full civil rights for African Americans. However, it will not replace Alice Fleming's Frederick Douglass (Rosen, 2005) or Peter Burchard's book of the same name (S & S, 2003). Thorpe describes the Native American baseball player's birth in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma, his education at the repressive Indian schools, and his groundbreaking career as one of the most well-rounded and talented athletes of the 20th century. Unfortunately, the author includes too much play-by-play detail about individual games, making some of the chapters dry, but the book is still better suited for reports than Joseph Bruchac's fictionalized Jim Thorpe (Dial, 2006). Both titles are illustrated with a variety of period photos and art prints., School Library Journal September 2009
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Grades
5-6 IL
Grades
5-12+ GRL
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