Native American Son: The Life and Sporting Legend of Jim Thorpe

Bison Books, 2012. Paperback. Very Good. A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting.The spine remains undamaged. The first comprehensive biography of the legendary figure who defined excel lence in American sports: Jim Thorpe, arguably the greatest all-around athl ete in U.S. history. With clarity and an eye for detail, Kate Buford traces the pivotal moments of Thorpe's incomparable career: growing up in the tumultuous Indian Territ ory of Oklahoma; leading the Carlisle Indian Industrial School football tea m to victories against the country's finest college teams; winning gold med als in the 1912 Olympics pentathlon and decathlon; defining the burgeoning sport of professional football; and playing long, often successful--and pre viously unexamined--years in professional baseball. At the same time, however, Buford recounts the difficulties Thorpe faced as a Native American. We also see the infamous loss of his Olympic medals, st ripped from him because he had previously played professional baseball, an event that would haunt Thorpe for the rest of his life. We see his struggle s with alcoholism and personal misfortune, and how he came to distrust many of the hands extended to him. We learn the details of his vigorous advocac y for Native American rights while he chased a Hollywood career, and the tr uth behind the supposed reinstatement of his Olympic record in 1982. Here is the story of a complex, iconoclastic, profoundly talented man whose life encompassed both tragic limitations and truly extraordinary achieveme nts. Editorial Reviews.