Path lit by lightning : the life of Jim Thorpe Cover Image

Book

Path lit by lightning : the life of Jim Thorpe / David Maraniss.

Summary:

Jim Thorpe rose to world 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, in the first class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and played major league baseball for the New York Giants. But despite his colossal skills, Thorpe's life was a struggle against the 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. At Carlisle, he dealt with the racist assimilationist philosophy Kill the Indian, save the man. His gold medals were unfairly rescinded because he had played minor league baseball. His later life was troubled by alcohol, broken marriages, and financial distress. But for all his travails, Thorpe did not succumb. The man survived, complications and all, and so did the myth.

Record details

ISBN: 9781476748412
ISBN: 1476748411
Physical Description: x, 659 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm
Edition: First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
Publisher: New York, New York : Simon & Schuster, [2022]
Copyright: ©2022

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 575-628) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

"The stuff his people are made of" -- Path lit by lightning -- "This is the Indian's home" -- High jump -- Athletic duties above everything -- The newest star -- Railroaded -- Almost there -- Stockholm -- Near Custer's Tomb -- Lo, the poor Indian! -- Among the giants -- Around the world -- The reckoning -- The myth of a vanishing race -- Never look up -- Gains -- Losses -- Gamblers -- Start to finish -- Oorang Indians -- Letters 1 -- Letters 2 -- World famous Indians -- Pick and shovel -- "A man has to keep hustling" -- Akapamata in Hollywood -- Never forgotten -- Road to utopia -- Thunderbirds -- "Have you seen the movie?" -- Waving good-bye.