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Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe
A riveting new biography of America's greatest all-around athlete by the bestselling author of the classic biography When Pride Still Mattered.
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, 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 one of a kind.
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 His gold medals were unfairly rescinded because he had played minor league baseball.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. He roamed from state to state and took bit parts in Hollywood, but even the film of his own life failed to improve his fortunes. But for 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.
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, 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 one of a kind.
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 His gold medals were unfairly rescinded because he had played minor league baseball.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. He roamed from state to state and took bit parts in Hollywood, but even the film of his own life failed to improve his fortunes. But for 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.
Editorial Reviews
"Goes beyond the myth and into the guts of Thorpe's life, using extensive research, historical nuance and bittersweet honesty to tell the story of a gifted and complicated man. . . . Maraniss' biography does justice to the struggles and triumphs of a truly great man." -- Mary Ann Gwinn ― Los Angeles Times
"Path Lit by Lightning showcases Mr. Maraniss's abilities as an indefatigable researcher and a deft prose stylist. . . . [Reveals] Thorpe as a man in full, whose life was characterized by both soaring triumph and grievous loss." -- Andrew R. Graybill ― The Wall Street Journal
"David Maraniss brilliantly rescues Jim Thorpe from myth and prejudice, restoring something more consequential than the Olympic medals stolen from him by small men-his humanity. This is another masterpiece from the master of biography." -- Jane Leavy, author of The Big Fella and Koufax
"Path Lit By Lightning is a flat-out masterpiece. The story of Jim Thorpe, one of America's greatest and most misunderstood heroes, is told in riveting detail by David Maraniss, one of our greatest biographers. The result is a portrait as powerful, dazzling, and nuanced as Thorpe himself." -- Jonathan Eig, author Luckiest Man, Opening Day and Ali: A Life
"A sensitive and compelling life of the great, ill-treated athlete Jim Thorpe. . . . Racism was a powerful element in Thorpe's life, and Maraniss explores this topic with insight and nuance, just as he did in his biography of Roberto Clemente. . . . A tale that, though well known in outline, Maraniss enriches with his considerable skills as a writer and researcher."
― Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"In different hands I might be dubious, but David Maraniss revives the titanic Jim Thorpe for a new generation with a surgeon's care, the diligence of a great researcher, and the poignance and humanity that is the signature of his writing. Path Lit By Lightning is a masterful look at this country's first super-athlete, unflinching from what conquest did to his people, from the rousing and bittersweet journey of fame and identity, nor from an American century often far less heroic than the book's protagonist. It's simply brilliant." -- Howard Bryant, author of
"Path Lit by Lightning showcases Mr. Maraniss's abilities as an indefatigable researcher and a deft prose stylist. . . . [Reveals] Thorpe as a man in full, whose life was characterized by both soaring triumph and grievous loss." -- Andrew R. Graybill ― The Wall Street Journal
"David Maraniss brilliantly rescues Jim Thorpe from myth and prejudice, restoring something more consequential than the Olympic medals stolen from him by small men-his humanity. This is another masterpiece from the master of biography." -- Jane Leavy, author of The Big Fella and Koufax
"Path Lit By Lightning is a flat-out masterpiece. The story of Jim Thorpe, one of America's greatest and most misunderstood heroes, is told in riveting detail by David Maraniss, one of our greatest biographers. The result is a portrait as powerful, dazzling, and nuanced as Thorpe himself." -- Jonathan Eig, author Luckiest Man, Opening Day and Ali: A Life
"A sensitive and compelling life of the great, ill-treated athlete Jim Thorpe. . . . Racism was a powerful element in Thorpe's life, and Maraniss explores this topic with insight and nuance, just as he did in his biography of Roberto Clemente. . . . A tale that, though well known in outline, Maraniss enriches with his considerable skills as a writer and researcher."
― Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"In different hands I might be dubious, but David Maraniss revives the titanic Jim Thorpe for a new generation with a surgeon's care, the diligence of a great researcher, and the poignance and humanity that is the signature of his writing. Path Lit By Lightning is a masterful look at this country's first super-athlete, unflinching from what conquest did to his people, from the rousing and bittersweet journey of fame and identity, nor from an American century often far less heroic than the book's protagonist. It's simply brilliant." -- Howard Bryant, author of
Readers Top Reviews
ToddThomas Earl C
A long and extensive biography of Jim Thorpe. Mainly a tragedy (prejudice, let down by people close to him, alcoholism) with a lot of persistence and some inspiration. It's amazing what he did athletically from the Olympics to football and baseball. He really was the start of professional football in the US. He played professional baseball for many years as this was the mainstream sport in the US at time. The fact that his medals were taken away was part of the tragedy. I'm glad they were returned. It didn't put Avery Brundage (lost to Jim in decathlon and later head IOC) in a very good light. The book did a good job of covering the history of the early 19th century - a time I did not know much about. The discrimination against Native Americans was thick from government schools to conservatorships to language and Thorpe persevered and eventually was an activist for the cause of his people. My only hesitation with the book was the length. It was long. Good for the true Thorpe fan but maybe a little too many minutiae for others.
Mrs. RMLToddThoma
The life of Jim Thorpe, athlete for the ages, comes to us in gripping detail by a man who knows how to tell a story. This is a biography that is impossible to put down. It get behinds the myth of Thorpe and into the complicated man he was. A double gold medal winner at the 1912 Olympics — decathlon and pentathlon — All-American football player at the Carlisle Indian School, major league ball player and pro football player, Thorpe was unmatched in his day, and likely ours. His life is a testament to the will to persevere against the odds. Read this book and be inspired. (Opinions mine; I received an eARC, courtesy NetGalley)
Mrs. RMLToddTh
Shakespeare lived too soon. He could have written a play about Jim Thorpe had Shakespeare lived nearly half a millennium later. An excellent biography of someone so misunderstood he may have misunderstood himself. To quote the author, “Lo the poor Indian “. Yes and no we learn from this biography. The final sentence, from Thorp’s daughter Grace says it all.
