✨ Featured Offer
Used, Very Good
$9.74
List Price: $21.99
🚚
See all 5 offers from $7.27 FREE standard delivery by: 02 Apr 2026
Overview
A biography of America's greatest all-around athlete that "goes beyond the myth and into the guts of Thorpe's life, using extensive research, historical nuance, and bittersweet honesty" (Los Angeles Times), 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. Most famously, he won gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, he 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 awesome talent, Thorpe's life was a struggle against the odds. At Carlisle, he faced the racist assimilationist philosophy "Kill the Indian, Save the Man." His gold medals were unfairly rescinded because he had played minor league baseball, and his supposed allies turned away from him when their own reputations were at risk. 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 survived, determined to shape his own destiny, his perseverance becoming another mark of his mythic stature.
Path Lit by Lightning "[reveals] Thorpe as a man in full, whose life was characterized by both soaring triumph and grievous loss" (The Wall Street Journal).
Jim Thorpe rose to world fame as a mythic talent who excelled at every sport. Most famously, he won gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, he 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 awesome talent, Thorpe's life was a struggle against the odds. At Carlisle, he faced the racist assimilationist philosophy "Kill the Indian, Save the Man." His gold medals were unfairly rescinded because he had played minor league baseball, and his supposed allies turned away from him when their own reputations were at risk. 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 survived, determined to shape his own destiny, his perseverance becoming another mark of his mythic stature.
Path Lit by Lightning "[reveals] Thorpe as a man in full, whose life was characterized by both soaring triumph and grievous loss" (The Wall Street Journal).
| ISBN-13 | 9781476748429 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10 | 147674842X |
| Weight | 1.50 Pounds |
| Dimensions | 6.13 x 1.60 x 9.25 In |
| List Price | $21.99 |
| Format | Paperback |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Pages | 672 pages |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Published On | 2023-06-06 |
View All Offers
Sort by:
Price
Condition
Seller
Seller Comments
Price
Used, Good
Seller details
Zoom Books Company
Lynden, WA, USA
Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also i...
Free delivery by: 02 Apr 2026
Used, Good
Seller details
Zoom Books East
Glendale Heights, IL, USA
Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also i...
Free delivery by: 02 Apr 2026
Used, Good
Seller details
Goodwill of Colorado
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, USA
All pages and cover are intact. Dust jacket included if applicable though it may be missing on har...
Free delivery by: 02 Apr 2026
✨ Used, Very Good
Seller details
BiblioMadness
Worthington, MA, USA
Very good condition. Minor wear. Tiny nick in lower rear cover edge. Clean and all intact. No writin...
Free delivery by: 02 Apr 2026
Used, Very Good
Seller details
HPB-Diamond
Dallas, TX, USA
Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and ...
Free delivery by: 02 Apr 2026