Customer Reviews

Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am inclined to agree with the other reviewers on the site about the merit of this book. It is very good, rivalling if not surpassing Linda Lee's account of her husband's life. As another reviewer has indicated the reason for this is that Thomas hasn't just recounted the tale of Bruce Lee's life per se but examined in quite some depth the spiritual and psychological motivations which led him to live the way he did. The biography has a special dimension which moves the reader into the actual reality Bruce experienced. I was affected greatly by the empathy Thomas has for Lee, which at times is so compelling, especially in the narration of the events leading up to Lee's death, that I was pressed to tears. There are few books which have such impact.

This is the best biography of Bruce Lee that I have ever read. It is not a pictorial perspective of the man but gives the most detailed account of his extraordinary life. It is the first book which has documented the relationship between Joe Lewis and Bruce Lee with an example of a kickboxing match (Joe Lewis vs. Greg Baines). Well done.

Thomas demonstrates a deep understanding of and empathy for Lee, and gives a great insight into the way he lived. Rather than just cataloging the events of his life, this book goes alot deeper and you certainly come away with as good an idea of what made Bruce Lee tick as you are likely to find anywhere. If you are a Bruce Lee fan, buy this book. You will definately not regret it.

When one comes across a biography purporting to be about the late, great Bruce Lee, one must ask oneself: "why is the author writing a book on this man?". If you conclude that he has something to gain, say, by revising a history of which he was a part, then you should probably steer clear of such a book. Thankfully, the author Bruce Thomas was not a part of Bruce Lee's life and so he has no vested interest in rewriting this now-legendary past. Rather, in his book, Thomas tells us a little about each important phase of Lee's life: his boyhood in Hong Kong, streetfightin' teenage years, emigration to Seattle, development of his evolving art and philosophy of Jeet Kune Do, struggles breaking into the film business, and eventual mass recognition and appeal as an international celebrity. The book also chronicles Lee's last days, shedding light on his recent out of character behavior (drug abuse, adultery) with brief but insightful speculation regarding what could have killed him. Unlike other books, in Fighting Spirit, Thomas is very respectful of Bruce's memory, yet he does not get caught up in hero worship. The facts are presented as is, with the implicit assumption that the reader is intelligent enough to make what he or she will of them without any embellishment whatsoever on the author's part. This is, to my mind, the best biography in publication on Bruce Lee.

When I was about 15, I was not a reader. I bought this book because I loved Bruce Lee, and everything about Bruce Lee would be in my buying range. I finished the book in 2 days! Excellent book with information you won't find anywhere else!

5/5

I, like most guys who grew up in the 70's, was and am a huge Bruce fan, and I've read just about everything ever written about him. I agree with other reviewers in that this bio is the most informative and heartfelt account of Bruces' life, written by a musician by the way! Bruce Thomas does an excellent job conveying to the reader his views on what made Bruce Lee such an electrifying human being, without it being blind hero worship. Bruce's supreme confidence and his normal human fears are explored. For fans like myself who are interested in Bruce's extraordinary martial arts abilities, Mr.Thomas delves into this aspect better than it's ever been done! Just the BEST Bruce Lee book you can get - get it and "Be WATER my friend".

In a recent article for The Daily Mirror Tony Parson's wrote that "not all the Chinese have a stake in the country's new found prosperity but every single one of them has a stake in the Beijing Olympics". A cursory glance in the year-view mirror reminds us that, up until these last few post-empire decades, the Chinese, viewed through these now dimming lens of colonialism, were rendered a nation of waiters, laundry workers and villains; so it's hardly surprising that this global scale event should be embraced so passionately with a view of saying to the world "Look how far we've come." But the true genesis of this particular brand of pan-cultural re-calibration had already taken place back in 1971 with a movie called Tang Shan Da Xiong (The Big Boss) and an actor called Bruce Lee.

To describe Lee as a cultural phenomenon is an understatement and inevitably legends are built on myths which grow more fantastic with every telling. His four completed works defined martial arts movies for all time and his unfinished opus Game of Death is basically the template for computer gaming which now, of course, informs much of modern action movie making; add `visionary innovator' to Lee's curriculum vitae.

This oft maligned icon has suffered much in death but has been redeemed somewhat by the sober and highly respectful biography `Fighting Spirit' from Bruce Thomas who is perhaps better known as the geeky and underrated bass player with Elvis Costello's Attractions. Thomas, as it turns out, is also a disciple of Lee's own fluid style of Kung Fu known as Jeet Kun Do (Way of the Intercepting fist) - clearly not a geek to be messed with.
Thomas' Fighting Spirit is the story of Siu Lung (Little Dragon) and his metamorphosis from child actor to teenage hoodlum; from martial artist to international superstar and media martyrdom at thirty two. It deals extensively with Lee's personal philosophy and the constant evolution of his art - and on reading Fighting Spirit you do come to appreciate that beyond the `chop socky' conventions of the movies which defines the form - Kung Fu is indeed an art.
Chapters examining Lee's philosophy inevitably verge into `ah Grasshopper' territory; "Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend." But much of Lee's impish humour comes through with the no less insightful "A punch in the mouth is a punch in the mouth."

As much as that now iconic image back in `89 of a lone student hindering the progress of a tank in Tinneman Square, the mise-en-scene that we most associate with China is Bruce Lee streaked with blood in a hall of mirrors from Enter the Dragon. As the political sturm und drang of the Tibetan conflict threaten to engulf the event, Parson's assertion that Olympiad 2008 is a demonstration of national pride and a chance to say to the world "You can't look down on us anymore" - the fact of the matter is - the world hasn't looked down on China since Bruce Lee.

This book tries to convey a more human Bruce Lee. It includes his triumphs and his mistakes and allows the reader to judge what kind of man Bruce Lee was. While not everything in this book can be verified as truth Bruce Lee's life is portrayed in a respectful but in my opinion honest manner. I must point out again that the so called facts in this book have not been verified but it what is told here seems to correlate well with what I have been told by meeting and training with people who knew and trained with Bruce. My only complaint is the authors obvious bias for chinese martial arts. He claims to be a Wing Chun Gung Fu student and in certain parts of the book it becomes clear that he feels that this method is superior to others. However this is still a good read and the author is not obnoxious with his opinions

Very detailed, very insightful, most interesting of all the books on Bruce Lee's life. A must-read for anyone who wants to know (or know more) about Bruce Lee.

This is an extraordinary and compulsively readable work. Thomas is obviously an admirer of Lee, but refrains from hero-worshipping. He is a practising martial artist himself and well-versed in the philosophies behind the fighting arts, which means that he is able to write authoritatively about his subject. I believe that this book furnishes one with admiration, respect and compassion for Bruce Lee and his legacy. I recommend this book with all my heart