Customer Reviews

Driven from Within

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

There is no one in sports that I love more than MJ, being a Bulls fan since the 1960s. I still love Michael, but this book was a supreme disappointment. By and large, it is an all too detailed history of the design and sales success of his shoes and newer clothing line, peppered with Michael's passages about being determined and "driven", which all ring true, but have been stated many times before and in better form. If you really want to learn about MJ, I would suggest Playing for Keeps by David Halberstam or The Golden Boys by Cameron Stauth, which profiles the members of the 1992 Olympic Dream Team. The profiles on MJ and the other team members are probably the best I have read on elite professional athletes. If you want some great photos and a book written by MJ, Rare Air is much better than this one.

I am not a sports fan in any sense, but I went to Borders with a friend and ended up reading the entire book in the store (she eventually left me). One of the reviewers mentioned how this book is about "brand Jordan", well of course. In the book he talks about how Brand Jordan is a reflection of who he is and how it is something that he stays true to. It is something that he grew from nothing, when people thought Basketball players endorsing shoes wouldn't be profitable. It actually mentioned how tennis players marketing shoes were the gold mine when he started. I am only twenty-five so that tidbit of information made me laugh, hard. There was a lot of reference to the shoes, but the shoes are what started brand Jordan. He talks about not being driven by opinion polls or marketing fads. There are interesting references to the technology behind making the shoes and the collaboration with Michael Jordan and his push to have a shoe that was stylish and functional. He wouldn't agree to anything that wasn't. Despite what advertisers have said I viewed shoes to be purely fuctional the idea of them being cutting edge technology totally missed me. I don't believe a lot of current sports stars or celebrities devote that kind attention to items they put their names on. In a culture that loves to give accolades to achievement and forget the work that went into making that achievement possible, this book serves as a reminder. Excellence is about pushing yourself, when it hurts, when people tell you that you are chasing the impossible dream, when maybe, just maybe, you think they are right. You need to push forward anyway. If you like stories about rising above the odds and laughing in the face of nay Sayers, this is a book for you.

You will like this book much more if you are a Jordan worshipper, but there is also much to learn if you are not a Jordan fan or even a sports fan. This book is about how Jordan approaches life, basketball, and business. There are wonderful anecdotes from his mom, his agent, friends, and Nike executives. Regardless of what you think of Jordan, you will get something out of this book if you respect his work ethic. You will also realize that being true to who you are is very important in life, no matter how many people disagree with your decisions or criticize you. Maybe I read a little deeper into this book than most, but I thought it was great. Definitely worth the two hours it took to read it.

***I have had the pleasure of being around Michael Jordan at various golf tournaments over the last several years, and while I do not pretend to "know" him, my perception of him coincides with the people who were featured in the book and who have known him for 20 years or more. Therefore, I found the information in the book quite authentic.
***One of the reviewers of this book said it reads more like an advertisement for Brand Jordan. I found the process related to the development of the brand and the coinciding events in Jordan's life to be revealing and a good read. Furthermore, I hope more people are aware of Brand Jordan, because printed on each shoe box and on each cardboard tag on Brand Jordan items is the message, "a portion of the proceeds from the purchase of Jordan products support educational initiatives." The Jordan Fundamental Education Grant program awards $2500 grants to teachers in impoverished schools. Buy Brand Jordan and you are supporting education.
***Despite how much one might think he/she knows about Michael Jordan, there were several new stories and accurate insights about stories we all have heard about. This is a beautifully done book; for those who read "For the Love of the Game," this book is laid out in a similar way but on a smaller scale. Original artwork, great photographs, and two well-placed pictorial fold outs, make this a unique book to look at. However, the insights of the people close to Michael Jordan regarding events in his life, and his perceptions of the same events, make the format of the book an interesting and enjoyable read.

I am a big fan of basketball as well as Michael Jordan and this book is just awesome! It gives a very good description of Michael Jordan's life, and how his life is put into his shoes.
The book tells of Michael Jordan's life with his family, throughout school, and of course throughout his whole basketball career. Many people think of Michael Jordan as a selfish basketball player, but when you get done with this book, you will think differently.
The book also has great pictures of Michael Jordan in his daily life, on the basketball court, and pictures of his shoes.
This is one of my personal favorite books!
I hope my review was helpful to you.

BUT, if you take anything out of this book, it's the fact that Jordan works harder than his peers, whether it was basketball or business. His inner drive and desire to succeed and give it his all is what I took away from the book. I would skim the parts on shoe design and focus mainly on his words and advice, especially on work ethic.

Note: I finished the book in 1 1/2 hrs in the bookstore.

An easy starter book on MJ if you want to see what makes him tick. It's fitting more for a younger generation discovering MJ for the first time. But there's too little Jordan and too much Brand Jordan to make this a serious read. The good: creative layouts, multiple storytellers, learning about MJ's ethics and drives - it's good to read about the values of someone who achieved success through hard work and honor. BUT, the bad: rehashed pictures from previous books, limited insight into basketball due to MJ's self-conscious, business mindset and constant marketing of Brand Jordan disguised under his career - about half the book. It even uses the same font from the Brand Jordan print ads. This weighs the book down and makes it a huge disappointment. The title of the book should be, "Driving Brand Jordan" really. MJ's talent was singular but his shallowness as a powerful human being and corporate blandness is getting stale - and I'm his biggest fan. MJ needs to attach himself to something in this phase of his life because if he wants to mature with his fans, he can't just come out only to promote his brand. Now that his career is over and is untouchable, he needs to move into a direction that has depth. If MJ's message is how to achieve success, that is fine. But, he also radiates individual profiteering at all costs which is shallow. This book shows where he is after achieving that success. His priorities are running Brand Jordan, playing golf, racing motorcycles and protecting his legacy and companies. But he's missing out on the real potential he can achieve as a global icon. No one should say he should do this or that but MJ is so idolized, he should want to fulfill a human legacy to match his basketball legacy. In turn, it would grow his empire even more. MJ is in an unusual position practically unmatched by anyone - he's young, globally-recognized and has the world listening to him whenever he surfaces. Yet the only thing he has to say is work hard and buy my products. This is unsatisfying. Hopefully, in ten years or so, he'll get bored and want to use his power in ways unrelated to pure profit. If you want to read about MJ's mind or go really into his world, buy the best books about him: "Jordan, The Man, His Words, His Life", "Rebound - The Odyssey of Michael Jordan" and "Blood on the Horns".

No matter how you look at it. As the other reviewers also say, "Brand Jordan". But you know that if they were in the same position as MJ, they would do exactly the same. Maybe not to the precise point...but close enough. Yes, this book has his branding, his shoes, how it all came to path. I kind of liked the "production" of how his shoe designer(s) were thinking. But then again I come from the same design type industry. My two cents is...you can see what makes this person one of the great ones in our time. Why he's driven. If you read between the lines, you might get some motivation. You might get some positive things. But the choice is yours. Closed minded? or Open minded? Bottom line, we all need something positive inside.

Be water, my friend.

This book reveals the inner life of Michael Jordan from his early days to now. It shares his personal thoughts on everything from his unique Jordan shoes to his work ethic and pursuit of excellence on the basketball court. It is a very revealing book about Michael and his passion to succeed in every area of life. It is a book worth reading if you are a Jordan admirer.

This book is inspiring. It tells the story of Michael Jordan's life. He explains everything he had to work for, and tells about his successes and failures.

This book included strong motivational words of wisdom. Michael Jordan tells the readers what he did to be successful, and how his family was a big part of his life, to reflect on how his work ethics were based upon his parents expectations. Michael Jordan knew he was going to become a somebody, and hard work pays off. He now owns his own clothing brand, is in advertisements, and is part-owner of an NBA team. What he did on the "now" sense of time paid off for the future; he created a new era of basketball, he created a new style, and changed minds and thoughts for young kids to work hard.

This book is also special, because every page is a different pattern on what Michael Jordan likes. He is an American idol because he does not let any person tell him to do anything he does not want too- - his goals and desires created a monster.

Some reviews also agree with me on the way he put his words into a book, creating a different style of speech, keeping the reader digging more, and more into the book. If you're a reader who enjoys rags to riches stories with great pictures and text, then "Driven from Within" is the book for you, it's a book you can't stop reading. I would give this 4 stars because I love basketball and Michael Jordan.

Senior English Student 2011