Jim Thorpe, Original All-American [Mass Market Paperback]

Joseph Bruchac (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 2008

Jim Thorpe was one of the greatest athletes who ever lived. He played professional football and Major League baseball, and won Olympic gold medals in track and field. But his life wasn?t easy. Born on a reservation, he endured family tragedy and was sent to various Native American boarding schools. Jim ran away from school many times, until he found his calling under the now-legendary coach Pop Warner. This is a book for history buffs as well as sports fans?an illuminating and lively read about a truly great American by award-winning author Joseph Bruchac.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9–A fictionalized biography. Thorpe spent his life running–running away from school, running on the baseball diamond, running the football, or running to win both the pentathlon and the decathlon in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. His accomplishments, his kindness and consideration of others, his defeats, and his exploitation are related in first-person narration, from his childhood on an Oklahoma reservation to the loss of his Olympic medals for playing on a professional minor-league baseball team. Readers learn about his athletic performances (some related play by play), his triumphs, his friendships, and his hardships through the use of dialogue and description. The trust that Thorpe had in others and his own perseverance show both his personal weaknesses and strengths. While the writing is accessible, Bruchac's use of the first person is likely to mislead or confuse readers. Twelve poor-quality, black-and-white photographs document the subject's time at Carlisle Indian Industrial School and show him receiving the gold medal for the pentathlon from King Gustav V of Sweden.–Janice C. Hayes, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. Bruchac expands his Jim Thorpe's Bright Path (2004) into a full-length biopic--or at least the literary equivalent. Casting the narrative into the first person but sticking closely to documentary sources for people, incidents, and even dialogue, he details Thorpe's stellar amateur career in track, baseball, football, and the Olympics, along with the young athlete's repeated run-ins with hostile (and sometimes corrupt) officials and the harsh conditions he and his classmates endured at several Indian schools. In addition, as Thorpe played football for Carlyle's brilliant coach "Pop" Warner, readers will find fascinating glimpses of the game in its formative years. Relating his feats in matter-of-fact, never boastful tones, Thorpe demonstrates a peaceable, team-minded spirit, a solid work ethic (a persistent reputation to the contrary notwithstanding), and an occasional stubborn streak, but never a trace of bitterness or anger. As in many other, more conventional biographies, he comes across as both a hero and an unexcelled role model. For readers wishing to know more about Thorpe's professional career and later life, Bruchac supplies a long afterword and an annotated resource list. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Speak; Reprint edition (October 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142412333
• ISBN-13: 978-0142412336
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #508,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( B ) > Bruchac, Joseph
  • #46 in Books > Teens > Sports & Hobbies > Sports

More About the Author

Joseph Bruchac is a highly acclaimed Abenaki children's book author, poet, novelist and storyteller, as well as a scholar of Native American culture. Coauthor with Michael Caduto of the bestselling Keepers of the Earth series, Bruchac's poems, articles and stories have appeared in over 500 publications, from Akwesasne Notes and American Poetry Review to National Geographic and Parabola. He has authored more than 50 books for adults and children. For more information about Joseph, please visit his website www.josephbruchac.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, October 7, 2007

By 

ToTheMorning (Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jim Thorpe, Original All-American (Hardcover)

This book is written at a junior high level, but the topic and writing are captivating for adults to read as well as kids at the junior high level. Unlike other books about Jim Thorpe, this book takes the reader on a journey through what every day life could have been like for Jim Thorpe from childhood through his early adulthood. Jim Thorpe is a great role model for everyone, and this book is a great introduction to his life.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fills generation gap, April 20, 2011

By 

Linda Wenrick (Santa Fe, NM) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jim Thorpe, Original All-American (Mass Market Paperback)

Based on phone reviews from my grandson & his mom, this is a great read, packed with credible history of growing-up-Oklahoma in Indian Country, forced into Boarding School horrors off reservation -- and habitually running away.
Jim Thorpe, however, ultimately turned into what many consider the best athlete of his day - perhaps even the last century. "Very well written", says my daughter, who picks it up after her son falls asleep to polish off another chapter.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jim Thorpe CU Football Pplayer, October 11, 2010

By 

L. S. Brooks "NAM VET" (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jim Thorpe, Original All-American (Mass Market Paperback)

I wanted to read about the 1908 season and the football game between Carlisle and the University of Nebraska....

The book is worth the money concerning the life of Jim Thorpe.....good research tool....