Spectacular in depth biography of Jim Thorpe, written in first person. Extremely detailed, great narrative. ( )

A "youthful" first person narrative which seems a bit simplistic, but what is described is anything but. The treatment of NA by government policy should make us rethink what it means to be an "American". I didn't learn any of this history in school! ( )

I picked this up after reading a review on [b: Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team|29102913|Undefeated Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team|Steve Sheinkin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1486058824s/29102913.jpg|49340945] that discussed how Sheinkin glossed over the darker parts of Carlisle. I can't say that this book delved much deeper into those issues, but it was a very different book. It's written as though Thorpe is telling his story directly to the reader, which worked really well, and there's humor as well as more detail about the different athletes lives before Carlisle. I may go looking for a non-YA biography next, just to see if I can find one that has more detail about the schools themselves. ( )

It was very off-putting to hear the author (who was only 11 when Jim Thorpe died) narrate Thorpe's story from the first person. All the cheery glibness made me want to puke. At least my library had accurately catagorized this as fiction. What a waste of time! ( )

Bruchac's decision to write this biography as if it were Thorpe's autobiography is somewhat problematic, but the 1st person narrative will appeal to young adults and it's a quick read. Due to the style of the book, it is important to read the interesting and informative source documentation and author's note at the end. ( )