{"product_id":"jim-brown-isbn-9780399173448","title":"Jim Brown","description":"\u003cb\u003eA unique biography of Jim Brown—football legend, Hollywood star, and controversial activist—written by acclaimed sports journalist Dave Zirin.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJim Brown is recognized as perhaps the greatest football player to ever live. But his phenomenal nine-year career with the Cleveland Browns is only part of his remarkable story, the opening salvo to a much more sprawling epic. Brown parlayed his athletic fame into stardom in Hollywood, where it was thought that he could become “the black John Wayne.” He was an outspoken Black Power icon in the 1960s, and he formed Black Economic Unions to challenge racism in the business world. For this and for his decades of work as a truce negotiator with street gangs, Brown—along with such figures as Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, and Billie Jean King—is revered as a socially conscious athlete.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn the most hypermasculine cultural canvases of the United States—NFL football, the Black Power movement, Hollywood's blaxploitation films, gang intervention both inside and outside prison walls—Jim Brown has made his mark. Yet in the landscape of the most toxic expression of “what makes a man”—numerous accusations of violence against women—he has left a jagged mark as well.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDave Zirin's book redefines an American icon, and not always in a flattering light. At eighty-one years old, Brown continues to speak out and look for fights. His recent public support of Donald Trump and criticism of Colin Kaepernick are just the latest examples of someone who seems restless if he is not in conflict. \u003ci\u003eJim Brown\u003c\/i\u003e is a raw and thrilling account of Brown's remarkable life and a must-read for sports fans and students of the black freedom struggle.“Jim Brown is heroic but no hero. Dave Zirin gives us an extraordinary life of fame, manhood and masculinity that is not always a compliment to its subject but is undeniably important. \u003ci\u003eLast Man Standing\u003c\/i\u003e confronts the three third rails of American Life—race, class and gender—through an American icon whose triumphs are matched only by his flaws.”\u003cb\u003e—Howard Bryant, Author of \u003ci\u003eThe Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Dave Zirin incisively explores the fault lines of race, gender, masculinity, and celebrity while chronicling the career of an American legend. As athletes and women speak out against racial and sexual violence, \u003ci\u003eJim Brown: Last Man Standing\u003c\/i\u003e provides compelling context for understanding the urgency of today’s activism.”\u003cb\u003e—Barbara Smith, Black Feminist Author and Activist, Co-founder of the Combahee River Collective and Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “In this deeply engrossing, bracingly honest book, Zirin reveals that ‘Jim Brown’ is far more than a mythic name, far more than one of the greatest athletes of all time.  This is no fawning homage. This is a sculpted work of truth, a quintessentially American story that will resonate today in a time of burgeoning social activism among athletes.”\u003cb\u003e—Jonathan Coleman, Author of \u003ci\u003eLong Way to Go: Black and White in America\u003c\/i\u003e and coauthor (with Jerry West) of \u003ci\u003eWest by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Jim brown, the most fascinating, complex, and gifted athlete of my time, has finally gotten the powerful and graceful biography he deserves. Now I understand why he always took my breath away, in his presence or watching him play.”\u003cb\u003e—Robert Lipsyte, author \u003ci\u003eSportsWorld: An American Dreamland\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Jim Brown has been one of the most mercurial, headline-making figures atop the intersection of sports and activism for decades. Dave Zirin has shrewdly captured this man’s odyssey—and psyche—in this smart, timely, and fearless chronicle.”\u003cb\u003e—Wil Haygood, Author of \u003ci\u003eShowdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination that Changed America\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Dave Zirin’s writing is, much like Jim Brown, tough, powerful, blunt and uncompromising. This book is the perfect match of writer and subject.”\u003cb\u003e—Wright Thompson, Senior Writer at ESPN\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eDave Zirin\u003c\/b\u003e is the sports editor for \u003ci\u003eThe Nation\u003c\/i\u003e, a columnist for \u003ci\u003eThe Progressive\u003c\/i\u003e, and the author of eight books on the politics of sports, including \u003ci\u003eWhat's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA People's History of Sports in the United States\u003c\/i\u003e. He was named among the \u003ci\u003eUtne Reader\u003c\/i\u003e's \"50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World\" and was a finalist for the 2016 PEN\/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing.one\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e man of steel        (the superman trap)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e That Jim Brown . . . He says he isn't Superman. What he        really means is that Superman isn't Jimmy Brown!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e -Anonymous opponent of Jim Brown's,        who, like most, failed to tackle him\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e You are Dave Meggyesy, a second-year linebacker in 1964 for the      NFL's St. Louis Cardinals. You are six feet, two inches, and weigh      215 pounds. You make $9,500 a year. In the off-season, like a      couple of your teammates, you work in a quarry, breaking rocks to      make ends meet. This week, you are playing the Cleveland Browns.      That means Jim Brown. That means a guy who ran for more than 1,800      yards last year. These are the days before film study, highlight      packages, and even color television. That means you've heard the      stories about Jim Brown-hell, you even went to Syracuse, as he      did, where you heard all kinds of stories-but you've never seen      him in the flesh and on the field. You are starting to think his      on-field exploits are just whispered ghost stories aimed at      scaring young linebackers. You know that he outweighs you by      fifteen pounds, but whatever. You're an NFL linebacker. That means      you bring the pain, no one brings it to you. Then Jim Brown takes      the field and you have to make an effort not to gasp. It's not the      size of Brown but the proportions. He's as skinny as a wide      receiver in the waist, with all of those 230 pounds in his      shoulders and thighs. \"He's just a man,\" you tell yourself. \"Just      a man.\" On the first series, Cleveland quarterback Frank Ryan      pitches the ball to Brown, who plants his foot and cuts it inside.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e You see it happening as if in slow motion. You are ready. You slip      the tight end and mirror his cut inside to meet Jim Brown head-on,      and you hit him. You don't just hit him-you really hit him. You      put your head down and aim for the center mass, right in between      the 3 and the 2 on his chest. Then you black out. When you open      your eyes, your vision has narrowed for some reason. Everything is      round and you have no peripheral vision. You can't breathe out of      your nose. Disorientation reigns. What the hell just happened?      Then you realize: you are looking out the earhole of your helmet,      your nose all mushed up against the side of the damn thing. Later,      when describing Jim Brown, you can only smile and shrug and say,      \"He didn't run over me. He ran through me.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It is a short list: athletes who were legendary on the field of      play and then brave enough to risk the ensuing idolatry for a      higher purpose. Muhammad Ali was able to turn the world of sports      on its head politically only because he had already staked his      claim to greatness by upsetting the unbeatable champion, Sonny      Liston. Billie Jean King was as principled a political person as      weÕve seen in sports, but her platform was erected on top of      thirty-nine Grand Slam titles and the defeat of Bobby Riggs in the      Battle of the Sexes match at the Houston Astrodome. LeBron JamesÕs      recent political statements in support of the Black Lives Matter      movement-even if they are less politically bracing than the      stinging words and actions of former San Francisco 49ers      quarterback Colin Kaepernick-have so much weight precisely because      James has cemented his place as one of the finest basketball      players to ever live.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e To understand how Jim Brown was able to make such an enduring      political impact, we have to first understand the awe he inspired      inside the lines.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e From the moment he stepped onto a playing field, the operative      emotion expressed in describing Jim Brown has been reverence. To      be clear, that's \"playing field,\" not \"football field.\" In a      remarkable variety of sports, Brown dominated, a man among boys.      He could drop fifty points in a Division I college basketball game      or come in fifth in the National Collegiate Athletic Association      track-and-field decathlon without training for any of the      events-and was asked to consider competing in that grueling series      of ten contests at the 1956 Olympics. He received a request to      join the New York Yankees without ever having played baseball and      was sent a letter from their manager, Casey Stengel, pleading with      him to just give it a try. He never boxed but was offered what was      at the time a hefty contract to train for a heavyweight      championship bout. One news report from 1957 makes an offhand      comment about Jim Brown's remarkable skills at cricket.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e But Brown holds another distinction that puts him in the      conversation as the greatest athlete of the last one hundred      years: he alone is discussed as the \"best of all time\" in two      separate sports, football and lacrosse. Upon Brown's induction      into the Lacrosse Hall of Fame, his old Syracuse lacrosse coach,      Roy Simmons, Sr.-a man who had seen decades of players at one of      the most storied programs in NCAA history-argued that \"Jimmy\" was      the greatest he had ever coached. Brown himself insists that      track-and-field Olympic legend and early football star Jim Thorpe      is the top athlete to have played multiple sports. A strong case      can also be made for Mildred \"Babe\" Didrikson, who dominated track      and field as well as golf to absurd degrees and could also throw a      baseball past Babe Ruth. But Brown, in two major team sports and      with a plethora of competition, distinguished himself in a way      that still provokes slack-jawed wonder from those who witnessed      him in action. This reputation, particularly in lacrosse, was      built during a time when most games were neither filmed nor      televised. This gives the stories about his ability a Paul Bunyan      quality-elders in a room will talk in hushed tones, as if around a      campfire. In 1984, when he inducted Brown into the National      Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Coach Simmons spoke with New York Times      columnist George Vecsey about the 1957 college all-star game, and      recalled that Brown \"scored one goal underhanded with his right      hand, one overhanded with his right, one underhanded with his      left, one overhanded with his left. There was nobody like him.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In May 1955, Brown's lacrosse team played against Cornell, whose      goalie was the late, great sportswriter Dick Schaap. The Cornell      Chronicle recounted this game upon Schaap's death in 2001: \"On May      18, 1955, Syracuse barely beat Cornell, 13-12, scoring the winning      goal with about a minute left in double overtime. Syracuse's Jim      Brown, who would later become a National Football League legend,      scored four goals against Schaap, who made 20 saves in that game.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Schaap, when asked about Brown, said that just because he saved      some of Brown's shots, it \"doesn't mean that [he] ever saw the      ball.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Schaap's son Jeremy, a bestselling author and ESPN journalist,      remembered that his father hated playing goalie when Syracuse was      the opponent because he was terrified of Brown, as were most      people who played against him. Jeremy Schaap said, \"Jim Brown was      invoked regularly by my dad as the greatest athlete ever. The      toughest man in the world.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Famed sports sociologist Dr. Harry Edwards described the way      Brown's size and easy grace transfixed his opponents: \"The first      time that I ever saw him play was in 1965 against San Francisco. I      was absolutely astonished at the reaction of the San Francisco      49ers when Jim Brown took the field to stretch before the game.      Everybody stopped what they were doing, and turned and looked to      the end zone at the other end of the field, and the people in the      stadium, who were in their seats for the pregame warm-ups,      literally stood up. You stand up for two kinds of people in the      United States: when the president comes in the room, and when      legends appear in this country. So I looked at that, and I said,      'Wow. Already legend.'\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The media during Brown's athletic prime could not contain their      purple prose when watching him perform. Their tributes are      fascinating to read today, and not only because they are so      effusive. In the eyes of the mainstream media-white male      journalists-the only way to describe someone with the speed and      grace of Brown was by comparing him to an animal. As Sports      Illustrated's Tex Maule wrote in 1958, \"Jim is a quiet, relaxed      human being off the field. In repose, the magnificent body looks      loose, the heavy muscles bulging even at rest, the impression he      gives one of a great hunting cat asleep in the sun.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Then, with an air of pleasant surprise, Maule said of the college      graduate, \"He is not talkative, but he is an articulate young man      who understands the technique of running with the football and is      able to explain it.\" This astonishment could be because earlier in      the piece, Maule described Brown as having \"the shoulders of a      Miura bull and a 30-inch waist.\" Sportswriter Bert Sugar said that      if he had tried to tackle Brown, Brown would have \"dragged me like      a plough horse.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Even from the typewriter of the legendary New York Times sports      columnist Red Smith, who had the sense to eschew comparisons to      livestock, we get a description that evokes a respect tinged with      terror. Smith wrote, \"For mercurial speed, airy nimbleness and      explosive violence in one package of undistilled evil, there is no      other like Mr. Brown.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e With that same combination of fear and bedazzlement, Time magazine      called him \"a fire-breathing, chocolate-colored monster.\" Brown,      armed with a keen intellect, was very aware that this kind of      objectification was part of how he was received by the media and      the league's predominantly white fan base. In his 1964      autobiography, Off My Chest, coauthored with Myron Cope, he wrote,      \"Although Cleveland fans consistently received me with more warmth      than any ballplayer has a right to expect, I can't help but      suspect that they admired me as they would a large piece of      sculptured stone or a strong draft horse.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Such beastly prose didn't reside just in the distant past. A      magazine profile published in 1986, when Brown was fifty,      described him as a \"sleeping lion\" that could awaken and strike at      a moment's notice. This appealed to Brown's masculine ego in late      middle age. He said wryly, \"The old lion is still a bad mother. He      just wants to roam. Leave him alone. He's fading, but he's still a      lion.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Yet for black journalists and fans, the animal comparisons were      not the descriptors of choice. Even though they felt the same awe      and spoke of his body as being carved from marble, the point of      comparison was not something from a farm or the African savanna.      Over and over, so often it is uncanny, the comparison was instead      to Superman. In 1992, the black newspaper Atlanta Daily World      named Brown the best football player to ever live, \"the closest      thing we will ever see to Superman in this life.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e A 1965 article in The Chicago Defender put it this way: \"Those      17-inch biceps, that 47-inch chest and that 32-inch waist.      Superman? Well, not quite. James Nathaniel Brown, 29, fullback of      the National Football League's Champion Cleveland Browns, cannot      leap over the Empire State Building-or even stop bullets with his      chest. But it is sheer nonsense to try to convince the      practitioners and patrons of pro football that Jimmy Brown is an      ordinary mortal. After nine seasons in the league, Brown is      regarded as a genuine phenomenon in a sport that shares the      language.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Dr. Harry Edwards, alluding to a star of the moment, Carolina      Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, says, \"I laugh when I see these      guys run into the end zone and all of a sudden pretend like they      are opening up their shirt to show the Superman logo. They have no      more idea what it means to have literally been mythologized,      lionized as Superman, than I do about flying a space shuttle. If      you want to go back and really get a sense of Superman in      football, go back and study the life, the legend, the mythology      surrounding Jim Brown.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Superman is a striking, bracingly evocative name for black men to      use when describing Brown. One reason is obviously the absence of      black superheroes in the mid-twentieth-century world of comics,      but it runs deeper than that. First, and foremost, Superman is a      figure of unvarnished patriotism: \"truth, justice, and the      American way.\" This has always been an interpretation of Jim      Brown-and how Jim Brown has interpreted himself: that he was not a      \"revolutionary\" in the sense of wanting to dismantle the system,      but instead was fighting for the black community to have access to      the American Dream. This is why sportswriter Mike Freeman      subtitled his Brown biography The Fierce Life of an American Hero      and Spike Lee titled his documentary Jim Brown: All-American. As      Dr. Robert Bennett, who wrote his dissertation about the Black      Economic Unions that Brown launched in the 1960s to promote      black-owned businesses, says, \"Unlike some Black Nationalists, he      embraced the notion of being an American. He didn't distance      himself from it. But when a black man embraces that he's an      American, he can still face rejection by the broader society,      whether he's an NFL player or not.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Perhaps this desire to achieve full citizenship is why the Man of      Steel moniker is apt, beyond the obvious associations with Brown's      musculature and speed. Superman was created in 1933 by writer      Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, two men who were the children      of immigrants. They were young Jews, outcasts in the North America      of eighty years ago (Shuster was born in Toronto), and Superman      was at heart an assimilationist fantasy. Clark Kent was the      nebbishy, awkward Jewish stereotype, brainy but with the      coordination of a puppet cut from its strings-more hapless than      heroic. But beneath the surface, he was handsome, strong, and the      avatar of all things American. It was a tale of acceptance earned      through excellence.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Brown, too, believed that individual excellence could be a path      toward assimilation. He was attractive and intelligent, and he      knew how to speak the language of business entrepreneurship. If he      couldn't make it, then who the hell could? Even if those who      called him Superman did not know about Shuster and Siegel, there      is that idea of needing to be \"super\" to overcome being the      inherent outsider. Brown spoke to this when he said in an      interview, \"I came up at the crossroads of segregation. . . . It      was a blessing on the one hand because there were opportunities,      but it was demeaning because you were still looked on as inferior.      It was almost as if you'd been given a favor. And you always felt      you had to perform much, much better.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Yet Brown's legend was about more than assimilation. Former NBA      player Etan Thomas says that what makes Jim Brown \"Superman\" in      his eyes is \"what he represents: strength, courage, stubbornness,      rebelliousness, pride.\" Brown, according to Thomas, \"commands      respect even from people who don't agree with his particular      stance, unwillingness to be reduced to a clown used only to      entertain someone's circus.\"","brand":"Blue Rider Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300329607397,"sku":"NP9780399173448","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780399173448.jpg?v=1767730403","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/jim-brown-isbn-9780399173448","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}