{"product_id":"the-last-folk-hero-the-life-and-myth-of-bo-jackson-isbn-9780063285316","title":"The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003eBestseller\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBy the author of \u003ci\u003eShowtime\u003c\/i\u003e—the source for HBO’s \u003ci\u003eWinning Time—\u003c\/i\u003ethe definitive sports biography of mythic multi-sport star Bo Jackson.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“A legendary tome on a legendary athlete.\" —Chris Herring, author of \u003ci\u003eBlood in the Garden\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the mid-1980s into the early 1990s, the greatest athlete of all time streaked across American sports and popular culture. Stadiums struggled to contain him. Clocks failed to capture his speed. His strength was legendary. His power unmatched. Video game makers turned him into an invincible character—and they were dead-on. He climbed (and walked across) walls, splintered baseball bats over his knee, turned oncoming tacklers into ground meat. He became the first person to simultaneously star in two major professional sports, and overtook Michael Jordan as America’s most recognizable pitchman. He was on our televisions, in our magazines, plastered across billboards. He was half man, half myth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThen, almost overnight, he was gone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe was Bo Jackson.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on an astonishing 720 original interviews, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling sportswriter Jeff Pearlman captures in this in-depth biography as never before the elusive truth about Jackson, Auburn University’s transcendent Heisman Trophy winner, superstar of both the NFL and Major League Baseball and ubiquitous “Bo Knows” Nike pitchman. Did Bo really jump over a parked Volkswagen? (Yes.) Did he actually run a 4.13 40? (Yes.) During the 1991 flight that nearly killed every member of the Chicago White Sox, was he in the cockpit trying to help? (Oddly, yes. Or no. Or … maybe.)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBo Jackson isn’t Jim Thorpe.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe’s not Deion Sanders, either.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e No, Bo Jackson is Paul Bunyan.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Last Folk Hero\u003c\/i\u003e is the true tale of Bo Jackson that only “master storyteller” (NPR.org) Jeff Pearlman could tell.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis meticulously researched sports biography separates the man from the myth with:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA True Multi-Sport Legend:\u003c\/b\u003e Go inside the moments that made Bo the first athlete to be an All-Star in two major American sports, the NFL and Major League Baseball.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eMeticulously Researched:\u003c\/b\u003e Built from nearly 750 exclusive interviews, this definitive biography goes beyond the headlines to find the real story.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe ‘Bo Knows’ Era:\u003c\/b\u003e Relive the period when Jackson surpassed Michael Jordan as a cultural icon, becoming the face of a legendary Nike advertising campaign.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eMyth vs. Man:\u003c\/b\u003e Pearlman answers the questions that created the legend. Did Bo really run a 4.13 40-yard dash? Did he truly walk on walls? The answers are here.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e | \u003cp\u003e\"No writer in America is better at digging into the truth of the mythical sports star or legendary sports dynasty than Jeff Pearlman, who has done it again with \u003cem\u003eThe Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson\u003c\/em\u003e. With a book that races along at the pace of Jackson’s relatively brief but stunning career, Pearlman deftly captures his greatness, corrals his elusiveness, and eventually captures his ultimate disappearance. After soaring and sprinting through this compelling tale of both superman powers and human vulnerability, one can safely say, without question, Pearlman knows Bo.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times columnist and panelist on ESPN’s Around the Horn\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A legendary tome on a legendary athlete that was almost too good to be true. Pearlman's research takes us into Bo's cramped childhood home, inside his elementary school classrooms and onto the first muddy fields he ever played on. And in doing so, he gets us closer than we've ever gotten to the truth of who Jackson really was, and how he got to be that way. The book is appointment reading; an undeniable masterclass.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChris Herring, New York Times bestselling author of Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Reading Jeff Pearlman's masterwork about Bo Jackson feels almost as much classic comic as sports biography; his subject more superhuman than star athlete. Pearlman's famously deep reporting has produced a riveting, lightning-fast read about a character and a man, a legend and a life, of the sometimes faint line that separates the stories we tell and the ones that happen to be true. Bo did things no athlete ever had or will again, and he filled a generation of kids with memories and possibilities and what-ifs, and—long after this kid grew up—the notion that Superman might actually be real. This is a book I'll read again and again.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKent Babb, author of Across the River: Life, Death, and Football in an American City\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"As Jeff Pearlman depicts Bo Jackson's life, from neighborhoods in Bessemer to charter jets in Memphis, you begin to wonder whether Pearlman contacted every human being who has ever interacted with Jackson. That's how detailed this book is on a life seemingly so hard to depict. Former classmates, agents, teammates, attorneys and so many others provide an array of vignettes that distinctly portray the human arc of one of sport's most mythical figures.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAlec Lewis, Kansas City Royals beat writer, The Athletic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A captivating, copiously researched portrait of once-in-a-century supernova Bo Jackson.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Every sports book by Jeff Pearlman is a must-read… Pearlman writes as only a great storyteller can – witty, funny, informative, and always insightful. [\u003cem\u003eThe Last Folk Hero\u003c\/em\u003e] is quite simply a joy, as entertaining and enjoyable a sports book as you will find.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAll Sports Book Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Pearlman tells us everything there is to know about the two-sport star.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAndscape\/ESPN\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This is a giant book, thoroughly detailed. ... Pearlman has such a lively, conversational style that reading was not a slog, and the story is nearly unbelievable.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Tuscaloosa News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Bo Jackson awed fans with the impossible. The sensational, two-sport, baseball and football superstar has a highlights reel packed with moonshot homers, crazy throws, unstoppable touchdown runs and iconic Nike ads. If you grew up in the 1980s and ’90s, you probably wanted to be like Bo. In \u003cem\u003eThe Last Folk Hero\u003c\/em\u003e, Jeff Pearlman shows us how Vincent Jackson became ‘Bo’ with engrossing reporting that takes us from his early childhood to his athletic apex to that fluke, career-changing injury. Along the way, Pearlman unpacks the real story from the embellishments and myths that seem to grow in each retelling.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNPR.org\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Pearlman's palpable enthusiasm supercharges descriptions of Mr. Jackson’s at-bats or off-tackle runs. ... Delightful. ... Often hilarious. ... There is surely a throng that will want to read this excellent book.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Every word was devoured like cornbread and collard greens at a family reunion. Pearlman's beautiful and brilliant work here takes you deep inside the life of America's greatest athlete of all time, but there is so much more to this book. As a child of Birmingham, Alabama, who fell in love with sports in the 1980s thanks to Bo Jackson, I consider this one of the greatest sports biographies ever written.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJoseph Goodman, author of We Want Bama\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"An excellent, well-researched biography. . .Highly recommended for all interested in sports.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"It's just not possible to write a better biography than \u003cem\u003eThe Last Folk Hero\u003c\/em\u003e, which is Jeff Pearlman's best book yet. And that's saying something.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A tremendous book, impossible to put down, one of the most well-reported books I ever remember reading.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeter King\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A standout addition to biographies of hall-of-fame athletes. Jackson’s fans are in for a treat.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Far more than a typical sports biography. [\u003cem\u003eThe Last Folk Hero\u003c\/em\u003e] is a complete portrait of an extraordinary athlete and a man with an enduring charisma, as well as a vivid account of the changing social and sports landscapes in which he played. In short, it is an undeniable masterpiece.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookreporter.com\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mariner Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44890511802597,"sku":"NP9780063285316","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780063285316.jpg?v=1730233460","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-last-folk-hero-the-life-and-myth-of-bo-jackson-isbn-9780063285316","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}