Publisher's Weekly Review
Michael Jordan's role as handsome pitchman/basketball champion belies a complicated life in this hefty, revelatory biography by veteran basketball author Lazenby (Jerry West: The Life and Legend of a Basketball Icon). Nearly branded a lost cause by his parents, Jordan turned his passion for hoops into a furious work ethic that included not stopping one-on-one games until he won and catching an early morning ride with his high school coach to the gym before school. As Jordan's fame grew-hitting the game-winning shot for the University of North Carolina in the 1982 NCCA Championship, reviving the Chicago Bulls with his aerial artistry, winning six NBA titles-his world grew into a turbulent fishbowl. Fame became so overwhelming that he limited his circle of friends to a select few; his family, torn apart by accusations and bad business decisions, became irritants. The search for competition was almost toxic: he created feuds with players to elevate his game. And his corrosive relationship with Bulls general manager Jerry Krause, a blunt personality, helped hasten the break-up of a dynasty. Lazenby's work isn't definitive-Jordan, after all, is still alive-but it yields a fascinating examination into the lonely, prideful man behind the glimmering icon. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Lazenby, author of an acclaimed biography of NBA great Jerry West, correctly points out that there have been enough books written about Michael Jordan to qualify as a genre. So why another? In order to reveal, Lazenby says, more of Jordan's true self, his complex, almost bipolar personality. Jordan, we learn, driven by his hypercompetitiveness, could go from being a gracious person off the court to a vicious antagonist to teammates and opponents. As Jordan's fame grew, Lazenby shows, he became its prisoner, and his isolation worsened after his father, Michael's anchor in a world of sycophants, was murdered. Lazenby also digs into the rest of Jordan's family, noting that Michael was estranged from the family for a time over a dispute between his then-wife, Juanita, and his mother. Lazenby's resources include the vast printed Jordan library as well as interviews conducted recently, along with gleanings from the author's years on the NBA beat. Readers who have immersed themselves in the Jordan genre will be familiar with much of what's detailed here, but MJ's life is a movie worth watching again, and Lazenby adds enough deleted scenes to add some oomph to the familiar story. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Interest in Jordan remains high, and this biography will be heavily promoted and is sure to receive coverage beyond both book pages and sports sections.--Lukowsky, Wes Copyright 2014 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Billed as the definitive portrait of Michael Jordan both on and off the court, Lazenby's (The History of the Chicago Bulls) book handles well the courtside analysis of the NBA legend's stunning impact on the game-as well it should, since Lazenby was a longtime roundball beat writer. Beyond that, the author manages the difficult feat of taking a well-known life story and making it feel new. Listeners learn about the rough truth behind Jordan's idealized family origins and how isolation, the flip side of fame, made the loss of his murdered father that much more painful. Although Jordan flew on the court, his earthbound life after his prime-time NBA career makes the book in its latter stages less involving. Still, the resulting work is a solid biography that reader Bob Souer, perhaps best known for his religious book narration, serves well. VERDICT Jordan's continuing media presence makes this a good addition for most libraries. ["Essential reading for all sports fans and particularly for those interested in American cultural history and popular culture," read the starred review of the Little, Brown hc, LJ 6/1/14.]-Kelly Sinclair, Temple P.L., TX (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
