Jim Thorpe, Original All-American

Joseph Bruchac

Nov 2007 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Joseph Bruchac

About this audiobook

Jim Thorpe was one of the greatest athletes who ever lived. He played professional football, Major League b aseball, and won Olympic gold medals in track and field. He’ll forever be remembered by the sports community and by his Native American community, who consider him a hero on par with Crazy Horse.

Born on the Sac and Fox Reservation in 1887. Jim was sent as a young boy to various Indian boarding schools strict, cold places that didn’t allow their students to hold on to their Native American traditions. Jim ran away from school many times, until he found his calling at Pennsylvania’s Carlisle School. There, coach Pop Warner, who is as famous today as Thorpe himself, recognized Jim’s athletic excellence and welcomed him onto the football and track teams. Glory followed, as did surprising disgrace. But through everything, Jim was a person to admire—an engaging, spirited, and impressive young man.

About the author

Joseph Bruchac is a highly acclaimed children’s book author, poet, novelist, and storyteller, as well as a scholar of Native American culture. He is the coauthor of the bestselling Keepers of the Earth series with Michael Caduto. Bruchac's poems, articles, and stories have appeared in hundreds of publications from Akwesasne Notes and American Poetry Review to National Geographic and Parabola. He has authored many books for adults and children including Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two, Skeleton Man, and The Heart of a Chief.