Michael Jordan: The Life

This book was used for reading both at school and at home, and truly everywhere in between. It has a soft cover, and at the same time it is very thick, with a large number of pages. In hindsight, it was my mistake to order it in paperback, considering how actively it was used and carried around daily rather than being read quietly in one place, like a library. As a result, the book became quite worn over time. That said, the content of the book is truly fascinating and engaging. It presents the life and character of one of the greatest athletes and individuals in a very compelling way. Despite the wear from heavy use, I would absolutely recommend this book to both myself and others. It is an inspiring and worthwhile read, and I would simply suggest considering a hardcover version if it will be used frequently.

MJ. His Airness. Jordan Air. Michael Jordan is arguably, the best basketball player that has ever laced up his shoes. Fans all have favorite memories; his game-winning basket for the national title at UNC, the flu game, the jams, the high scores. He is one of the most easily identifiable individuals in the world as his fame spread past the courts to advertising and the movies. But who is this man? Roland Lazenby has written a memoir biography of Michael Jordan. He takes the reader through his childhood and the family structure and issues. Jordan's time at the University of North Carolina and his relationship with coach Dean Smith is covered in depth as the reader learns how Jordan improved his game. His time with the Chicago Bulls led to a long run as world champions and the reader sees how the offense set up there was perfect for Jordan both to shine as an individual and as a teammate. His relationship with his teammates and his coaches is covered in detail, both during the good years and as the team came apart through player-management issues. But this is not just a tribute book. Jordan's negative influences are also covered. The family issues and conflicts were a spur to Jordan. His competitive drive also led to gambling. Of course, few can forget the murder of his father and how that affected Jordan, leading to him leaving basketball for two years and trying to become a professional baseball player. The fact that Jordan's intense competitive drive made him less than supportive of teammates that weren't as talented or who didn't work as hard. Jordan was a master trash-talker and rode others mercilessly when they didn't measure up to his standards. At the end of the book, the reader is left with a complete picture of this complicated man. Leaders are honored and adored, but few really understand the drive it takes to be the best. To spur others to achieve greatness, often leaders are less than kind and often even cruel, and that is also a part of leadership. Jordan has great athletic talent, an incredible energy and drive for success, loyalty to those he trusts, and has given the world moments that will always be remembered. At our core, we all want 'to be like Mike'. This book is recommended for sports fans and those interested in reading about how one individual finds the drive to compete and excel, until they are the best in the world.

Well researched. Very erudite in regards to some of the details concerning Michael Jordan's life. That alone merits 3 stars. The information about Michael's ancestors were brilliantly researched. The author also shed light on Jordan's Wizards years and presented information I didn't know about in regards to the rancor and in some cases odium that existed between Jordan and management as well as the growing dichotomy regarding philosophy and how the franchise should go foward. The players also grew to detest Jordan's approach. I respect the fact that Roland did not approach this book as another Jordan worshipping author who is going to write this hagiography painting Jordan as an infalible saint. Unfortunately for me having played the game during the late 80's and 90's in highschool and some college and watching a lot of MJ along with Magic and Bird, there wasn't much new information presented, at least for me. It was a decent read which for the neophyte who doesn't know that much about Jordan would be an astonishing narrative but for me I give it 4 stars not 5 simply because most of the information I already knew. The problem with writing about these very famous personalities is that what don't we not know about the subject. It would be like writing a book about Michael Jackson and we can make the case that in the 90's Michael Jordan approached Michael Jackson status in terms of being that famous, especially the Michael Jackson of the 80's. Both figures transcended race and were famous international figures. What new information could you really present on the life of a person that famous. What hasn't been written about them somewhere. I would probably love to see a researcher go deeper into maybe the period of Jordan's life from 1993 to his comeback in 1995. Delving into the death of his father which to me is still clouded and strange. I think books like that would be an interesting and fresh take on this very famous subject. The 30 for 30 film "Jordan Ride's The Bus" touched on that period along with Bob Greene who is a famous Jordan historian and author but once again Greene is one of those hagiographers and Jordan worshipers. Roland in contrast stated that Jordan wanted to be involved but Roland wanted to keep the integrity of the book. Jordan wanted to ommit some things that were controversial to him. Jordan most likely would have opted to ommit the narrative about the sexual abuse that occured at the hands of his father as he victimized his older sister. He would have probably put the pressure on Roland to leave out the legal misgivings and lack of business accumen exhibited by his father as well. I do wonder why Roland failed to bring out the extortion trial in which Jordan was a plantiff in the 2002 case where one of his former mistresses Karla Knafel tried to blackmail him for money by threatening to exspose him as someone who was cheating on his wife in 1991 and who was potentially the father on her child. Overall pretty decent well researched narrative.

Very nice book

My Dad loves it.

A nice book overall, this book is great to read,sometimes I don’t want to put it down 😂 but I recommend this book to read and reading is always good to do💯

A thorough look into the circumstances that shaped one of the most iconic figures in modern times.

I was a kid of the 90s, the Jordan generation and spent countless hours pounding a basketball in my backyard, terrorizing my parents with constant thuds as I executed passes to myself off the house walls before driving to my hoop, red, over-sized Bulls jersey worn constantly, emblazoned predictably with the iconic '23'. Jordan brings back memories of school holidays, carefree times and childhood innocence. That's why going back and reading this comprehensive Jordan biography as an adult was both refreshing and insightful, even though it is difficult to find a more exposed or covered sports star in our time. What more could there possibly be to say? But that I think is the beauty of this book - it doesn't have any earth shattering revelations, or new exclusive, but it is comprehensive and brings all the stories together in one. It meant that I could revisit Jordan's history, learn about the formative years before he was the global megastar (and while I was just a toddler on the other side of the world) and contextualize his accomplishments. In particular it gives great insight into the mythical tale of the high school coach who "dropped Jordan from his team" (so much more complex than it gets presented as and in fact that coach had a huge influence on Jordan and great relationship). As a fan it's easy to look back on the six championships of the Bulls era and assume they were a highly performing, high achieving team celebrating each others success. They were in fact almost dysfunctional and at each other constantly. But it was that competitiveness, that feeling of being slighted that drove Jordan and in turn made Jordan challenge and push his teammates. It's a wonderful insight into the personality of someone extraordinary. Jordan is regularly described as a difficult teammate, someone who couldn't understand people accepting less than the best or not working as hard as possible, someone who put in more time and effort than seemed sustainable, had no tolerance for fools and could generally be rude, introverted, untrusting and mercenary in dealing with people to get what he wanted. I could not help thinking afterwards the similarity in personality between Jordan and revered business figures of our time - Jobs, Bezos, Musk - who all demonstrate an almost identical personality. It's certainly not all rosy - the gambling, the messy family situation, etc - but I think this is what makes it an even more important read for people like me who grew up with Jordan and still revere him as the greatest of all time. In summary, I would say that I started the booking thinking whether I really need to invest in almost 700 pages of Jordan history but it didn't take long to develop into a compelling read and one that helped fill in a number of blanks beyond the mainstream memories of a generation and round out the story.

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Really enjoyed this book - love the style of the writer and his respect for the people that have populated Jordan's life including his extended family and those who have contributed along the way. Really interesting perspectives and the depth of research is evident. I especially appreciated that the author wasn't superficial in ascribing ulterior motives for other people's actions and takes a bit of time to more closely examine their behaviours and gives us, I believe, a more complete and perhaps complex understanding of their actions. MJ is one of the premier performers and competitors of our generation and it fascinating to see the confluence of factors both internal and external that have shaped his incredible brilliance.

Keine Beanstandungen. Alles ok.

Bought for my husband. He’s a big fan of Michael Jordan & basketball. He thought it was a good read

When you read this book, you are easily enraptured by the writing. You see things happening in front of your eyes. You could see how things were in the days of his great grandfather..grandfather.. you get it