Michael Jordan: The Life

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

Very nice book

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.

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.

Great read. As a life long Bulls/MJ fan there is still interesting information in here that I didn't know.

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💯

Being born in 1997, I did not have the privilege of watching Michael Jordan play live growing up. I grew up in the Kobe and Lebron eras of basketball. This book provides an in-depth understanding of just how competitive Michael Jordan truly is, and how he rose to fame; beginning with his ancestors and great great grandparents. This book shed light to parts of Michael Jordan’s life that I never knew and it changed my perspective of how great Jordan really was (which I didn’t think was possible). It also displays the facets of Jordan’s life that he struggled with but had difficulty acknowledging in public. If you are a basketball fan, especially one that grew up following the eclipse of Jordan’s reign, I highly recommend reading this book.

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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