The Last Folk Hero, Jeff Pearlman
The Last Folk Hero, Jeff Pearlman
4 Rating(s)
List: $44.99 | Sale: $31.50
Club: $22.49

The Last Folk Hero
The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson

Bestseller

Author: Jeff Pearlman

Narrator: JD Jackson

Unabridged: 22 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 10/25/2022

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

By the New York Times bestselling author of Showtime—the source for HBO’s Winning Time—the definitive biography of mythic multi-sport star Bo Jackson.
From 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.Then, almost overnight, he was gone.He was Bo Jackson.Drawing on an astonishing 720 original interviews, New York Times bestselling sportswriter Jeff Pearlman captures 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.)Bo Jackson isn’t Jim Thorpe.He’s not Deion Sanders, either. No, Bo Jackson is Paul Bunyan. The Last Folk Hero is the true tale of Bo Jackson that only “master storyteller” (NPR.org) Jeff Pearlman could tell.Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

About Jeff Pearlman

Jeff Pearlman is the New York Times bestselling author of ten books. His subjects include NFL legends Walter Pay­ton (Sweetness), Brett Favre (Gunslinger), and Bo Jackson (The Last Folk Hero), as well as the ’80s Los Angeles Lakers (Show­time), the 1986 New York Mets (The Bad Guys Won), and the ’90s Dallas Cowboys (Boys Will Be Boys). HBO adapted Showtime into the dramatic series Winning Time, produced and directed by Adam McKay. A former Sports Illus­trated senior writer and ESPN.com colum­nist, Pearlman is the host of the Two Writers Slinging Yang podcast.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tim on July 10, 2023

For two amazing years, Bo Jackson was an All-Star caliber Major League Baseball player and an All-Pro caliber football player in the NFL. I can’t get over how amazing that is. Before that, he left a trail of accomplishments at Auburn University and his High School in baseball, football, and track and......more

Goodreads review by Laura on May 19, 2023

I was a graduate student at Auburn University when Coach Pat Dye and Bo Jackson were both there. It was an amazing time! Bo was an outstanding athlete and played several sports at the highest level. So, I was excited to read The Last Folk Hero. The research and writing were top notch (hence the four......more

Goodreads review by Barnabas on June 27, 2023

Pearlman is a consummate reporter and researcher who digs up wonderful detail and depth on his subjects. He also picks fascinating subjects. His writing is blasé, but the work he puts into the storytelling makes for a really interesting and enjoyable read.......more

Goodreads review by Trevor on December 06, 2022

Americans love our tall tales, and especially our mythic beings imbued with powers far beyond the realm of mortal mankind. From Paul Bunyan to Luke Skywalker, pop culture abounds with tales of heroes who were gifted far more than any of us could ever be, but in real life "heroes" often seem just out......more

Goodreads review by Matt on February 26, 2023

Had high expectations yet the granular detail and being a few years too young to remember Bo Jackson’s career led to me always progress watching on the kindle. Enjoyed notes from his college days and day with the Royals but in the end reading felt too much like a chore.......more