Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit

When one comes across a biography purporting to be about the late, great Bruce Lee, one must ask oneself: "why is the author writing a book on this man?". If you conclude that he has something to gain, say, by revising a history of which he was a part, then you should probably steer clear of such a book. Thankfully, the author Bruce Thomas was not a part of Bruce Lee's life and so he has no vested interest in rewriting this now-legendary past. Rather, in his book, Thomas tells us a little about each important phase of Lee's life: his boyhood in Hong Kong, streetfightin' teenage years, emigration to Seattle, development of his evolving art and philosophy of Jeet Kune Do, struggles breaking into the film business, and eventual mass recognition and appeal as an international celebrity. The book also chronicles Lee's last days, shedding light on his recent out of character behavior (drug abuse, adultery) with brief but insightful speculation regarding what could have killed him. Unlike other books, in Fighting Spirit, Thomas is very respectful of Bruce's memory, yet he does not get caught up in hero worship. The facts are presented as is, with the implicit assumption that the reader is intelligent enough to make what he or she will of them without any embellishment whatsoever on the author's part. This is, to my mind, the best biography in publication on Bruce Lee.

Very detailed, very insightful, most interesting of all the books on Bruce Lee's life. A must-read for anyone who wants to know (or know more) about Bruce Lee.

Thomas demonstrates a deep understanding of and empathy for Lee, and gives a great insight into the way he lived. Rather than just cataloging the events of his life, this book goes alot deeper and you certainly come away with as good an idea of what made Bruce Lee tick as you are likely to find anywhere. If you are a Bruce Lee fan, buy this book. You will definately not regret it.

I am inclined to agree with the other reviewers on the site about the merit of this book. It is very good, rivalling if not surpassing Linda Lee's account of her husband's life. As another reviewer has indicated the reason for this is that Thomas hasn't just recounted the tale of Bruce Lee's life per se but examined in quite some depth the spiritual and psychological motivations which led him to live the way he did. The biography has a special dimension which moves the reader into the actual reality Bruce experienced. I was affected greatly by the empathy Thomas has for Lee, which at times is so compelling, especially in the narration of the events leading up to Lee's death, that I was pressed to tears. There are few books which have such impact.

This is the best biography of Bruce Lee that I have ever read. It is not a pictorial perspective of the man but gives the most detailed account of his extraordinary life. It is the first book which has documented the relationship between Joe Lewis and Bruce Lee with an example of a kickboxing match (Joe Lewis vs. Greg Baines). Well done.