Jim Brown: The Fierce Life of an American Hero

THIS BOOK BY MIKE FREEMAN IS A VERY GOOD BIO ON A VERY INTERESTING PERSON IN JIM BROWN. HE CAPTURES BROWN AS A VERY COMPLICATED PERSON WITH MANY SIDES. I AM FROM CLEVELAND AND SAW MANY OF HIS GAMES AS A CHILD AND ARE STILL ETCHED IN MY MIND FOR THE GREAT PLAYS HE MADE. OFF THE FIELD IT WAS A DIFFERENT STORY. JIM WAS ARROGANT, ALOOF AND A MAJOR WOMANIZER. HE HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF PHYSICAL ABUSE MORE THAN A FEW TIMES OVER THE YEARS. HE ALSO WAS A MAJOR MOTIVATOR IN TRYING TO HELP BLACK BUSINESS PEOPLE ESTABLISH THEMSELVES BACK IN THE 1960'S AND 1970'S. ALONG WITH ALL THIS, HE MADE SEVERAL MOVIES AND HAD A SOLID CAREER FOR AWHILE. THE ONE COMPLAINT I HAVE WITH THIS BOOK IS A LACK OF TIME SPENT ON HIS FOOTBALL CAREER. OTHER THAN THAT I REALLY ENJOYED AND ALSO FOUND THE PART ABOUT THE FBI KEEPING AN EYE ON BROWN FOR SEVERAL YEARS TO BE VERY INTERESTING. ALL IN ALL I LIKE IT AND SUGGEST FOR ALL JIM BROWN FANS.

I just finished reading this book and although it slowed at times it was worth the read. Jim Brown probably the greatest running back to play football in any era is laid out warts and all in this bio.I believe the book reveals alot in regards to how Brown evolved into the person he is now. The social and racial prejudice he encountered early in life chiseled not only his body but personality into a hard edged, tough to get close to icon.

Just old enough to have seen Jim Brown in his prime I therefore read this out of respect for the football player, activist, and occasional jail occupant. The author clearly has great respect for Brown and details the steps he took to be granted interviews from this controlling, contentious man. This book is a great summation but really without any revelations. Brown was a great football player from a broken home in Georgia whose mother brings him to New York and works as a domestic to raise him. High school coaches guide him to a great Syracuse career while he experiences racism and events that will shape his life. Brown left the NFL at the top of his game for a career in movies. The book seems to glorify the Jim Brown acting career which seems to me to be quite a stretch. Whether it compensated Brown better than staying in football is never made clear. After acting and football we are left with Jim Brown the activist and possible abuser. I applaud Brown for his long history of effective activism but am conflicted on how to balance this with the domestic violence incidents which he continually tries to explain away. This is for the reader to decide but it is apparent that the author also has this same conflict. Overall, this is a fine book. But does it really add new ground? Not really. Does it give great insight into a unique period America? Probably, in my opinion this is the book's greatest failure. While he touches on what is happening in America during this period, particularly the support for Mohammed Ali as he objects Vietnam duty, there is no great reflection to open this historical period to the reader. Therefore I was left with a biography of maybe the greatest football player who is now an activist and who doesn't want anything written about him. There is just not enough insight or reflection to call this an exceptional book. But if you have a specific interest in knowing of Jim Brown, this book will serve that purpose.

Five REVEALING Stars!! Mike Freeman has written the penultimate biography of Jim Brown, even beyond his own autobiography, primarily because it updates later events of the complex Mr Brown's life. Covering his life and various 'careers' from his Syracuse University days to pro football with the Browns (and what many of us consider his early departure from a game he dominated like no other) to his movie career (and yes, the famous Raquel Welch love scene from the movie "100 Rifles") to his community activities to his stormy personal relationships and encounters with law enforcement, it's all here. And during it all, Mr Brown exuded confidence, bordering on or exceeding arrogance. The lurid aspects of his private life in terms of marriage, the many women, and the problems with the law are fully exposed with no attempt to sugar coat it. But anyone who misses the fact that Jim Brown is a very intelligent man will also miss the real man behind the legends. As recounted here, I remember the photo of Brown "in handcuffs and chains" over a traffic violation where no one was injured, but until now I never knew the outcome: a jury found him not guilty in a half an hour. Brown is revealed as a man who, justifiably or not, felt he was the target of everyone from the local police up to the FBI and CIA because of his activist activities. Decades later, when his FBI file surfaced and was released to the National Archives, there was both shock and vindication of his suspicions. What an ex-FBI agent recounts about the agency and Jim Brown is even more shocking and saddening. If you saw his appearance on CNN's "Larry King Show", you'll know it was different from Joe Namath's appearance on CBS' "60 Minutes", because Brown and King hardly mentioned football, except in passing (pardon the pun). Instead it concentrated on his 'anti-gang', civil rights, minority economic outreach, and other community activities. And Brown was appearing with former gang members and police working for gang elimination. There is lots of that in the book also. As this biography shows, Jim Brown never missed a pro football game and when he retired from professional football, he never looked back. Instead, he "redefined" himself, over and over, dominating his 'post'-football roles as movie star and community activist like he dominated linemen, linebackers, and safety's. Never forgetting he was a black man with a following in that community that made him a role model. All done with the maximum amount of intimidation and the glowering, deadpan stares that struck fear in the hearts of opposing football players as he drug two or three along with him into the end zone for yet another touchdown. This book details the amazing and sometimes shocking life of a MAN who still remains a fascinating celebrity-figure and enigma to the public and who always does it his way. Jim Brown is no angel but he certainly seems to be on the side of the angels, most of the time, except where it came to women