A riveting new biography of America’s greatest all-around athlete by the bestselling author of the classic biography When Pride Still Mattered. Jim Thorpe rose to world fame as a mythic talent who excelled at every sport. He won gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, was an All-American football player at the Carlisle Indian School, the star of the first class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and played major league baseball for John McGraw’s New York Giants. Even in a golden age of sports celebrities, he was one of a kind. But despite his colossal skills, Thorpe’s life was a struggle against the odds. As a member of the Sac and Fox Nation, he encountered duplicitous authorities who turned away from him when their reputations were at risk. At Carlisle, he dealt with the racist assimilationist philosophy “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.” His gold medals were unfairly rescinded because he had played minor league baseball. His later life was troubled by alcohol, broken marriages, and financial distress. He roamed from state to state and took bit parts in Hollywood, but even the film of his own life failed to improve his fortunes. But for all his travails, Thorpe did not succumb. The man survived, complications and all, and so did the myth. Path Lit by Lightning is a great American story from a master biographer. Beyond bringing Thorpe to life, Maraniss also delves heavily into issues of race and culture. -- "Library Journal" Racism was a powerful element in Thorpe's life, and Maraniss explores this topic with insight and nuance...a tale that, though well known in outline, Maraniss enriches with his considerable skills as a writer and researcher. -- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review)" This essential work restores a legendary figure to his rightful place in history. -- "Publishers Weekly" David Maraniss is an associate editor at the Washington Post and a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes for journalism and was a finalist three other times. Among his bestselling books are biographies of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Roberto Clemente, Jim Thorpe, and Vince Lombardi. He has also written a trilogy about the 1960s: Rome 1960 ; Once in a Great City , winner of the RFK Book Award; and They Marched into Sunlight , winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History.