Michael Jordan : the life

by Roland Lazenby         (Get the Book)Lazenby, author of an acclaimed biography of NBA great Jerry West, correctly points out that there have been enough books written about Michael Jordan to qualify as a genre. So why another? In order to reveal, Lazenby says, more of Jordan's true self, his complex, almost bipolar personality. Jordan, we learn, driven by his hypercompetitiveness, could go from being a gracious person off the court to a vicious antagonist to teammates and opponents. As Jordan's fame grew, Lazenby shows, he became its prisoner, and his isolation worsened after his father, Michael's anchor in a world of sycophants, was murdered. Lazenby also digs into the rest of Jordan's family, noting that Michael was estranged from the family for a time over a dispute between his then-wife, Juanita, and his mother. Lazenby's resources include the vast printed Jordan library as well as interviews conducted recently, along with gleanings from the author's years on the NBA beat. Readers who have immersed themselves in the Jordan genre will be familiar with much of what's detailed here, but MJ's life is a movie worth watching again, and Lazenby adds enough deleted scenes to add some oomph to the familiar story. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Interest in Jordan remains high, and this biography will be heavily promoted and is sure to receive coverage beyond both book pages and sports sections. --Booklist