Jim Brown

February 12, 2018
In a far-reaching biography that goes well beyond football, Zirin (What’s My Name, Fool?) narrates the life of NFL legend Jim Brown. Brown walked away from the Cleveland Browns in 1966 as the NFL’s leading rusher after only nine seasons to pursue acting and become a civil rights activist. Readers shouldn’t be surprised that Zirin directs much of his attention to Brown’s postfootball career, given the author’s background as sports editor for the Nation and a columnist for the Progressive. Zirin focuses chapters on Brown’s entrepreneurial endeavors and political affiliations—including support of both Richard Nixon’s and Donald Trump’s presidencies. Brown also created the Black Economic Union (a nationwide attempt to boost black businesses) and Amer-I-Can (a gang-intervention program) while defending himself against numerous allegations of violence against women. Throughout, Zirin portrays Brown as someone deeply aware of the “unassailable masculinity” in everything he does, both on and off the field. Given its breadth and detail, this stands as the definitive biography of Brown.

April 1, 2018
One of the greatest--and most controversial--athletes of all time gets a well-balanced biographical and historical treatment.Jim Brown (b. 1936) is arguably the best football player in the history of the sport, a truly larger-than-life figure who may have also been the best lacrosse player ever. "From the moment he stepped onto a playing field," writes Nation sports editor Zirin (Brazil's Dance with the Devil: The World Cup, the Olympics, and the Fight for Democracy, 2014, etc.), "the operative emotion expressed in describing Jim Brown has been reverence." Few would argue, but as always in Zirin's books, the playing field is only one element of the narrative equation. The author ticks all the biographical boxes--multisport star in both high school and college; tumultuous career at Syracuse, where he truly began to understand the scourge of racism; Hall of Fame career with the Cleveland Browns; up-and-down forays into Hollywood; lifelong activism--but what is most refreshing about this book is Zirin's focus on Brown's character, both awe-inspiring and highly flawed. Brown has spent his life fighting racism and advocating for economic and social justice for the black community, but he has also been accused of rampant misogyny and instances of violence against women. He has brought together rival gang members in his own home but also managed to shut out some of those closest to him due to stubbornness to remain on top in a "world of competing male egos and unfettered ids." As Zirin notes, for Brown, maintaining his manhood--however he conceives of it--has been the most important driving factor of his life. Brown simply refuses to be "soft" in any way, and he is not shy about criticizing the current athletes who, writes the author, "have fumbled the baton passed to them and surrendered an awesome opportunity to affect seismic social change." Zirin, who spent considerable time with Brown, deftly navigates this rocky terrain, providing ample room for Brown to tell his own story and for others to weigh in as well.A truly rounded, fully fleshed portrait of a significant 20th-century figure.

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April 15, 2018

Jim Brown, a former fullback for the Cleveland Browns, is a complicated individual who demands respect as an American sports icon comparable only to the late Muhammad Ali and basketball star Bill Russell. Brown has written two autobiographies (Off My Chest; Out of Bounds) and was the subject of Mike Freeman's Jim Brown: The Fierce Life of an American Hero. Sportswriter Zirin, though, is the first to examine fully Brown's political views, especially relating to black pride and power. Zirin begins each chapter with "You are...," in an attempt to imagine the feelings of a person who will figure later on in a given chapter, whether Syracuse Coach Ben Schwartzwalder, Cleveland owner Art Modell, Black Panther leader Huey Newton, or former gang member Rockhead Johnson. While this practice comes across as an artificial representation, the author still manages to paint a complete portrait of Brown. Zirin also deals with this uncomfortable subject of Brown's alleged domestic abuse. VERDICT The audience for this book will be readers more interested in Brown's politics and personality than his football career.--John Maxymuk, Rutgers Univ.-Camden Lib., NJ

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2018
Zirin, sports editor for the Nation, has built a strong career by pairing a keen knowledge of professional sports with a fearless interest in parsing their political impact. Here he's found the perfect subject in Jim Brown, arguably the greatest football (and lacrosse!) player of all time. He certainly covers Brown's origin story?beginning with an early childhood spent on Georgia's St. Simons Island?and his unparalleled college and pro careers, but Zirin pays special attention to Brown's critical role in shattering black/white stereotypes as a player in the 1960s, as well as his later, herculean efforts to establish a nationwide organization to support young, urban, disadvantaged African Americans. And in revisiting Brown's violent, sexualized history with women? These stories do not age well, Zirin notes dryly?the author adds value to the ongoing, necessary discussion of gender, sex, money, and power in America.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)