I received this ARC from Publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by Steve Sheinkin on January 17th 2017
Pages: 288
Amazon-Indiebound
Goodreads
“Sheinkin has made a career of finding extraordinary stories in American history, researching them exhaustively and recounting them at a nimble pace for readers aged 10 and up . . . Thorpe's greatness may be aspirational, but Sheinkin's brisk and forthright delivery makes it seem entirely possible.” —The New York Times Book Review
Jim Thorpe: Super athlete, Olympic gold medalist, Native American
Pop Warner: Indomitable coach, football mastermind, Ivy League grad
Before these men became legends, they met in 1907 at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, where they forged one of the winningest teams in American football history. Called "the team that invented football," they took on the best opponents of their day, defeating much more privileged schools such as Harvard and the Army in a series of breathtakingly close calls, genius plays, and bone-crushing hard work.
Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team is an astonishing underdog sports story—and more. It’s an unflinching look at the U.S. government’s violent persecution of Native Americans and the school that was designed to erase Indian cultures. Expertly told by three-time National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin, it’s the story of a group of young men who came together at that school, the overwhelming obstacles they faced both on and off the field, and their absolute refusal to accept defeat.
My Thoughts:
Steve Sheinkin has become my favorite author of nonfiction young adult titles (Check out my thoughts on The Port Chicago 50 and Most Dangerous.) I was thrilled when I saw he had a book coming out focused on Jim Thorpe. We have a novel about him in the library that is a blend of fiction and nonfiction, but I’ve been wanting a strictly nonfiction title. Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team was what I was looking for and more!
What I really loved about this book is that it is more than just a biography of Thorpe. I learned so much about Pop Warner, the history of football in general, and football at Carlisle Indian School. And though this is not a book that focuses on the injustices done to the native population of the US, Sheinkin doesn’t shy away from talking about it and calling it out as nothing short of racist and unjust. I really appreciated how this was handled.
Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team weaves together the story of Jim Thorpe, Pop Warner, the Carlisle team, and the early days of football seamlessly. I had no idea what an incredible impact Thorpe and the Carlisle program had on football as we know it. As with all of Sheinkin’s books, the storytelling is superb. This makes the topic come alive and engages the reader. I cannot wait to put this book in the hands of my students.
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