First published 2022
Bo Jackson dominated American sports from the mid-1980s to early 1990s like no athlete before or since. He shattered baseball bats over his knee, turned NFL tacklers into ground meat, and became the first person to star simultaneously in two major professional sports. Stadiums could barely contain his strength. Clocks couldn't capture his speed. Video game companies made him invincible because reality demanded it. He overtook Michael Jordan as America's most recognizable pitchman, appearing on televisions and billboards everywhere as the face of Nike's "Bo Knows" campaign. Then injury ended everything almost overnight. Jeff Pearlman conducted 720 original interviews to separate the man from the myth. Did Bo really leap over a parked Volkswagen? Did he actually run a 4.13 40-yard dash? Was he really in the cockpit during that near-fatal 1991 Chicago White Sox flight? Pearlman answers these questions while revealing the true story of Auburn's Heisman Trophy winner who became both NFL and MLB superstar before vanishing from the spotlight.
Genres: biography, 20th-century, american, sports
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: rise-and-fall, sports-star
Setting: Auburn, Chicago
Period: 1980s, 1990s
496 pages · Hardcover · Mariner Books