The Last Folk Hero

The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson

By: Jeff Pearlman

Narrated by: JD Jackson

Length: 22 hrs

Publisher's summary

By the New York Times bestselling author of Showtime—the source for HBO’s Winning Time—the definitive biography of mythic multi-sport star Bo Jackson.

From the mid-1980s into the early 1990s, the greatest athlete of all time streaked across American sports and popular culture. Stadiums struggled to contain him. Clocks failed to capture his speed. His strength was legendary. His power unmatched. Video game makers turned him into an invincible character—and they were dead-on. He climbed (and walked across) walls, splintered baseball bats over his knee, turned oncoming tacklers into ground meat. He became the first person to simultaneously star in two major professional sports, and overtook Michael Jordan as America’s most recognizable pitchman. He was on our televisions, in our magazines, plastered across billboards. He was half man, half myth.

Then, almost overnight, he was gone.

He was Bo Jackson.

Drawing on an astonishing 720 original interviews, New York Times bestselling sportswriter Jeff Pearlman captures as never before the elusive truth about Jackson, Auburn University’s transcendent Heisman Trophy winner, superstar of both the NFL and Major League Baseball and ubiquitous “Bo Knows” Nike pitchman. Did Bo really jump over a parked Volkswagen? (Yes.) Did he actually run a 4.13 40? (Yes.) During the 1991 flight that nearly killed every member of the Chicago White Sox, was he in the cockpit trying to help? (Oddly, yes. Or no. Or … maybe.)

Bo Jackson isn’t Jim Thorpe.

He’s not Deion Sanders, either.

No, Bo Jackson is Paul Bunyan.

The Last Folk Hero is the true tale of Bo Jackson that only “master storyteller” (NPR.org) Jeff Pearlman could tell.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Jeff Pearlman (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Amazing story telling…

I was a child in Alabama when Bo Jackson was a star at Auburn. I knew he was great, but this filled in all the blanks and made me feel like I finally know one of my childhood heroes. Thank you!

Fantastic, couldn’t stop listening

Really good story of a guy I thought I knew well. He was a superhero,

Great bio

Bo Jackson is truly the last American Folk hero.
It seems he's from Krypton.

Slightly uninspiring

Loved the narrator, but the story kind of dragged on towards the end, and gave a very underwhelmed look at what i would have thought was a interesting character in American sports.

Poor performance

Sad to say but the book is very poorly read. It sounds like the early days of text to speech on a computer. The writing is good, but the narrator seems inexperienced at reading audio books. One thing he does excel at though is relaying the quotes from various sources. Here he comes alive and does a wonderful job.

Bo’s Life

Pearlman, again, does an amazing job of getting through the myth and finding the real person. This time; his focus is Bo Jackson. A fantastic book that shows the multilayers of who Bo Jackson is.

BO, THE WHOLE STORY

One the biggest Icon's in sports history. A short history. Very detailed, but very interesting.

His usual great job

Pearlman is a must read or listen, and this book is no exception. The narrator is great, too.

not your normal biography

this book is a great example of why i love this author!

i like Bo Jackson but i didn't have an interest in hearing his story. But i took a chance bec of Pearlman. SO GLAD I DID!

while the bio is still told chronologically, it's also written like an old american folktale! super fun way of intaking the bio of a star i wasnt interested in. because of this, i now feel like more of a fan of jackson!

Well done

A true look at a man who was the most gifted natural athlete to play his sports.