Michael Jordan

The Life

By: Roland Lazenby

Narrated by: Bob Souer

Length: 21 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

The definitive biography of a legendary athlete.

The Shrug. The Shot. The Flu Game. Michael Jordan is responsible for sublime moments so ingrained in sports history that they have their own names. When most people think of him, they think of his beautiful shots with the game on the line, his body totally in sync with the ball - hitting nothing but net.

But for all his greatness, this scion of a complex family from North Carolina's Coastal Plain has a darker side: He's a ruthless competitor and a lover of high stakes. There's never been a biography that encompassed the dual nature of his character and looked so deeply at Jordan on and off the court - until now.

Basketball journalist Roland Lazenby spent almost 30 years covering Michael Jordan's career in college and the pros. He witnessed Jordan's growth from a skinny rookie to the instantly recognizable global ambassador for basketball whose business savvy and success have millions of kids still wanting to be just like Mike. Yet Lazenby also witnessed the Michael Jordan whose drive and appetite are more fearsome and more insatiable than any of his fans could begin to know. Michael Jordan: The Life explores both sides of his personality to reveal the fullest, most compelling story of the man who is Michael Jordan. Lazenby draws on his personal relationships with Jordan's coaches; countless interviews with Jordan's friends, teammates, and family members; and interviews with Jordan himself to provide the first truly definitive study of Michael Jordan: The player, the icon, and the man.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2014 Roland Lazenby (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"It's not every day that I'm blown away by a book about a sports figure. But Michael Jordan: The Life, by Roland Lazenby, ranks up there with the very best: The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn, Friday Night Lights by Buzz Bissinger, and Joe DiMaggio by Richard Ben Cramer. The depth of reporting, his frequent ascent into poetry, and his intelligent analysis of the life of this complicated, fascinating American icon deserve Pulitzer Prize consideration. For the first time I understand what makes Michael Jordan tick. I was captivated, fascinated and beguiled from beginning to end." (Peter Golenbock, New York Times-best-selling author of George and In the Country of Brooklyn)

horrible naration

the naration was so bad, the guy sounded like a speak and spell. the story was detailed and pretty good but the end seemed like the author was bored (it's a long book)

Terrible

I think I wanted to kick myself listening to the voice of this book Sounded like a damn robot, no heart, no point and no enthusiasm coming from the reader. I couldn't get through the pro log I skipped it and went to chapter 1 and it wasn't any better. Such a shame as I was looking toward to this. I'm not one for writing reviews but u had to warn you before you waste your money or credits... Proceed with caution that this is a very bad voice reading it

Sounds like Siri

Really tough to listen to this book. The narrator may as well have been Siri. I was excited to listen to this book and now only put it on right before bed because I know it will put me to sleep.

Solid on the basketball, light on the life

I was hoping to learn more about the adult life of Jordan. Major life events were glossed over. His divorce was barely mentioned, to the point where if you weren't paying attention, you might have missed it.

What kind of father is Jordan? Why did he do so much charity work?

I have lots of questions. Perhaps because of Jordan's famous privacy the author couldn't address these questions.

But the basketball stories...oh, the book is worth it just for that.

All I Hoped For and Much More

If you were a sports fan in the 80's and 90's, or even if you just have an interest in Michael, you will not be thrilled with this book. Packed with details that begin with his family line 2-3 generations before his birth, the story still moves at a pace that never feels slow. Not even close. It was almost like watching one of Michael's legendary playoff performances on TV, every minute of it, with Marv Albert providing game commentary and Ahmad Rashad adding sideline stories. When it ended, I was satisfied, more than satisfied, but I wanted more. Ultimately, despite the author hardly holding back on sharing Michael's missteps and foibles in his illustrious life, I felt a surge of inspiration, appreciation, and desire to keep rooting for an athlete who I realized was so much more than that to me throughout my own life. Not to mention, the closest thing the sports world will ever see to a human superhero. EXCELLENT BOOK.

Eye Opener

I loved it! I feel I know Jordan personally. I learned about things I never knew before about Jordan. it took me back to when I started following basketball.

You don't know Jordan

Beautifully written story of the man who changed the NBA. His successes as a player is less than half the story, with his many personal struggles off the court revealing he is indeed human like the rest of us.

Average

I thought this would include more about MJ’a personal life but it didn’t. I felt like it was repetitive at times and focused too much at the beginning on his ancestors. It was too drawn out for my liking but if you’re s huge MJ fan or Bulls fan that likes to know a lot of the behind the scenes dealings then you might enjoy it more.

The “Last Dance” fix

If, like me, you’ve seen the Netflix documentary and you’re now in withdrawal, coming up short in every search for a much needed fix, this book is for you. Some parts might seem repetitive, but holistically it provides fresher insights with an underlying goal of peeling deeper into the greatness of the man- his otherworldly competitive drive.

Great book!!!

About competing with yourself end everything around you. Strugle and sweet and how to love what is hard to do.

Awful narration!

I was really looking forward to listening to this Audiobook.

It was utterly ruined by the narrators almost robotic delivery. There was no “life” to his storytelling at all.

Half way though the book I just gave up. I have listed to lots of other biographies and have been really swept up with the highs and lows of the stories but this just seemed to drag on and on.

I don’t think it is the writing at all it is the awful delivery! I cannot express enough how lifeless the delivery was. I will be avoiding this narrator in future!!

Made a good subject boring

It’s impossible to listen to this, the narrator has a robotic monotone voice which completely spoils the subject

Terrible....horribly narrated

There's no need for me to sell the story of Michael Jordan......we all know he's awesome. Neverless i wanted to hear the highs and lows of his career etc etc. Unfortunately Audible decided to ask Bob Souer to narrate it and its at this point that the wheels fall off. The narrater reads as if the story is difficult for him to understand. He is so unbearably monotone that i had to end listening after an excruciating 3 hours!! I will actually go as far as to say that most of the time Bob sounds like Stephen Hawking, making the experience very difficult. Which now beggars the question "why did Audible ask this man to narrate?..he's terrible"

a bit boring

i was hoping to learn more about his pychology and why he became a success. heard his story told by Tony Robbins so decided to learn more. if the biography would be written by Tony Robbins i would like it more

first book i was struggling to finish

i have listened to approx 20 audio books. many similar biographies as this one. in spite Jordan was my star, i was really bored by the book.

Too much focus on games, stats with less of JORDAN

I was hesitant to read this book when others mentioned it's too long winded but I give it a chance anyway and boy am I disappointed - there's so much basketball lingo and focus on eating every basketball game it over padded this book completely this could have been 3/4 the length and more interesting if it focused on Jordan as a man and his food processors and him himself this was a serious chore and ridiculously long - some parts were admitted me interesting but they were far and few between this is way too long way too long and not recommended 4 Non Diehard basketball fans not Jordan fans basketball fans in general cause this book covers too much other stuff when it should be focused on Jordan

Disappointing, got so bored i stopped listening.

What could Roland Lazenby have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I got around half way through but just couldn’t get in to it. There was too much about his ancestors, and too much unnecessary info on stats and scores on a tonne of games Michael had played in. All of this dragged out the book for too long, even though there were some interesting parts mixed in that did hold my attention about his life outside of basketball. If you are not a massive basketball fan like myself I think you will be disappointed.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Agree with what another reviewer put, like a robot. Did my head in!

Any additional comments?

I can’t comment on the second half but if its anything like the first, this one is 100% worth saving your money or credits on.

brilliant. very enjoyable and insightful

Really got into the detailed biography. very long winded beginning about his ancestors though. Could have done without that part

Narration hard to listen to and a bit long

There are good stories and interesting things lurking within here but personally I think it needed a good editor trimming it down. The narrator was hard to listen to for long periods, and that makes it hard to finish, combined with the length. Decent enough, but probably only for Jordan devotees.

An excellent, balanced, objective telling

First of all - let's address the narrator. It's a good performance with the kind of vanilla delivery that actually allows you not to focus on the voice that is telling the story. I find that preferable and hard to find.

The story itself is a thorough exposition that is courageous at times and explodes several myths around the perfection of Michael Jordan. It has no fear about getting underneath the glazed and marketed exterior of the subject and into some of the gritty realities of a man who has - in other presentations - approached sainthood and idolatry.

At no time does this book detract from the incredible achievements on the court - if anything there are times when it really does great justice to how amazing those achievements were. Let's be honest - they are staggering and they transcend basketball and throw Jordan into comparison against other sporting heroes from a variety of fields (Babe Ruth, Mohammed Ali, Pele and so on).

Likewise - this book does not shy from the mistakes, the dark times, the questionable moral choices, the intrigue... The book isn't afraid to challenge the traditional portrayal of Jordan's father (for example), the impression that people have of coach Phil Jackson (benevolent hippy or psychological bully?). There are things in the book that fans would probably rather not know about the Bulls (going on behind the scenes), about Jordan, about his relationships, behaviours and attitudes... it's there though.

A lot of people have raved about 'The Last Dance' on Netflix - if you have enjoyed that and it has wet your appetite to know more - this basically feels like going in *much deeper*, the focus is clearer, the objectivity is greater, and the overall result (in my humble opinion) is far more outstanding.

Get it. Enjoy it. 21 hours and 8 minutes of excellent audio.