Taking on Native American history and culture is a challenge for non-Native American authors, and this book is not without controversy. This book must be accompanied by materials, resources, and feedback of Native Americans. Includes Epilogue, Source Notes, Works Cited, Index.

I really enjoyed this. I love Sheinkin's writing in general, but Jim Thorpe's story is fascinating. Whether or not you're a football fan, this book does a wonderful job blending a biography of Thorpe, a history of the game, and the story of the United States' forced attempts to "assimilate" Native American youth. It's a compelling read with great photos and memorable people. That said, I have a couple issues with the book.

First, while the issue of naming a sports team after a group of people is touched on, I was hoping for a stronger stance about how harmful and inappropriate some current sports team names are. While Sheinkin makes the point that the Carlisle Indians were a team made up of Native American players, unlike today's teams with racist mascots, I felt like that wasn't really good enough. I wanted a more definitive stance about why current team names are problematic, and perhaps some allusion to movements to have these names changed like #Change the Mascot. Since the book is so heavily about sports and a Native American team, I think this isn't a small detail. It should have gotten more attention in the text.

My other reservation is more wobbly. This great piece by Cynthia Leitich Smith is something I return to over and over when I read books by white authors about underrepresented groups. I think Sheinkin is an amazing writer. I found this book gripping and informative, and there's no question that he did a wonderful job. But I just found out that another author I really like, Joseph Bruchac, wrote a book about Thorpe in 2006: Jim Thorpe, Original All-American. And that doesn't make Sheinkin's book any less great, but I didn't know about Bruchac's book until I went looking. Sheinkin's made it on my to read list before it was out. Obviously, this is an area where I need to do better as a reader: looking for #ownvoices books when I read books by white authors. This is just something that I think about a lot, and this book in particular gave me the chance to try to articulate everything I've been mulling. ANYWAY. Those are my thoughts. YOU'RE WELCOME. ( )

Hear about the football legend most people don’t know about: “Someone had to show the nation a new way to play the game. The Carlisle Indians did that.”

Steve Sheinkin is a great nonfiction writer for young adult readers. He has written several other favorites like Bomb, The Port Chicago 50 and Most Dangerous. If kids get interested in this book, they would most likely want to explore the other titles as well. I chose this book because I wanted to learn more about the origins of football and I also don't know much about Jim Thorpe. What I really appreciate most is Sheinkin's frank writing style; even though he is a white male, he is harshly critical of the policies enacted, especially those that stole land from Native Americans, thus presenting a representative history. This book bounces back and forth around the story of Jim Thorpe's life, a brief history of the disenfranchisement of Native tribes, a history of football and also the life of Pop Warner who would become Thorpe's coach. The chapters are fast-moving and Sheinkin summarizes history effectively so as to not bog down the text. The book is engaging in its description of football's very violent beginnings (players regularly punched each other in the face repeatedly, wore no protection and even died). It is also a compelling tale about the impact of Indian Boarding Schools and their effect on young Native Americans who suffered through them. I imagine this book would appeal to kids who like nonfiction as-is and it would be a great discussion book because of the many deep questions it raises.

A great American sport and Native American history come together in this true story of how Jim Thorpe and Pop Warner created the legendary Carlisle Indians football team.