Jim Brown: Last Man Standing

bookclub4m nonfiction entertainment genre

My god that was a tough read in spots. I picked this up because I thought “sports star to actor? Sure that sounds like the entertainment industry” but of course with a Black man during a tumultuous time in the United States, ongoing protests going on right now, and the history of domestic abuse and rage in a time of #metoo this all feels very current.

Brown was a hard man with a hardline on life. Zirin pulls out the complicated interaction of toxic masculinity, civil rights, and the history of the United States in a really engaging way. How do you deal with a person who forces introspection in gang members to lead them out of crime but refuses to admit to his own flaws? Complains that Black althetes don't do enough to lift up their communities and then disparages political protest like kneeling during the anthem? Supports Trump because the man promises support for Black business? In any case, the reader comes out with a real appreciation for how much difference there was and is as to the conversation around the best way to bring equality to Black communities in the United States.