Magic: The Life of Earvin Magic Johnson by Roland Lazenby

Magic: The Life of Earvin Magic Johnson by Roland Lazenby

The definitive biography of the basketball legend Earvin Magic Johnson, from the highly respected, career sportswriter and author of Michael Jordan: The Life.

Magic Johnson is one of the most beloved, and at times controversial, athletes in history. His iconic smile lifted the dowdy sport of American professional basketball from a second-tier sport with low ratings into the global spotlight--a transformation driven by Magic's ability to eviscerate opponents with a playing style that featured his grand sense of fun. He was a master entertainer who directed the Los Angeles Showtime Lakers to the heights of both glory and epic excess, all of it driven by his mind-blowing no-look passes and personal charm.

Then, in 1991, at the height of his charismatic power, Johnson shocked the world with a startling cautionary tale about sexually transmitted disease that pushed public awareness of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Then out came his confession of unprotected sex with hundreds of women each year, followed by his retirement, an attempted return, and a proper farewell on the iconic 1992 Olympic Dream Team.

Longtime biographer Roland Lazenby spent years tracking the unlikely ascension of Johnson--an immensely popular public figure who was instantly scandalized but who then turned to his legendary will to rise again as a successful entrepreneur with another level of hard-won success. In Lazenby's portrayal, Johnson's tale becomes bigger than that of one man. It is a generational saga spanning parts of three centuries that reveals a great deal, not just about his unique basketball journey but about America itself.

Through hundreds of interviews with Johnson's coaches, representatives past and present, teammates, opponents, friends, and loved ones, as well as key conversations with Johnson himself over the years, Lazenby has produced the first truly definitive study, both dark and light, of Earvin Magic Johnson, Jr.--the revolutionary player, the icon, the man.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781250248039
ISBN 10	1250248035
Title	Magic: The Life of Earvin Magic Johnson
Author	Roland Lazenby
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	St Martin's Press
Year published	2023-10-24
Number of pages	832
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable