Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete William C. Rhoden

Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete

Author: William C. Rhoden
Add Your Review
$22.99 2299
2 items In Stock
  • Successful pre-order.Thanks for contacting us!
  • Order within
Wishlist Compare
Book Title
Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete
Author
William C. Rhoden
ISBN
9780307353146
From Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe, African American athletes have been at the center of modern culture, their on-the-field heroics admired and stratospheric earnings envied. But for all their money, fame, and achievement, says New York Times columnist William C. Rhoden, black athletes still find themselves on the periphery of true power in the multibillion-dollar industry their talent built. Provocative and controversial, Rhoden's $40 Million Slaves weaves a compelling narrative of black athletes in the United States, from the plantation to their beginnings in nineteenth-century boxing rings to the history-making accomplishments of notable figures such as Jesse Owens, Althea Gibson, and Willie Mays. Rhoden reveals that black athletes' "evolution" has merely been a journey from literal plantations--where sports were introduced as diversions to quell revolutionary stirrings--to today's figurative ones, in the form of collegiate and professional sports programs. He details the "conveyor belt" that brings kids from inner cities and small towns to big-time programs, where they're cut off from their roots and exploited by team owners, sports agents, and the media. He also sets his sights on athletes like Michael Jordan, who he says have abdicated their responsibility to the community with an apathy that borders on treason. The power black athletes have today is as limited as when masters forced their slaves to race and fight. The primary difference is, today's shackles are often the athletes' own making.Binding Type: PaperbackAuthor: William C. RhodenPublisher: Broadway BooksPublished: 07/24/2007ISBN: 9780307353146Pages: 286Weight: 0.51lbsSize: 7.92h x 5.28w x 0.67dReview Citations: Time 11/20/2006 pg. 76New York Times Book Review 08/26/2007 pg. 24

From Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe, African American athletes have been at the center of modern culture, their on-the-field heroics admired and stratospheric earnings envied. But for all their money, fame, and achievement, says New York Times columnist William C. Rhoden, black athletes still find themselves on the periphery of true power in the multibillion-dollar industry their talent built.

Provocative and controversial, Rhoden's $40 Million Slaves weaves a compelling narrative of black athletes in the United States, from the plantation to their beginnings in nineteenth-century boxing rings to the history-making accomplishments of notable figures such as Jesse Owens, Althea Gibson, and Willie Mays. Rhoden reveals that black athletes' "evolution" has merely been a journey from literal plantations--where sports were introduced as diversions to quell revolutionary stirrings--to today's figurative ones, in the form of collegiate and professional sports programs. He details the "conveyor belt" that brings kids from inner cities and small towns to big-time programs, where they're cut off from their roots and exploited by team owners, sports agents, and the media. He also sets his sights on athletes like Michael Jordan, who he says have abdicated their responsibility to the community with an apathy that borders on treason.

The power black athletes have today is as limited as when masters forced their slaves to race and fight. The primary difference is, today's shackles are often the athletes' own making.

Binding Type: Paperback
Author: William C. Rhoden
Publisher: Broadway Books
Published: 07/24/2007
ISBN: 9780307353146
Pages: 286
Weight: 0.51lbs
Size: 7.92h x 5.28w x 0.67d

Review Citations: Time 11/20/2006 pg. 76
New York Times Book Review 08/26/2007 pg. 24

From Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe, African American athletes have been at the center of modern culture, their on-the-field heroics admired and stratospheric earnings envied. But for all their money, fame, and achievement, says New York Times columnist William C. Rhoden, black athletes still find themselves on the periphery of true power in the multibillion-dollar industry their talent built.

Provocative and controversial, Rhoden's $40 Million Slaves weaves a compelling narrative of black athletes in the United States, from the plantation to their beginnings in nineteenth-century boxing rings to the history-making accomplishments of notable figures such as Jesse Owens, Althea Gibson, and Willie Mays. Rhoden reveals that black athletes' "evolution" has merely been a journey from literal plantations--where sports were introduced as diversions to quell revolutionary stirrings--to today's figurative ones, in the form of collegiate and professional sports programs. He details the "conveyor belt" that brings kids from inner cities and small towns to big-time programs, where they're cut off from their roots and exploited by team owners, sports agents, and the media. He also sets his sights on athletes like Michael Jordan, who he says have abdicated their responsibility to the community with an apathy that borders on treason.

The power black athletes have today is as limited as when masters forced their slaves to race and fight. The primary difference is, today's shackles are often the athletes' own making.

Binding Type: Paperback
Author: William C. Rhoden
Publisher: Broadway Books
Published: 07/24/2007
ISBN: 9780307353146
Pages: 286
Weight: 0.51lbs
Size: 7.92h x 5.28w x 0.67d

Review Citations: Time 11/20/2006 pg. 76
New York Times Book Review 08/26/2007 pg. 24