Jumpman: The Making and Meaning of Michael Jordan

by Johnny Smith

How Michael Jordan’s path to greatness was shaped by race, politics, and the consequences of fame

To become the most revered basketball player in America, it wasn’t enough for Michael Jordan to merely excel on the court. He also had to become something he never a hero.
 
Reconstructing the defining moment of Jordan’s career—winning his first NBA championship during the 1990-1991 season—sports historian Johnny Smith examines Jordan’s ubiquitous rise in American culture and the burden he carried as a national symbol of racial progress. Jumpman reveals how Jordan maintained a “mystique” that allowed him to seem more likable to Americans who wanted to believe race no longer mattered. In the process of achieving greatness, he remade himself into a universally known, yet distant and unknowable.
 
Blending dramatic game action with grand evocations of the social forces sweeping the early nineties, Jumpman demonstrates how the man and the myth together created the legend we remember today. 

Genres: Sports, Basketball, Biography

336 pages, Hardcover

First published November 7, 2023

Reviews

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid mix of recapping the 1990-91 season, when Jordan got over the hump, and thinking about him in the longer context of American cultural/social/racial history. We get a new sense of the notorious "Republicans buy shoes too" comment, at least to me, and some sense of how little Jordan was interested in being a real spokesman for anything other than brands--which had already begun to wear on him by the end of that season. For me, the hybrid nature doesn't quite get where I want to go; I imagine that the narrative hook was necessary to get this published, since I would guess the presumption is that an audience would not want to read 270pp on Jordan and race alone, but I ended up wanting more. Ultimately, the book's body feels like proof of its final assertion, which settles on the ultimately unknowable nature of Jordan and intimates that there's perhaps not much there there.

[Ally Wrenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this!! Read for Matt Andrew’s UNC history class and was thoroughly entertained. Smith is an eloquent writer and explored not only Jordan but did an amazing job putting his career in the context of Chicago and the greater US.

[DeWayne Neel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Few athletes are loved by all, but "Be Like Mike" Jordan is an exception. He entered the picture at a time the country needed a hero, a good guy, who would be a winner on and off the court. The college-winning shot is still shown and without his name being mentioned, all recognize the image, Michael Jordon, and the image that is now on most basketball jerseys.
This book explores the business end of marketing that now follows a great player and the ups and downs that Jordan and his family as advisors have used to make Michael one of the richest people in the USA.
Jordan's success on the court at the college and pro levels plus his shoe contract molded him into a "perfect hero image", which he was not, that propelled him into an elite sports champion. His skills and the marketing industry protected this image in spite of pressures most athletes could not handle.
"Just Do It", NIKE'S image first used to promote the Jordan image caught on and forever printed his name on the sports world, all sports, that knew of Michael Jordan.

[Annie Asbill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for a class, but ended up really enjoying it. Smith took a totally different approach to the mystique of Michael Jordan and I think this book does his story as an individual a lot more justice than the last dance. It really is important to recognize the context he came up in and to compare him to other black athletes of the time. Jordan was practically the antithesis of Kareem and they’re compared all the time, when really, they existed on two totally different planes. It wasn’t that Jordan was totally apolitical, he was just a little more selfish and reputation driven than we’d all like to believe, but who can blame him? I loveeeee how Smith rlly focuses on that first ring Bulls team of 91 and how Jordan dictated a lot of the behind the scenes animosity

[Larry (LPosse1) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming of age in Chicago along with Michael Jordan and the Bulls was such an amazing experience. Listening to the games as I worked a night job while I was working on my undergrad is something I still relish all these years later.
I have read everything about the Bulls and Jordan and I’m so impressed with Johnny Smith’s book Jumpman.
Even this old dog learned some new tricks. Smith focused on how Jordan changed the game off the court for athletes by opening new marketing opportunities.
Smith, delved deep into many old Bulls sources (see Stan Smith and many others)to unearth some fresh perspectives
He also rehashed enough of the 1st championship run and the last dance material to keep a fan boy happy!
I look forward to exploring Smith’s other works

[Jeff Alexy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good enough book. I always love Michael Jordan content so it’s hard in my mind to screw it up. Nothing really new in this book, though. It just regurgitates what is in Sam Smith’s book, McCallum’s Dream Team book, and the Last Dance doc. I’d probably give it 2 stars but I do love any and all Jordan books!

[Leslie Garrote · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Jumpman: The Making and Meaning of Michael Jordan, Johnny Smith uses race as a primary category of analysis as he traces the basketball superstar’s career trajectory. Focusing on the Bulls’ 1990-1991 championship run, Smith demonstrates the central role race played in Jordan’s public ascendency. Though it is not part of the author’s stated thesis, this historical narrative also reveals Michael Jordan’s conception of masculinity and his limited power to reshape perceptions of Black manhood at the end of the twentieth century. Jumpman describes a protagonist who understood manhood in terms of physical strength, behavioral control, mental strategy, incessant competition and abundant wealth. Jordan not only embodied but also became a symbol for these traditionally masculine traits, even as he was keenly aware of the precarity of his position as a Black man in America. Despite his wealth and fame, the superstar was constantly conscious of and driven by the fact that any character flaw could quickly tarnish his public perception. The ever-present threat of cultural demonization and loss of power impacted Jordan’s gender performance and illuminated the paradox of Black American masculinity.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book while browsing the sports section of Barnes and Noble in December. I was surprised to see so few reviews and rating on Goodreads for a book about a sports legend. This is a well written, well researched thoughtful analysis of the myth making of Michael Jordan. Wisely, Smith builds to and the. stops at the close of the first championship. He marks this moment as a shift for Jordan, both in his popularity and his relationship with the media.

I really liked how Smith draws on the enormous body of writing done about Jordan to distill it all to a coherent, readable narrative. He also mixes in some great nuggets, like Jordan’s comment to Sam Smith after learning about The Jordan Rules or details about Jordan’s relationship with Magic Johnson. I also appreciated the writing Smith did about other giants of that era of the NBA: Isaiah Thomas, Magic Johnson and Phil Jackson. This era of the NBA still seems so vivid, but Smith’s book reveals that there is a lot to analyze and think about forty years later.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a just a born when Michael Jordan won his first NBA championship. So I grew up watching him win and become the legend he is now.

I really got into this book and it definitely made me want to read more about Jordan and honestly sports books in general.

This was a little different then a normal book on Jordan, though it definitely covered him it was more about t how he because such a big star and the things happening around him. I really enjoyed the chapters on the Pistons and Magic and how they tied into the whole story of Michael but also getting a little about them as well.

The part I didn't love about this book was that it skipped a lot after the 91 season. It went right to the Jordan of today and I felt like we missed some things but they just may not have been important to this story.

I can't wait to read sports books now.

[Larry Coleman · Rating 1 out of 5]

The greatest basketball player who ever lived. One of the greatest coaches ever. Larry Bird, Magic Johnson: legends. Ready-made villains in Jerry Krause and Reinsdorf. The story writes itself. All the author has to do is get out of its way.

Smith painfully, desperately, whiningly, can't just do that. He absolutely has to insert himself into every single chapter multiple times to remind us that this is his book, not Jordan's. Toward the end, Smith writes, "Tollin admitted that The Last Dance... is not an example of investigative journalism. Nor is it an objective documentary intended to uncover the truth." Neither is this eminently-skippable book. It's not non-fiction, it's an almost 300-page opinion piece.

[Zac Sutcliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, one of the best books I’ve ever read. It went above and beyond my expectations. I am currently re-watching “The Last Dance” on Netflix for the third time. I thought that this book would document the story of the Bulls and Michael Jordan in a similar fashion to the documentary series, but instead, it highlights the US culture during the 1990’s, examining how Michael Jordan fit into the story of America during this time period, particularly his role as a national symbol of racial progress.

I would highly suggest this book to anyone interested in Michael Jordan, sports, 1990s culture, the business of sport, and US culture / politics / racial progress.

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good look at Michael Jordan from his upbringing to the 1990-1991 championship season and a year or so after that. I felt it was well researched but mostly a culmination of much information about MJ that is already out there.

If you are looking for a good refresher on Michael Jordan this would be it. Nothing too in depth really but a lot of good information. 4 stars easy as a book.

Where I listened to this as an Audible Recording I can say the Narrator Gregory Jones did a decent job and the story, while not captivating, because it was about Michael Jordan it kept me interested. 4 stars as well.

[Joanne Pu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Smith cunningly yet clumsily navigates the discourse of the racial terrain, trying too hard to prove Jordan innocent of his nonchalance (which significantly undermines and backstabs the decades long legacy of past greats like Elgin Baylor, Bill Russell, KAJ, and MJ's recent-Magic.) No, the fact speaks itself, and a desperate manipulation of the narrative is too intentional to ignore.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Randomly picked this up at the library, and it was ultimately enjoyable if a little underwhelming. Smith utilizes a lot of familiar anecdotes to make a larger point about the costs of Jordan's fame/success. The writing is fine and the research is solid, but aside from a more modern interpretation, there's nothing about this book that really builds on 'The Jordan Rules' or 'Playing for Keeps'.

[Jake Prest · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read to add to the long catalog of literature and media dedicated to Jordan. Nothing really new to learn about except how the author deciphers the true meaning of ESPN’s The Last Dance documentary at the end.

[Micah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I may be a tad unfair rating this two stars and doing so says more about how many books on Jordan and the NBA and the politics of sports I’ve read over the years than it does about the quality of Smith’s book.

[Joe J · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Bulls and Michael Jordan fan I enjoyed reliving those glory days and learning quite a bit of additional information about both through Johnny's book. Well written and entertaining throughout.

[Julia Chenoweth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book that was well written. I thought it rambled on a lot about Phil Jackson and the bull’s ownership too much.

[Will Whitmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still don’t fully know what the meaning of MJ is- would have liked to see this as a more consistent thread throughout.

[Dave Cottenie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look behind the scenes of the business that is Michael Jordan. It was interesting to see some of his thought process and why he made some of the decisions that he did. It was also interesting to see how he dealt with the combination of race, being a businessman and celebrity. Particular praise was given to Phil Jackson for pushing Jordan to trust his teammates and push the Bulls over the top, which was crucial to his business success. An interesting read for sure.