The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson

Presented By
Jeff Pearlman

There was nobody like Bo Jackson before him. And there hasn’t been anyone since.

He was Paul Bunyan, only flesh and blood. Jackson crushed 500-foot home runs and scaled outfield walls like Spiderman in five unforgettable seasons with baseball’s Kansas City Royals. He ran past, or simply over, would-be tacklers in football. He was one of the greatest all-around athletes in history, and a masterful Nike marketing campaign – “Bo knows” – cemented him as a cultural icon. He could do anything.

In a discussion of his definitive biography The Last Folk Hero, bestselling author Jeff Pearlman examines Jackson’s life and transcendent athletic career. When the latter was cut short by a hip injury sustained in the National Football League’s 1990 playoffs, it only fed the mythology around him. What more might Bo have done?

Pearlman, a former writer for Sports Illustrated, conducted more than 700 interviews for the exhaustively researched book, his 10th. He also is host of the Two Writers Slinging Yang podcast and blogs regularly at jeffpearlman.com.

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The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson

Date & Location
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Truman Forum Auditorium
Online