The Defender

by Jordan Ritter Conn

Manute Bol was the first African-born player in the NBA and, at seven foot seven inches, the tallest. In the 1980s and 90s he was also among the league's most fearsome shot-blockers and its most beloved figures. Off the basketball court, however, Bol's story was more remarkable than most fans ever knew. Activist, gambler, joker, rebel—Bol was a complex man whose fate was inextricably bound with that of the Sudan, his homeland. Writer Jordan Conn traveled to southern Sudan to explore Bol's remarkable path from Africa to the NBA, his rise to stardom and fall into obscurity, and his final role as a renowned humanitarian and key figure in his homeland's independence. Conn's account, the latest Kindle Single from The Atavist, is a funny and moving portrait of a man who lived a life befitting his outsized body. Jordan Conn is a freelance journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He contributes regularly to SI.com, and his work has appeared in The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Slam, and Draft, among others.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

50 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 6, 2011

Reviews

[Andy Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super quick read (an hour, maybe two) and a very nice look into the life of Manute Bol. I remember collecting Manute's basketball cards as a kid and setting things up on top of a ladder and measuring them, just to see how tall he truly was.

I had no idea though the depth and breadth of his life - political involvement, gambling, broke, alcoholism - it's all there.

[Samo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok book for to see life of basketball player from Sudan Manute Bol from inside. You can see his personal fight with his country. It bothered me that there is not enough about his NBA career. How his teammates excepted him as a man from Sudan. How did he got excepted in NBA? What was really new to me, was information how saying "my bad" was invented. :)

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intersting story...

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting account if the life and sad end of Manute Bol.

[Valters Bondars · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a remarkable Hunan being.