The Book of James: The Power, Politics, and Passion of LeBron [Hardcover]

The unique social, cultural, and political life of the incomparable LeBron James.

LeBron James is the hero in two very American tales: one, a success story the nation loves; the other, the latest installment in an ongoing chronicle of American antiblackness. Hes the poor boy from a broken home who makes good. Hes also the poor Black boy from a broken home who makes good, then at the apex of his career finds n***** spray-painted across the gate to his home.  

James has lived in the public eye ever since high school when his extraordinary athletic skills subjected his every action, every statement, every fashion choice to intense public scrutiny that tells us less about James himself and more about a nation still wrestling with many social inequities. He uses his celebrity not to transcend Blackness, but to give it a place of cultural prominence, and the backlash he receives exposes the frictions between Blackness and a country not fully comfortable with its presence. As a result, Jamess story is a revelatory narrative of how much Blackness is loved, hated, misunderstood, and just plain cool in an America that has changed and yet not changed at all.

Valerie Babbis Andrew Mellon Professor of Humanities at Emory University. She holds a joint appointment in the departments of African American Studies and English.“Valerie Babb has brilliantly explored the majesty of King James. She has laid out a powerful analysis of the ways that LeBron’s unapologetic Blackness fuels his commitment to community, his confidence, his rooted sense of family, his refusal to accept inequality, his knowledge of the power of controlling the narrative, and his understanding of the responsibilities of celebrity and wealth.The Book of Jamesis simply a triumph.”Carol Anderson, New York Timesbestselling author of author of White Rage“WithThe Book of James, Babb has created an exquisite exploration intlSâ