Introduction: To Sleep with Anger/Every Damn Day
ONE Street Level Protest
TWO Harlem Comes to Texas
THREE 1968
FOUR The Medal Stand
FIVE The Unraveling
SIX There is No Redemption
$3000 marketing and publicity budget
National drive-time news and sports radio tour
National radio and TV interviews
Features and excerpts in sports, progressive, and African-American
media
Advertising in The Nation, on African American politics blogs, and
more
Promotion on the author's website http://www.edgeofsports.com
Published to coincide with buzz surrounding the 2012 London summer
Olympics
Publicity and promotion in conjunction with the author's speaking
engagements
John Carlos is an African American former track and field athlete
and professional football player, and a founding member of the
Olympic Project for Human Rights. He won the bronze-medal in the
200 meters race at the 1968 Summer Olympics, where his Black Power
salute on the podium with Tommie Smith caused much political
controversy. He went on to equal the world record in the 100 yard
dash and beat the 200 meters world record. After his track career,
he enjoyed brief stints in the National Football League and
Canadian Football League but retired due to injury. He became
involved with the United States Olympic Committee and helped to
organize the 1984 Summer Olympics. He later became a track coach at
a high school in Palm Springs, where he now resides. He was
inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2003.
Dave Zirin is the author of four books, including Bad Sports, A
Peoples' History of Sports in the United States, What’s My Name
Fool! and Welcome to the Terrordome. He writes the popular weekly
online sports column The Edge of Sports” (edgeofsports.com) and is
a regular contributor to SI.com, SLAM, the Los Angeles Times, and
The Nation where he is the publication's first Sports Editor. He
lives in Takoma Park, Maryland.
"John Carlos is an American hero. And finally he has written a
memoir to tell us his story—and a powerful story it is. I couldn't
put this book down."
--Michael Moore
"Biblically, athletes with superior attributes were seen as gifts
from God. Whether it was Samson staring down the Philistines or
David slaying Goliath, they and latter-day heroes such as Joe
Louis, Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali, selflessly used their
gifts and magnificently magnified platforms to transform society.
It is in that tradition that John Carlos, and his teammate Tommie
Smith, raised their fists in solidarity with the American civil
rights struggle, as well as the struggles of those who exist on the
downside of advantage. It was a statement for the ages. This act of
righteous defiance lifted us all to a new level of dignity and
shared responsibility to improve the conditions of the poor the
world over...But the price of heroism is high. John Carlos paid and
this is his story."
--Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
"The John Carlos story is the remarkable chronicle of an epic life
sketched against the defining crisis of race in America. Carlos'
athletic genius on the field is matched by his heroic will to
overcome trials and tribulations in his personal life, and to find
resurrection in his professional life. This is an inspiring and
eloquent story about a great American whose commitment to truth,
justice and democracy were tested and found true."
--Michael Eric Dyson
"John Carlos' life story is an insightful and gripping look at the
times he lived and the Olympics he helped make so memorable. He
shows us that the one day that made him famous was only the most
outward and visible sign of a touching and thoughtful life."
--Frank Deford
"The John Carlos Story is a blow by blow detail of triumph vs
tragedy from the jump. Again Dave Zirin uncovers, and yet
illuminates the mere footnotes of this sports history hero with his
impeccable balance of truth. This story drills a hole into the myth
of black athlete success and worship."
--Chuck D, Public Enemy
"In this breathlessly readable tale, John Carlos finally steps out
of that iconic photograph to become the vibrant, fascinating hero
we never really knew."
--Robert Lipsyte, author of An Accidental Sportswriter, a
memoir
"John Carlos's story of bravery and sacrifice will warm your heart.
But beyond his individual heroism, it speaks to the power of
athletes who bodaciously refuse to just "shut up and play." Carlos
and Zirin capture the way that through sports, the actions of a few
athletes resonate across the globe."
--William Hunter, Executive Director, National Basketball Players
Association
"An intelligent and insightful look into the journey of one of our
most underrated heroes. Mr. Carlos' passion for justice and
fairness has changed our world. You can feel his passion (and his
anger) in every word."
--Jemele Hill, ESPN columnist and television analyst
"John Carlos tells a compelling story of courage and the
consequences of action. He, Tommie Smith and many other Black
athletes took a stand against racial injustice in the U.S. and
racial injustice in sports. They were ridiculed by many mainstream
commentators at the time, but their actions helped to transform
both the sports world and this country. This book was by and about
someone who has been and remains one of my heroes."
--Bill Fletcher, Jr., editorial board member,
BlackCommentator.com
"History tells us iconic moments in sport are always enveloped in
personal stories of sacrifice, courage, and angst. The lasting
images that we see occur in a flash contain enriching back stories
that are typically even more significant and tragic than the moment
itself. John Carlos and Dave Zirin have combined to tell such a
story. The moment that two men stood on the world platform to take
a stand after they had become the best in the world is rich,
complicated but most importantly as relevant today as it was in
Mexico City. Dave brings a beautiful and passionate voice of truth
to his listeners and achieves the same in this book about a man who
became a legend. I am proud to call him my friend."
--DeMaurice Smith, Director NFL Players Assiciation
"The Nation's sports columnist Dave Zirin combines the passion of
the most rabid sports nut with the intellectual rigor of the most
learned Hegelian."
-- Katrina vanden Heuvel, Editor, The Nation
"Not since Hunter S. Thompson has a sports writer shown the right
snarl for the job."
-- Naomi Klein
"John Carlos is an American hero. And finally he has written a
memoir to tell us his storyand a powerful story it is. I couldn't
put this book down."
--Michael Moore
"Biblically, athletes with superior attributes were seen as gifts
from God. Whether it was Samson staring down the Philistines or
David slaying Goliath, they and latter-day heroes such as Joe
Louis, Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali, selflessly used their
gifts and magnificently magnified platforms to transform society.
It is in that tradition that John Carlos, and his teammate Tommie
Smith, raised their fists in solidarity with the American civil
rights struggle, as well as the struggles of those who exist on the
downside of advantage. It was a statement for the ages. This act of
righteous defiance lifted us all to a new level of dignity and
shared responsibility to improve the conditions of the poor the
world over...But the price of heroism is high. John Carlos paid and
this is his story."
--Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
"The John Carlos story is the remarkable chronicle of an epic life
sketched against the defining crisis of race in America. Carlos'
athletic genius on the field is matched by his heroic will to
overcome trials and tribulations in his personal life, and to find
resurrection in his professional life. This is an inspiring and
eloquent story about a great American whose commitment to truth,
justice and democracy were tested and found true."
--Michael Eric Dyson
"John Carlos' life story is an insightful and gripping look at the
times he lived and the Olympics he helped make so memorable. He
shows us that the one day that made him famous was only the most
outward and visible sign of a touching and thoughtful life."
--Frank Deford
"The John Carlos Story is a blow by blow detail of triumph vs
tragedy from the jump. Again Dave Zirin uncovers, and yet
illuminates the mere footnotes of this sports history hero with his
impeccable balance of truth. This story drills a hole into the myth
of black athlete success and worship."
--Chuck D, Public Enemy
"In this breathlessly readable tale, John Carlos finally steps out
of that iconic photograph to become the vibrant, fascinating hero
we never really knew."
--Robert Lipsyte, author of An Accidental Sportswriter, a
memoir
"John Carlos's story of bravery and sacrifice will warm your heart.
But beyond his individual heroism, it speaks to the power of
athletes who bodaciously refuse to just "shut up and play." Carlos
and Zirin capture the way that through sports, the actions of a few
athletes resonate across the globe."
--William Hunter, Executive Director, National Basketball Players
Association
"An intelligent and insightful look into the journey of one of our
most underrated heroes. Mr. Carlos' passion for justice and
fairness has changed our world. You can feel his passion (and his
anger) in every word."
--Jemele Hill, ESPN columnist and television analyst
"John Carlos tells a compelling story of courage and the
consequences of action. He, Tommie Smith and many other Black
athletes took a stand against racial injustice in the U.S. and
racial injustice in sports. They were ridiculed by many mainstream
commentators at the time, but their actions helped to transform
both the sports world and this country. This book was by and about
someone who has been and remains one of my heroes."
--Bill Fletcher, Jr., editorial board member,
BlackCommentator.com
"History tells us iconic moments in sport are always enveloped in
personal stories of sacrifice, courage, and angst. The lasting
images that we see occur in a flash contain enriching back stories
that are typically even more significant and tragic than the moment
itself. John Carlos and Dave Zirin have combined to tell such a
story. The moment that two men stood on the world platform to take
a stand after they had become the best in the world is rich,
complicated but most importantly as relevant today as it was in
Mexico City. Dave brings a beautiful and passionate voice of truth
to his listeners and achieves the same in this book about a man who
became a legend. I am proud to call him my friend."
--DeMaurice Smith, Director NFL Players Assiciation
"The Nation's sports columnist Dave Zirin combines the passion of
the most rabid sports nut with the intellectual rigor of the most
learned Hegelian."
-- Katrina vanden Heuvel, Editor, The Nation
"Not since Hunter S. Thompson has a sports writer shown the right
snarl for the job."
-- Naomi Klein
Ask a Question About this Product More... |