*"A compelling origin story of a time that really wasn't so long ago
but through the lens of tragedy feels like forever. Kobe-ologists will
devour this book, reveling in the anecdotes about his intensity & the
engaging game recaps." --Associated Press
*
"Every superhero needs an origin story." -Jeff Pearlman
The inside look at one of the most captivating and consequential
figures in our culture--with never-before-heard interviews.
Kobe Bryant's death in January 2020 did more than rattle the worlds of
sports and celebrity. The tragedy of that helicopter crash, which also
took the life of his daughter Gianna, unveiled the full breadth and
depth of his influence on our culture, and by tracing and telling the
oft-forgotten and lesser-known story of his early life, The Rise
promises to provide an insight into Kobe that no other analysis has.
In The Rise, readers will travel from the neighborhood streets of
Southwest Philadelphia--where Kobe's father, Joe, became a local
basketball standout--to the Bryant family's isolation in Italy, where
Kobe spent his formative years, to the leafy suburbs of Lower Merion,
where Kobe's legend was born. The story will trace his career and life
at Lower Merion--he led the Aces to the 1995-96 Pennsylvania state
championship, a dramatic underdog run for a team with just one star
player--and the run-up to the 1996 NBA draft, where Kobe's dream of
playing pro basketball culminated in his acquisition by the Los Angeles
Lakers.
In researching and writing The Rise, Mike Sielski had a terrific
advantage over other writers who have attempted to chronicle Kobe's
life: access to a series of never-before-released interviews with him
during his senior season and early days in the NBA. For a quarter
century, these tapes and transcripts preserved Kobe's thoughts, dreams,
and goals from his teenage years, and they contained insights into and
told stories about him that have never been revealed before.
This is more than a basketball book. This is an exploration of the
identity and making of an icon and the effect of his development on
those around him--the essence of the man before he truly became a man.
