A great American sport and Native American history come together in
this true story for middle grade readers about how Jim Thorpe and Pop
Warner created the legendary Carlisle Indians football team, from New
York Times bestselling author and Newbery Award recipient Steve
Sheinkin.
"Sheinkin has made a career of finding extraordinary stories in
American history." --The New York Times Book Review
A Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Honor Book
A New York Times Notable Children's Book
A Washington Post Best Book
Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team is
an astonishing underdog sports story--and more. It's an unflinching look
at the U.S. government's violent persecution of Native Americans and the
school that was designed to erase Indian cultures. Expertly told by
three-time National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin, it's the story
of a group of young men who came together at that school, the
overwhelming obstacles they faced both on and off the field, and their
absolute refusal to accept defeat.
Jim Thorpe: Super athlete, Olympic gold medalist, Native American
Pop Warner: Indomitable coach, football mastermind, Ivy League grad
Before these men became legends, they met in 1907 at the Carlisle Indian
Industrial School in Pennsylvania, where they forged one of the
winningest teams in American football history. Called the team that
invented football, they took on the best opponents of their day,
defeating much more privileged schools such as Harvard and the Army in a
series of breathtakingly close calls, genius plays, and bone-crushing
hard work.
This thoroughly-researched and documented book can be worked into
multiple aspects of the common core curriculum.
"Along with Thorpe's fascinating personal story, Sheinkin offers a
thought-provoking narrative about the evolution of football and the
development of boarding schools such as the Carlisle Indian School."
--The Washington Post
Also by Steve Sheinkin:
Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous
Weapon
The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism &
Treachery
***Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam
War
***The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil
Rights
Which Way to the Wild West?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell
You About Westward Expansion
King George: What Was His Problem?: Everything Your Schoolbooks
Didn't Tell You About the American Revolution
***Two Miserable Presidents: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You
About the Civil War
***Born to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America
