The first, definitive biography of one of the most important, controversial, and outspoken athletes of the 20th century.

He intimidated people on and off the football field. He was brutal yet brilliant, narcissistic yet magnanimous, relentless yet unyielding. Most of all, he was the greatest football player of all time. He was Jim Brown. A legend in his own time, Jim Brown was revered as an athlete, actor, and unflinching symbol of black pride and self-reliance. In this moving book, Mike Freeman offers the first definitive portrait of the sports star. Based on interviews with Brown, his family, friends, and colleagues, Jim Brown is an honest, complete picture of the man and his turbulent times. Part biography, part cultural history, it is a quintessential American tale--a story of adversity, adulation, tenacity, inspiration, and pride.

Mike Freeman is an NFL Insider for CBSSports.com. Before that, he was an NFL writer, investigative reporter, and columnist for the New York Times; a columnist for the Florida Times-Union; and a sports reporter, features writer, and investigative writer for the Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Dallas Morning News. He lives in New Jersey.