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Bruce Lee
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 19 hrs and 6 mins
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Bruce Lee
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Summary
The most authoritative biography of film legend Bruce Lee, who made martial arts a global phenomenon, bridged the divide between Eastern and Western cultures and smashed long-held stereotypes of Asians and Asian Americans.
Forty-five years after Bruce Lee’s sudden death at 32, journalist and best-selling author Matthew Polly has written the definitive account of Lee’s life. It’s also one of the only accounts; incredibly, there has never been an authoritative biography of Lee. Following a decade of research that included conducting more than 100 interviews with Lee’s family, friends, business associates, and even the actress in whose bed Lee died, Polly has constructed a complex, humane portrait of the icon.
Polly explores Lee’s early years as a child star in Hong Kong cinema; his actor father’s struggles with opium addiction and how that turned Bruce into a troublemaking teenager who was kicked out of high school and eventually sent to America to shape up; his beginnings as a martial arts teacher, eventually becoming personal instructor to movie stars like James Coburn and Steve McQueen; his struggles as an Asian American actor in Hollywood and frustration seeing role after role he auditioned for go to a white actors in eye makeup; his eventual triumph as a leading man; his challenges juggling a skyrocketing career with his duties as a father and husband; and his shocking end that to this day is still shrouded in mystery.
Polly breaks down the myths surrounding Bruce Lee and argues that, contrary to popular belief, he was an ambitious actor who was obsessed with the martial arts - not a kung-fu guru who just so happened to make a couple of movies. This is an honest, revealing look at an impressive yet imperfect man whose personal story was even more entertaining and inspiring than any fictional role he played onscreen.
What listeners say about Bruce Lee
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Ash G
- 27-05-20
The art of reading without reading
I have been a Bruce Lee fan ever since the days I could walk. Read up on him and his life, lots of autobiographies...this is hands down the most complete autobiography I have read. Lot of holes were filled in with this one. Amazing read!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 14-10-21
Great book. Top **
Excellent book. well narrated.
I really enjoyed listening to this book, a bit long to be honest, but worth listening.
I would listen second time.
thank you.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Wils1976
- 06-02-23
Honest
An honest bio. Whilst inspired by Bruce when I was a kid, here you’ll find a flawed aggressive human with huge purpose. I come away seeing him as less the superhuman but still a fascinating read. Recommended
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Ravi
- 31-07-20
Great listen.
As a fan of martial arts and autobiographies, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Took a while to finish but learnt a lot too.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 16-01-19
Just Wow
Absolutely gutted the book has finished. There is not many people who have had such interesting life’s in such a short space. I’ve always been amazed by Bruce and Pollys work leaving no stone unturned has only reaffirmed this. Not to be missed.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mr. O
- 05-11-20
fantastic!
I bought this on the reviews alone and it's an utterly phenomenological read detailing so much in such a coherent way. read by someone genuinely engaged in the narrative. any interest in Bruce, just get this. you'll be pleased you did.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Brett Michael
- 01-05-21
Excellent detail & research a must for Lee fans
I found the book very well written, the story laid out very well. The research was amazing he has taken time to speak to school friends and enemies of Bruce Lee. I have watched and read many different Bruce Lee autobiographical releases and this doesn’t hold back, it does highlight some imperfections that have been missing from previous stories but you only love the man more knowing he was great but floored like everyone, I absolutely loved the book and would recommend it to anyone who likes a biography not just a Bruce Lee fan.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Kennedy
- 11-07-19
Not enough when it matters!!
Like a lot of people who have read/listened to this book, we know who Bruce Lee is but we want to know more. I think there are very few fans who's first taste of Bruce wasn't 'Enter the dragon' and so although i had a great deal of interest in Bruces upbringing and early movies, it was all building up to 'Enter the Dragon'. The who's and the why's....how the movie was filmed, the interacting of the actors....how the actors came to be in the film etc etc. Unfortunately for me the crescendo was extremely timid. There seemed to be more emphasis on Bruces fathers career and Bruces childhood scrapes with the law than how Jim Kelly got his part as Williams, and what bruce thought and felt about Kelly and Saxon etc etc....that is all missing even though the story is full Bruces thoughts and feelings about pretty much everybody he ever came into contact with.
So all in all a very thorough, well written (and very well narrated) story but was lacking when it mattered.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- tony ramsden
- 20-02-20
amazing
absolutely amazing in depth look into Bruce Lee's life. totally gripped, from start, right to the end.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- K. Tobin
- 22-12-18
Inspiring story of a flawed genius
Tells the good and bad sides of a legend. The book is very well written and read.
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