For anyone who wants to learn about a true hero

In one hour, Jesse Owens broke three world records in Ann Arbor, Michigan. No one has accomplished this since.

In the race of life, he defied expectations.

When I first learned about this book, I wasn’t exactly thrilled. I don’t have much interest in sports or athletes, which is funny because my mom’s side of the family are sportsmen. But Jesse Owen’s story ended up being a lot more interesting than I thought it would be.

Bit of a spoiler ahead. When Jesse Owens competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Adolf Hitler refused to shake his hand. I find this ludicrous. I don’t think shaking Hitler’s hand would be much of an honor. I think it’s more of an honor not to shake his hand.

When Jesse Owens was nine, his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and later, he attended Ohio State. This has nothing to do with anything. I love it when any story mentions Ohio!

The 11-minute episode of Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum about Jesse Owens came out years before this book. Both the episode and the book promote the message of focusing on doing your best.

If Meltzer writes about another athlete, I hope it’s Babe Didrikson Zaharias. I read about her in another book, and she’s awesome.

Brad Meltzer’s website has already revealed the covers of the next four books in the series. They will feature a physicist, an astronaut, a rock and roll band, and a gymnast.