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Bruce Lee: A Life by Matthew Polly is the first in-depth account of Lee's journey from a street-brawling teenager to a global icon...Lee's charisma, ambition and relentless appetite for combat leap off the pages." --
CNN"Spirited celebration of the life of 'the Patron Saint of Kung Fu, ' a stalwart of pop culture whose career is due for a revival....Students of martial arts, film history, and the 1970s alike will find much to enjoy in Polly's homage." --
Kirkus Review"This thorough, well-sourced biography from Polly is an engrossing examination of the life of a martial arts movie star and his shocking, early death....In what is certainly the definitive biography of Lee, Polly wonderfully profiles the man who constructed a new, masculine Asian archetype and ushered kung fu into pop culture." --
Publisher's Weekly, starred review"The first authoritative biography of the martial arts teacher and movie star, who died mysteriously at 32 but whose films, like
Enter the Dragon, still thrill decades later." --
Los Angeles Times Book Review"Matthew Polly's 'Bruce Lee: A Life' is proof that dogged research and sharp insight lie at the foundation of any successful biography. Its 600-plus pages suggest a definitive work to satisfy Lee's fans and spark curiosity in a new generation." --
Associated Press"This book succeeds in capturing [Lee's] energy and achievements, a volley of incident that rarely lets up... Stories whirl past with nunchaku-like speed...Polly's narrative rarely loses its ripped-and-shredded shape...For anyone curious about Lee's legacy, it's a roundhouse kick of a biography." --
Sunday Times of London"Shockingly, the first biography of Bruce Lee (1940-73) in more than two decades....it reads quickly owing to Polly's strength as a writer. Starting with Lee's two funerals, one in China, and one in Seattle, the startling pictures of his immense popularity bring readers into Lee's world immediately....The photographs are tremendous, and the concluding epilogue, Lee family tree, filmography, notes, and bibliography make this a great reference source. Fans of Lee will flock to this title, as will anyone interested in pop culture and martial arts, of which Lee's stature is immense. Highly recommended." --
Library Journal (starred review) "Illuminating, expansive and thoroughly enjoyable....In Polly, Lee cannot have found a better Boswell, a more kindred spirit....Polly's enthralling biography, which at times reads like a screenplay full of dialogue and mots justes, is a deeply humanizing portrait of a complicated character." --
San Francisco Chronicle "Illuminating, expansive and thoroughly enjoyable biography... In Polly, Lee cannot have found a better Boswell, a more kindred spirit... Polly's enthralling biography, which at times reads like a screenplay full of dialogue and mots justes, is a deeply humanizing portrait of a complicated character." --
San Francisco Gate"Matthew Polly's biography of the martial-arts expert, whose movies 'Fist of Fury, ' 'Way of the Dragon' and 'Enter the Dragon' were international hits, is thorough, balanced and myth-busting." --
The Seattle Times