Bruce Lee: A Life
Matthew Polly
Jun 2018 · Simon and Schuster · Narrated by Jonathan Todd Ross
4.4star
25 reviewsreport
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19 hr 6 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook
The “definitive” (The New York Times) biography of film legend Bruce Lee—the martial arts icon who made kung fu a global phenomenon, shattered Hollywood stereotypes of Asian and Asian American actors, and became one of the most influential pop culture figures of the 20th century.
Forty-five years after Bruce Lee’s sudden death at just thirty-two, journalist and bestselling author Matthew Polly delivers the authoritative account of his extraordinary life and legacy. Meticulously researched over a decade and informed by more than one hundred interviews—including with Lee’s family, friends, colleagues, and the actress in whose bed he died—Bruce Lee is both sweeping and intimate.
Polly traces Lee’s evolution from Hong Kong child star to troubled teen, from charismatic martial arts teacher to trailblazing Asian American actor navigating a whitewashed Hollywood, to international superstar in Enter the Dragon, Fist of Fury, and The Big Boss. He explores Lee’s family dynamics, his struggle to break through in the US entertainment industry, his intense work ethic, and the enduring mystery surrounding his untimely death.
Dispelling myths and revealing the man behind the legend, Bruce Lee is a deeply humanizing, page-turning biography of a boundary-breaking actor, father, fighter, and icon whose cultural impact endures across generations and continents.
Forty-five years after Bruce Lee’s sudden death at just thirty-two, journalist and bestselling author Matthew Polly delivers the authoritative account of his extraordinary life and legacy. Meticulously researched over a decade and informed by more than one hundred interviews—including with Lee’s family, friends, colleagues, and the actress in whose bed he died—Bruce Lee is both sweeping and intimate.
Polly traces Lee’s evolution from Hong Kong child star to troubled teen, from charismatic martial arts teacher to trailblazing Asian American actor navigating a whitewashed Hollywood, to international superstar in Enter the Dragon, Fist of Fury, and The Big Boss. He explores Lee’s family dynamics, his struggle to break through in the US entertainment industry, his intense work ethic, and the enduring mystery surrounding his untimely death.
Dispelling myths and revealing the man behind the legend, Bruce Lee is a deeply humanizing, page-turning biography of a boundary-breaking actor, father, fighter, and icon whose cultural impact endures across generations and continents.
Ratings and reviews
4.4
25 reviews
BA C
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November 18, 2019
Read all biographies on Bruce Lee and A Life is the most comprehensive of all of them
16 people found this review helpful
Chaz Cullen
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December 24, 2021
Wonderfully Inspiring
Esrom Modise
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July 15, 2020
I like bruce lee
About the author
Matthew Polly is the national bestselling author of American Shaolin, Tapped Out, and Bruce Lee. A Princeton University graduate and Rhodes Scholar, he spent two years studying kung fu at the Shaolin Temple in Henan, China. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Esquire, Slate, Playboy, and The Nation. He is a fellow at Yale University and lives in New Haven, Connecticut.
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