Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant - Tapa dura

Praise for Michael Jordan
One of Amazon's Best Books of the Year: Sports & Outdoors
"In his thoughtful, extraordinarily well-researched biography "Michael Jordan: The Life," Roland Lazenby... gives us the life and much more.... The exhaustive narrative of Jordan's basketball career is written with appropriate awe. But what makes this portrayal especially worthwhile is everything else." "Mike Greenberg, "New York Times Book Review"""

"Engaging... Lazenby, author of "Michael Jordan: The Life," turns his eye to another basketball legend: the recently retired Kobe Bryant." "Publishers Weekly""

Praise for SHOWBOAT
A Publishers Weekly 2016 Holiday Gift Guide Pick

One of the Wall Street Journal's Best Gifts for Sports Fans

Praise for SHOWBOAT

Named one of the top Holiday Gifts by Publishers Weekly, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times

"A very good biography." Bill Reynolds, Providence Journal"

Praise for SHOWBOAT
Named one of the top Holiday Gifts by Publishers Weekly, the Wall Street Journal, CBC Books, and the Los Angeles Times

"Essential reading." Jeremy Schaap, ESPN"

"With surgical precision, Roland Lazenby expertly dissects the life of this generation's most fascinating basketball player. What made Kobe Bryant tick so loud for so long? Lazenby shows you with a tour de force in reporting and an intimate inspection at Bryant's trials, accomplishments and tribulations."--Jonathan Abrams, author of Boys Among Men

"With the publication of Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant, it is high time we recognized author Roland Lazenby for what he has become: the finest sports biographer of our time. First with the astonishing Michael Jordan: The Life and now his having written an incredibly researched, beautifully written biography of this enigmatic Laker superstar, Lazenby has entered rarified air: one is wowed by what one learns and at the same time you can't wait to read what comes next."--Peter Golenbock, author of ten New York Times bestsellers

"Lazenby tells Bryant's story well...this is bound to be the best biography of Kobe Bryant for some time."--Kirkus

The definitive portrait of Kobe Bryant, from the author of Michael Jordan.
"Lazenby's detailed research and fantastic writing paint a complex, engaging picture of one of the NBA's greats." (Kurt Helin, Pro Basketball Talk, NBC Sports)

Eighteen-time All-Star, scorer of 81 points in a single game, MVP, and one of the best shooting guards in NBA league history: Kobe Bryant is among basketball's absolute greatest players, and his importance to the sport is undeniable. Third on the NBA career scoring list and owner of five championship rings, he is an undisputed all-time great, one deserving of this deep and definitive biography.

Even within the flashiest franchise in all of sports--the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played his entire career--Bryant always took center stage, and his final game captivated the basketball world, indeed the country. Roland Lazenby delves deep to look behind this public image, using classic basketball reporting and dozens of new interviews to reveal the whole picture, from Bryant's childhood through his playing years. Showboat is filled with large personalities and provocative stories, including details of Bryant's complicated personal life and explosive relationships on the court, and is a riveting and essential read for every hoops fan.