Kobe Bryant: The Rise to Immortality

The Rise features a bonus episode from the podcast I Am Kobe, providing an inside look at one of the most captivating and consequential figures in our culture through never-before-heard interviews. Kobe Bryant’s tragic death in January 2020 not only shook the worlds of sports and celebrity, but also unveiled the full extent of his influence on our culture. The Rise promises to offer an insight into Kobe that no other analysis has by tracing and telling the oft-forgotten and lesser-known story of his early life.

Listeners will travel from the streets of Southwest Philadelphia, where Kobe’s father, Joe, was a local basketball standout, to the Bryant family’s isolation in Italy, where Kobe spent his formative years, and then to the leafy suburbs of Lower Merion, where his legend was born. The story will follow his career at Lower Merion, where he led the Aces to a dramatic underdog run to the 1995-96 Pennsylvania state championship, and the run-up to the 1996 NBA draft, where he was acquired by the Los Angeles Lakers.

In researching and writing The Rise, Mike Sielski had a unique advantage over other writers: access to never-before-released interviews with Kobe from his senior season and early days in the NBA. These tapes and transcripts preserved Kobe’s thoughts, dreams, and goals from his teenage years, revealing insights and stories that had never been shared before.

This is not just a basketball audiobook. It's an exploration of the identity and making of an icon, and the impact of his development on those around him - the essence of the man before he truly became a man. This Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press offers a comprehensive and in-depth look at Kobe Bryant's life and legacy.

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