Mike Sielski | The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality

Free Library Podcast

In conversation with Michael Days A sports columnist at The Philadelphia Inquirer since 2013, Mike Sielski is the author of Fading Echoes, the true story of two Pennsylvania high school football rivals who later found brotherhood while in the U.S. military in in the battlefields of the Middle East, and is the co-author of How to Be Like Jackie Robinson, a collection of life lessons taken from the trailblazing baseball legend. In 2015 he was voted the best sports columnist in the U.S. by The Associated Press Sports Editors. The Rise, referred to by Bob Costas as a ''story informed by meticulous research and rendered with clear-eyed insights,'' is about more than the tragedy that took Kobe Bryant's life and offers a thorough account of his identity as a sports and cultural figure and an assessment of his impact on our society. Formerly The Philadelphia Inquirer's managing editor, vice president for diversity and inclusion, and editor for reader engagement, Michael Days serves on the Board of Visitors at Temple University's Klein College of Media and Communication. (recorded 1/13/2022)