LeBron James: The Rise of a Star »

He has been called the best high school basketball player ever. He was the no-doubt-about-it number-one pick in the 2003 NBA draft as a high school senior. He had already been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a junior. He was touted wildly on national TV by basketball experts like Dick Vitale and Bill Walton. He signed a $90 million promotional contract with Nike.

Why the big fuss over LeBron James?

The odds were against LeBron from the start. Born in poverty to a 16-year-old single mom, without a father, raised only with the help of various family and neighbors . . . he could have become just one more scarred product of a rough childhood in the projects.

Instead, he s the darling of the sports world and he plays the part well. Sportswriter David Lee Morgan has covered the LeBron phenomenon for the Akron Beacon Journal since LeBron s freshman year and has had unequaled access to LeBron, his family, and his close friends. He s seen the exceptional play on the basketball court. But he s also seen the surprising poise with which LeBron has handled the pressure, the scrutiny, the criticism that arrived with the early onset of fame.

He has also watched, up close, the incredible circus-like atmosphere that has descended on this special kid from a small high school in Akron, Ohio.

In this book, Morgan takes an inside look at the rise of sport s hottest young prospect, now poised at the brink of superstardom.

School Library Journal

Adult/High School-LeBron James truly has become a star. After appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated and having his high school basketball games broadcast on ESPN, he was the first pick of the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA draft, and actually had them in playoff contention. The book is a breezier read than Ryan Jones's King James (St. Martin's, 2003) and doesn't weigh readers down with scores and statistics. Through interviews with those who knew LeBron while he was growing up (poor but loved in Akron, OH), the author draws a portrait of a boy who almost always had that special spark that defines him in the NBA today. Two inserts of color photographs depict the athlete from toddlerhood to recent NBA draftee, and most show him with his recognizable smile-and truly having fun with his gift. Morgan doesn't gloss over the controversy that surrounded the player when he accepted gifts as an amateur, a violation of the high school rules. He just comes across as a typical teen who sometimes screws up, albeit one with a prodigious talent. Demand for all things LeBron James may soon overtake demand for all things Michael Jordan, just as LeBron's statistics are rivaling those of a young Michael.-Jamie Watson, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.