Every chapter will bring back a lot of great basketball memories from Thompson’s coaching days along with his playing career, his family ties, the people who inspired him and others. Washington pens a brilliant note as the co-author. Thompson follows with a strong introduction ... Thompson is very candid in the book. In addition, the book tells you stories that you didn’t know. With basketball season starting, it’s a great book to read.
In I Came as a Shadow, Thompson — who was long wary of revealing too much about himself and yet was continually frustrated about being misunderstood — finally gets to cast his legend on his own terms, in all of its contradictions ... Thompson (or, perhaps, his co-author, Jesse Washington) is a lively and entertaining writer ... The greatest value of I Came as a Shadow though, is that it offers us one last, long opportunity to hear Thompson’s singular voice.
John Thompson, who dominated the Georgetown University basketball scene for 27 years, held little back on the court and off. So it’s not surprising that his autobiography, I Came as a Shadow, is brutally honest and unsparing both to many in Thompson’s life and to Georgetown ... I find Thompson a fascinating figure ... This superb book, done with Jesse Washington, a writer for ESPN’s the Undefeated, has been eagerly awaited for years.
... a 352-page opus on a man with few regrets — and lamenting little ... Thompson doesn't apologize for writing a book that, as much as possible, isn't about basketball. He doesn't apologize for using the 'n-word,' actually the complete ugly word itself, liberally sprinkled throughout the book ... First and foremost, though, John Thompson doesn't apologize for the gifts he's been given and the accomplishments he earned — a sentiment that winds through the book and his life ... For me, the book earned its keep with the surprising moments. When a famous person's life portrait is painted from the headlines he or she generates, it's fun to read the fine print ... Beyond the unexpected moments, the book's richness is in the detail about the moments we do know ... Thompson, in his book, shows some refreshing self-awareness ... In August, I offered NPR listeners an appetizer at the end of John Thompson's life. I Came As A Shadow is the full meal. The writing is good although, at times, the prose doesn't sparkle. What drives you forward as a reader are the experiences. The moments you'd heard about and the ones you had not; the private thoughts of a public man; the complexity of a Black man who both raged against society's racial injustice, and eagerly embraced the opportunities to make things better; and the opinions of a person who remained relevant to the end of his life.
... an unusually good sports memoir ... a consequential book with a plainspoken tone. Even after his success, Thompson preferred McDonald’s to restaurants with white tablecloths, and his voice makes an authentic sound ... This book has its lacunae. His wife and children are rarely mentioned. He wished he’d spent more time with them. He gives little evidence of his life outside of basketball, but perhaps he didn’t have much of one ... You sense there are stories that await a biographer.
