Concussion

Soon to be a major motion picture of the same name starring Will Smith—Sony’s big Christmas day release. The riveting, unlikely story of the pathologist who made one of the most significant medical discoveries of the 21st century—a discovery that challenges the existence of America’s favorite sport, and puts him in the crosshairs of its most powerful corporation: the NFL

In September of 2002, Dr. Bennet Omalu performed an autopsy that would change the course of his life. The body on the slab at the coroner’s office in Pittsburgh belonged to a 53 year-old named Mike Webster, who also happened to be a legendary, Hall of Fame center for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The same Mike Webster who, after retiring, suffered a dizzyingly steep decline in mental health; who was living out of his van; who treated his back pain with a Taser and used Super Glue to fix his rotting teeth. How did this happen? How did a relatively young man like Mike Webster end up like this? Omalu wanted to know. As a young Nigerian man born against the brutal backdrop of the Biafra Civil War, Omalu was all too familiar with death. Working as a forensic pathologist let him act as an advocate for the dead; a deeply religious man, he considered it his calling. What he discovered in Mike Webster’s brain—evidence of a trauma-related disease, similar to Alzheimer’s, that he named CTE—was proof that Webster’s decline was no accident, and he knew that it would kill scores of other athletes unless something was done to address it. Omalu naively believed that the NFL would welcome this discovery. Instead, it tried to destroy him, and discredit his findings.

Taut and gorgeously told, this is the intensely personal story of one man’s fight against a multi-billion dollar colossus determined to crush him. For fans of A Beautiful Mind and The Blind Side, this is a gripping and, ultimately, deeply affirming book.

“A gripping medical mystery and a dazzling portrait of the young scientist no one wanted to listen to…a fabulous, essential read.”—Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

“The story of Dr. Bennet Omalu’s battle against the NFL is classic David and Goliath stuff, and Jeanne Marie Laskas—one of my favorite writers on earth—makes it as exciting as any great courtroom or gridiron drama. A riveting, powerful human tale—and a master class on how to tell a story.”—Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit

“Bennet Omalu forced football to reckon with head trauma. The NFL doesn’t want you to hear his story, but Jeanne Marie Laskas makes it unforgettable. This book is gripping, eye-opening, and full of heart.”—Emily Bazelon, author of Sticks and Stones