Tag: sports writing
-
#58: ‘The Harder They Fall’ by Budd Schulberg
‘The Harder They Fall’ is Budd Schulberg’s novel about fictional boxer and man-mountain ‘El Toro’ Molina. The narrator of the book is boxing journalist Eddie Lewis, who, like a lot of writers I know, is procrastinating and putting off finishing the play he believes is his life’s work, while scratching a living filing copy for…
-
#57: ‘The Greatest Boxing Stories Ever Told’ edited by Jeff Silverman
‘The Greatest Boxing Stories Ever Told – Thirty-six Incredible Tales from the Ring’, edited by Jeff Silverman, is yet another anthology of essays to add to your already groaning book shelves. As with all ‘greatest’ of ‘best of’ collections, if you buy enough of them there are bound to be overlaps and you’ll find the…
-
#56: ‘In the Red Corner’ by John Duncan
‘In the Red Corner – A Journey into Cuban Boxing’ is John Duncan’s account of a madcap voyage to Cuba, to lure some of their superstar amateur boxers with professional contracts. I love a good “so I just decided to book my flights and go” kind of story, and this is one of the best…
-
#55: ‘The Professional’ by W.C. Heinz
‘The Professional’ is W.C. Heinz’s seminal novel, about fictional professional boxer Eddie Brown and his trainer Doc Carroll. The story follows both middleweight Brown and Carroll as they prepare, together, for Brown’s first shot at a world title. The book examines the relationship between trainer and fighter as the training camp progresses, at its centre…
-
#54: ‘Unlicensed’ by Jon Hotten
‘Unlicensed – Random Notes from Boxing’s Underbelly’ by Jon Hotten. It’s funny how your brain does or, in fact, doesn’t work, but I have next to no recollection of reading this book! Though, please don’t take that as a judgement of its quality; I often binge when I’m interested in a subject, so it’s very…
-
#53: ‘The Gloves’ by Robert Anasi
‘The Gloves – A Boxing Chronicle’ by Robert Anasi is the author’s account of his own attempt to enter the New York Golden Gloves amateur boxing tournament. This is a really great description of just how tough it is to enter amateur boxing at a competitive level as an adult, as Anasi was when he…
-
#52: ‘Rope Burns’ by F.X. Toole
‘Rope Burns’ is a collection of short stories by F.X. Toole who, as well as authoring this book, has had a substantial career as a trainer of, and cut man to, professional boxers. Perhaps most notably this collection contains the short story Million $$$ Baby, which was later dramatised in the film Million Dollar Baby,…
-
Latest eBay delivery – June
Looking forward to reading and blogging about these fantastic looking books form my latest eBay shopping spree. In the post were: * ‘Boxing – a Cultural History’ by Kasia Boddy* ‘Sweet Fighting Man – Volumes 1 & 2’ by Melanie Lloyd* ‘Saga of Sock’ by John V Grombach* ‘Brutal Artistry – Great Fighters and Great…
-
#51: ‘The Tragedy of Randolph Turpin’ by Jack Birtley
‘The Tragedy of Randolph Turpin’ by Jack Birtley tells the story of British Middleweight Randolph Turpin’s rapid rise as a professional boxer, and the ultimately tragic end to his life. In 1951, Turpin shocked the boxing world by beating the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson to win the world middleweight title. This, unfortunately, was a high…
-
#50: ‘Hook to the Chin’ by Lev Kreft
‘Hook to the Chin’ is an article originally published in Physical Culture and Sports Studies and Research, written by Lev Kreft, from the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts – University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. (DOI: 10.2478/v10141-009-0005-1) This article focuses on how artists of the Avant-Garde during the 1920s and 30s held sport, and specifically boxing,…
Writers on Boxing 