Boxing books - your advice needed

Alright chaps, as you can see I don't post on here a great deal but over the last 6 months I have read literally every thread in the boxing section and just don't have the time to post, await response, reply etc... What i want to know is over the last month or so I've been greatly interested in the dirtier side of boxing, and namely Don King. I want to buy a book that covers money/fights/backstabbing (abit of everything really).

So do you guys recommend anything anything Don King related wise? Or do you have any other choices that are a great read aswell as educating.

Thanks,

Shock.

Any advice about other books is also appreciated.

Shock.

Welcome aboard Shock, good thread.

I'm not able to help myself, but would also be interested in what the more knowledgeable posters on here have to offer on the subject.

Chris, Manos, Tina and Rowley are who I'd consider go-to guys on Boxing History and books so I'd fire them a quick PM if your thread isn't picked up.

Good luck, glad to have you with us

i would direct you boys to the human windmill boxing vault for all book reviews. Rowley is pretty much the resident expert on boxing books.

Wrote this in the review section. Might be the kind of thing you're looking for.

"Boxings Hall of Shame" by Thomas Myler.

Haven't read this in a while but its a decent read. Going back as far as the dawn of Queensbury rules up until the modern day Myler brings us through some of the darker and more controversial moments in the sport's history.

Broken into 14 independent chapters and covering many different subjects and episodes it has something for everyone. There's controversial fights such as No mas, Tyson Holyfield 2 and Ali Liston 2 and various counts of fight fixing and hustles down through the ages. While humorous in parts it also covers perhaps the darkest side of boxing with the sad tale of Jerry Quarry showing the risk these men take every time they step in the ring and the physical and mental damage that can be left long after they hang up the gloves.

All in all its an interesting solid book which is worth a read. The fact that its broken into 14 contrasting and stand alone chapters, covering the old and new makes it accessible to everyone and enjoyable even for those that might note consider themselves big readers..

If you want one on Don king you cannot go wrong with Jack Newfield's Only in America, the lifes and crimes of Don King. Is absolutely outstanding. For a more historical perspective on boxing's dealings and shenanegans Kevin Mitchell's Jacob's Beach is also pretty good.

I concur with rowley, mate. Newfield's book is the best I have read on Don King. Brilliantly written and cuts through much of the chaff. If you're going to buy one, make it that one. Never read Jacob's Beach but if Jeff and Chris both rate it then I am sure it will be worth a read.

If you want a general book on the sport, then Mike Silver's The Arc of Boxing is excellent. It is not cheap but really is a fine effort.

Pretty much anything by Hugh McIlvanney will be worth any expense as well, particularly 'McIlvanney on Boxing' which is the book I get down from the bookcase more than any other. It is essentially a series of essays but written in his own inimitable style and covers some great fights and great characters.

Good luck.

I thought Jacob's Beach was decent but I'm not sure Mitchell really got to the heart of what he was writing about. It's a good overview of an interesting time but I felt I got more insight from Budd Schulberg's article on Mike Jacobs (taken from Schulberg's book, Ringside).

Dark Trade by Donald Macrae is fantastic and so is "This bloody mary is the last thing I own is " by Jonathan Rendall. Rendall managed Colin "Sweet C" McMillan for a while and was a close acquaintance of Kid Berg towards the end of his life.

Just want to say a quick thanks for the responses, and I'm definately going to take you guys' opinion and have a look in the boxing vault and see what i can dig up regarding 'Don King - Only in America'.

I see a lot of baiting and wumming on other threads, but when the time comes, there is a real community here. Thanks!

Shock.

Crown of Thorns is a cracking book about the heavyweights.

Four Kings is probably the best boxing book I've read.
Well worth a look.

Since I love this subject find a random list of boxing books I enjoy enormously

Jon Hotten - the Year of the Locust, a truly shocking story about boxings seedy underbelly made even more shocking by the fact it is true and by the truly shocking finale.

Mike Silver - the Arc of Boxing. The grumpy old mans handbook on the sport, you won't necessary agree with everything in the book but is plenty of food for thought and the book justifies the hefty price tag

Tunney Jack Kavanaugh - Excellent biomgraphy of one of the all time greats and also does a pretty good job of covering Dempsey's career, which is a bonus as some of the Dempsey books on the market are hit and miss affairs

King of The World - David Remnick. If you are only going to buy one Ali book it should probably be Hauser's official bigraphy but if you want something a little different this is excellent, also covers Patterson and Liston in good depth and as both of them are fascinating figures in their own right lifts this above the average Ali book (and god knows there are plenty of them)

Harry Otty Charley Burley and the Black Muderers Row - My favourite fighter and one of my favourite boxing books ever. Does a stellar job of bringing the brilliance of Burley to the public eye.

Clay Moyle - Sam Langford - If the Burley book is not myfavourite book ever, this is probably the reason why, absolutely faultess biography of arguably the greatest fighter ever. Believe it is now out of print so you may have to shop around to get one for sensible money but the effort is justified (his follow up book on Billy Miske is excellent as well)

Joe Laydon The Last Great Fight - the definitive book on the Tyuson Duglas fight, gets behind the myths and the cliches to give an excellent account of one of the biggest shocks in the history of the sport.

Adam Pollack - In the Ring With ..... - Not a book, but a series on the earlyt heavyweight champions, starting with Sullivan and currently up to Burns, the detail in these books is truly staggering. Not always the easiest reads due to the sheer level of research and detail but for anyone wanting to know more about these fighters there is nowhere else to start.

Joe Calzaghe - No Ordinary Joe - Only joking, it's awful

In the middle of reading 'No Ordinary Joe'.
Funny how he describes Jones Jnr as shot and then bigs up opponents such as Pudwill.

Enjoyed Frank Bruno's book, can't remember the name, if they're more than one of them.
An honest and Frank account, excuse the pun, about his rise to stardom.
Everyone knows how having numerous belts and world champions are diluting the meaning of becoming 'Champion of the World', but was happy to see Frank take advantage of the situation and becoming 'Heavyweight Champion of the World', albeit for a very brief reign, but hey!