My son is the type of kid prone to passions – when he was in the 6th grade, he slept, ate and breathed Star Wars. He watched the movies, played with the action figures, and read dozens and dozens of books. A few years later, it was the Civil War – again, he read and watched and thought about the War between the States pretty much 24/7. Now, on the threshold of his 17th birthday it looks like his new thing is boxing. Now, Nick’s passions are somewhat contagious – his enthusiasm is such that we’re all swept along in his mania. That said, it’s unlikely that I’ll get too awful swept up in boxing – I’m a girl, I just can’t stand the hitting – however, with his birthday coming up, I’d like to buy him a book or two about his new craze. My mom bought him a speed bag set, and my husband and I may buy him a heavy bag, if we can think of a place to hang it, but he’s my only ‘reader’ and I like to buy him books for his birthdays. I went to the library a few weeks back and found him a couple of bios – one big long sucker on Jack Dempsey and another on Larry Holmes. He enjoyed both of those. And he has a couple of little paperbacks he picked up somewhere – The Contender is one, about a boxer who starts a training gym or something. But I’d like something good for his birthday. It doesn’t have to be in-print as I have several weeks to the big day and lots of good used-book connections. Maybe a good, readable history of boxing? Or a novel about boxing? Any suggestions?
I would recommend “On Boxing,” by Joyce Carol Oates, and “King of the World,” by David Remnick.
The Oates book is a collection of great essays. I am not a boxing fan, but her (perhaps incongruous) passion for the subject jumps off the page.
The Remnick book traces the rise of Muhammad Ali, and provides great insight into the changes that took place in this country along the way.
The Joyce Carol Oates book is very good. I would recommend 2 books about Muhammad Ali - The Tao of Muhammad Ali by Davis Miller is one of the best “sports” books ever, reviewed here and Sting Like a Bee by Jose Torres, notable because before becoming a writer Torres was light-heavyweight champion and has great insight into what is happening in the ring.
I recalled 2 other books I enjoyed, In Their Corner which is accounts by boxing trainers of their experiences with various champions. I don’t recall any other details, I borrowed it from a library many years ago. Australian detective novelist Peter Corris wrote a terrific history of Australian boxing called Lords of the Ring which you may find.
“The Sweet Science” by A. J. Liebling is the gold standard of boxing books. Possibly out of print, but good used copies would be available over the Net.
The Oates book is very fine. I would also add Norman Mailer’s account of Ali/Foreman’s “Rumble in the Jungle” called “the Fight.”