Customer Reviews

By George

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George Forman continues to impress me with his never ending ability to survive. This man is never down for the count. His life experience thus far seems to be, " It ain't over til it's over". His autobiography re-tells the exciting brutal saga of his journey from the hungry angry "tiger", a brawler, to a fighting machine, a champion boxer. His wins, his defeats, his pain, his agony, his forced retirement from the ring- -( "they"- the judges, just didn't want him anymore,) -- to successful sales and marketing entrepreneur, unfold in graphic detail. The photographs are superb. The man with that wonderful smile just kept re-inventing himself. Like Phoenix rising from the ashes, George Foreman found the beautiful quality within himself and manifested a new life. We meet his family, wife and children and empathize with the pure positive power of love. and the spiritual side of this gentleman boxer. By the way, I saw that fight, and the judges were wrong. But for their mean-spirited short-sightness, greed, and need to control the boxing world, George Foreman might still be astounding us in the ring. But on the other hand, I might not be cooking wonderful tasting food on my George Foreman Grill and learning new nuances about cooking from George's cookbook, nor laughing hilariously at George's skillful articulate handling of Bill O'Reilly on his own spin-zone, "The O'Reilly Factor" televised show, nor appreciating how George truly nutures and sets the pace for his children, nor marveling at how the maturation process can indeed transform an individual. He is still the Winner and Champion, in my book. A role model who understands the value of being the example to those he loves. Don't take my word for it- read his books, get to know this man, and get the grill, which comes in a variety of sizes. Yes, George Forman thought of everything. He knows how to survive.

Big George has a story that must be heard, and whats best you don't even need to be a boxing fan to understand or enjoy this book, it goes far far DEEPER than that. His life has been unbelievable. His life before boxing and in his 10 year break from the sport is very interesting and suprising, and this si a very very funny book.

The story of his comeback to boxing aged of 37, 10 years after his last fight, is heart warming. His church was low on funds, his youth centre for disadvantaged children in Texas was going to be shut down, and George knew he had to make money somehow, so he dusted himself off and got back into the ring.

i still remember 1994 when a 45 year old George shockingly took all of world champion Michael Moorers big punches for so many rounds before he landed "the shot heard round the world"

Georges ability to mix at top level against dangerous young men at his age had never been done before and never will again. HOW DID HE DO IT?!!!

this book is a must, you will enjoy it.

George Foreman's life is truly stranger than fiction; nobody would make this up!
Winning a second world championship in a young man's sport at age 45 is incredible, but not so much less so is the story of the total transformation of a man. Foreman professes to have started fighting out of hate and a desire to hurt people and hurt them bad, and yet became a man who nearly went bankrupt running a youth center on his own money, and whose concern when a rule change eliminates the 3 knockdown rule (when chasing his second world championship) is that he would now have to hurt his competitor to win. The spiritual aspect of the book is fascinating as Foreman describes his return to boxing on God's guidance.
There are some truly STRANGE episodes in this book, such as George's description of the the goings-on behind the scenes prior to the "Thrilla in Manilla". We will never be 100% certain of the truth, but to me, his story makes sense, as it NEVER made sense to me that Ali was able to beat Foreman - the rope-A-dope ploy just wasn't enough to explain it. Anyone who has seen Foreman fight knows he could take repeated hits from a Mack truck without falling, and you only have to see such slo-mo's as the upper cut that lifted a 235 lb. Frazier completely off the mat to know what it must be like to be hit by the man. (OK, true, I want vindication, I've always believed that something wasn't quite right about that fight - head to head on their best days, Foreman would have anhililated Ali.)
This book is fascinating whether you believe it all or not, and if you are a Christian, you will enjoy it twice as much, and will be inspired and challenged by Foreman's faith in God.

Whether it's for his knockouts in the ring, or his grills that knockout the fat, just about everyone in the civilized world knows the name George Foreman. While most sports fans know that Foreman wasn't always the oversized teddy bear that he is now, the stories relayed in the first half of his autobiography, BY GEORGE, will amaze you.

Throughout the book, Foreman not only outlines the rise of his boxing career from the Olympics to the professional ranks and the heavyweight championship (twice), but he also delves into his personal life in a detailed manner that provides the reader with an in-depth look into the George Foreman that many never knew existed.

The somewhat underlying story in this book is his relationship with God. In the first half of the book, Foreman tells of how, when he was young, he thought that religion was for the weak and it wasn't something he needed in his life. More amazing is that Foreman, now a Baptist minister, nearly became a Muslim before his legendary fight with Muhammad Ali in 1974. Following his bout with Jimmy Young in 1977, his final fight before his 10 year layoff, Foreman had a 'religious experience' in his locker room, found the Lord, and started to become the George Foreman that the world knows and loves today. In the second half of the book, the reader truly begins to see Foreman's love for God, and how God influences every aspect of his life.

While many know the ups and downs of his boxing career, it's very interesting to relive those moments through the eyes of the man who was there. His mentality change between his first and second boxing careers is astonishing. As a Christian, this book has added meaning for me due to the issues mentioned above. Simply put, this is a book that is an inspiration to one and all.

On the 1 to 5 star scale - I give this a 6!

WOW! - WOW! - George! - WOW!

Fantastic, Wonderful, Beautiful, Moving, Inspirational, Funny, Fun, Could not and would not put it down!

What a great book - what a great life!

I'm so full of joy and inspiration from this book that I can't even find the words to write a review - this was such a great book.

I've always liked the "recent" George Foreman - the one that was on the comeback trail and fought Michael Moorer - the one with that beautiful smile.

Don't forget there was the George before - I used to think that that George Foreman was just simply a bad guy - he wasn't - well - not fully anyway -

By George is the autobiography of (and by) George Foreman - from his birth to his regaining the Championship of the World - EVERYTHING - from the book dedications to the very last page was wonderful.

I got chills at the end of every chapter - and just had to keep reading - as I got closer to the end I kept wishing for more -

How is this not a movie!

What a fantastic life this man has led

This book has it all - for the boxing enthusiast you get a unique insight at the history of boxing and some it's most influential and historical people - Big George was IN the Rumble in the Jungle - Cosell's famous "Down goes Frazier! - Down goes Frazier!!!" was due to George -

On a spiritual note - I would think that the closest thing to feeling Gods love would be getting a hug from George Foreman

George - if you're somehow reading this please know that you're an amazing man - and I'm so happy for you - and so happy to share the same planet with you! - I recently adopted a cat from a shelter and of course named him George!

Boxing fans - BUY THIS BOOK!
Biography fans - BUY THIS BOOK!
Anyone who knows how to read - BUY THIS BOOK!

This book was awesome! I got it back when I was 19, probably just so I could read about some good fights. But it had so much more. Like how George was a fighter as a kid. He talked about how he played high school football and the coach who carried around the wooden paddle! I thought it was neat the way he talked about his experience in the Job Corps. Even then he struggled with his temper, and talked about how there was one special lady who always loved him. The cafeteria lady, Mrs. Moon, who eventually invited him over for dinner.

I loved the way he described his fights, some of them in awesome detail. He still recalls losing 2 fights against a man named Clay Hodges, but then going to the Olympics and winning the gold against Russian, Ionas Chepulis. He vividly tells about what he was thinking in his first fight with Smokin' Joe Frazier. He tells about fighting Ken Norton. I admire the fact that George takes the good with the bad, and talks about his defeat to Muhammed Ali.

But the most awesome thing is about how George became a pastor. He truly is an amazing man, with the grace of God. This shows the awesome power of an awesome man, led now by an awesome God!

Starting with his early days in Texas, the autobiography of George Foreman is an intriguing piece. The once bad boy of Marshall proved that he could become the good man of the entire nation. Sports defined him, and he is grateful to God.
George Foreman is great: he owns the strongest pair of hands that has ever laced gloves. History has a fine room for him. And although the bitter taste of defeat kept him out of the ring, after Ali's mastery resilience overwhelmed him, no one counted George out. He returned some twenty years later, shattering the long-standing Jersey Joe Walcott's record, and became the oldest heavyweight to win the crown (in 1994, aged 45 years).
His 1973 demolition of Joe Frazier, (in Kingston, Jamaica), left all the reggae-boys wiping their eyes in disbelief. But Ali wasn't stunned. He knew George well, and described him thus: "George (Foreman) is a brute force...just like (Sonny) Liston... only that he is a taller, bigger, and stronger Liston... After the first round (of our fight) I returned to my corner. I understood why (Joe) Frazier and (Ken) Norton were destroyed."

Here's a rags-to-riches story of a man who got caught up in all the trapping of fame and fortune. Yet, with all the mistakes he made, George Foreman took responsibility. He financially and spiriturally took care of his kids who could have become victims had it not been for a truly strong man. George Foreman is a real hero, not only as a boxer, but as a person.

Much of George Foreman's life has been a fight. From his troubled childhood, he had to keep jabbing away at resilient opponents like racism and poverty. Still, he never threw in the towel. In stead every time life knocked him down, he got back up and came out swinging. At times, his religious prostelyzing seems a little ironic considering, his first four children were fathered by four different women, but many others have seen the light after years of dubious behavior. The final rounds are often more important than the first few. Boxing fans will be thrilled by the details of his glory years and his unbelievable comeback when he regularly faced fighters young enough to be his sons. The book may not score a knockout, but it definitely wins by a unanimous decision.

I thought this was going to be a very hokey book. I expected a lot of George was mean and angry his whole life then he meets Jesus then everything is shiny and happy, jokes about George eating too much, George has a dream to heavyweight champion again, George makes the dream come true, and more George and Jesus stuff but this book was surprisingly candid and interesting.

He talks about his anti-social childhood in the crime infested 5th ward in Houston. Going into the job corps where he started boxing and his meteoric rise to the top of the amateur boxing world where he ended up winning an olympic gold medal after having only been boxing for a VERY short time. His "first" pro career including his fights with Frazier, Norton, Ali and others, his nervous breakdown/religious experience after the Jimmy Young fight and his retirement, his ten year layoff, and the comeback which culminated in him recapturing the heavyweight championship of the world.

George is a bit of a shady individual and from a few first hand accounts I have heard he is just as mean as he ever was. That smile instantly disappears from his face and the nice guy act flies out the window the second those HBO or "grilling machine" infomercial cameras turn off. George really sold himself off as I used to be mean but I found Jesus and now I'm Mr. Niceguy to the public and got rich as a result so what really surprised me is how candid he was about problems he has had over the years with women, his kids and his own flaws in his personal life.