The Greatest Boxing Stories Ever Told: Thirty-Six Incredible Tales from the Ring (Paperback)

by Jeff Silverman (Editor) "Good writers will go to pretty much any length to find their verities, but how many are truly willing to take it on the chin..." (more)
Key Phrases: club cellar, sweet science, middleweight title, Greenfield Jimmy, New York, Joe Louis (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Every once in a while, a book publisher comes up with a great concept for a series of books that deserve more than superficial recognition. Such a series is "The Greatest (fill in the blank) Stories Ever Told", anthologies that should win places on many bedside tables. On the long winter nights that lie ahead, such stories make great reading."--The Lexington County Chronicle

"The Greatest Boxing Stories Ever Told assembles some of the best writing available on the sweet science and illuminates boxing in all its literal and symbolic glory. Each piece in this varied collection connects with the sort of powerful punch one can only expect from the world's greatest writers."--Boxing Digest

Product Description
"Every once in a while, a book publisher comes up with a great concept for a series of books that deserve more than superficial recognition. Such a series is The Greatest (fill in the blank) Stories Ever Told, anthologies that should win places on many bedside tables. On the long winter nights that lie ahead, such stories make great reading." -The Lexington County Chronicle

"THE GREATEST BOXING STORIES EVER TOLD assembles some of the best writing available on the sweet science and illuminates boxing in all its literal and symbolic glory. Each piece in this varied collection connects with the sort of powerful punch one can only expect from the world's greatest writers." -Boxing Digest

In THE GREATEST BOXING STORIES EVER TOLD, editor Jeff Silverman delivers a knockout collection of not only the best writing ever penned on the subject of "the sweet science," but also stories that relate to the larger human issues the brutal sport has come to embody. Whether the story be about the triumph of a heroic champion, a tragic death in the ring, the shady tactics of fight promoters, or victories against seemingly impossible odds, each story in this varied collection connects powerfully with the reader. THE GREATEST BOXING STORIES EVER TOLD is the perfect gift for fight fans and non-fight fans alike, and with its allstar lineup of "contenders" throwing "haymakers" and "uppercuts" in every round, it stands as the definitive volume of short stories on this enduring pugilistic pastime.


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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592284795
• ISBN-13: 978-1592284795
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #78,939 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A knockout, December 17, 2002

By	"agmania" (Saginaw, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Greatest Boxing Stories Ever Told: Thirty-Six Incredible Tales from the Ring (Hardcover)

There is so much good writing on boxing that it's hard to know where to start picking the best, but Jeff Silverman did an amazing job of putting together a collection that honors the old warhorses and still comes up with new surprises. Some of the great writers of the 20th century are represented with their short stories -- Ring Lardner, Damon Runyon, Dashiell Hammett, Irwin Shaw and Jack London. It was fun to find that writers like O. Henry and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about boxing, too. In the non-fiction corner, selections by Frank Deford, Norman Mailer, George Plimpton, James Baldwin and Robert Lipsyte were all first rate, and some of the really old writing from the 18th and 19th century was lively and entertaining. With its sweep of boxing history and literature, it's a must for every boxing fan's bookshelf.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars pulling no punches, February 21, 2007

By	a reader (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

A beautifully edited anthology that will appeal not only to devotees of the sweet science, but to any fan of great writing. Silverman includes work by some of America's greatest essayists (Liebling, Plimpton, Mailer, Baldwin) and most popular fiction authors (O. Henry, Jack London, Dashiell Hammett, Damon Runyon, Richard Ford). The excerpt from Pierce Egan's 1829 classic BOXIANA (a favorite of A.J. Liebling's) is a special treat. The only thing missing is David Remnick on Muhammad Ali; but you can't expect everything from a 368-page collection. Highly recommended.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Varied Boxing Stories", May 11, 2008

By	Bob Chorba "Bobbyc" (Milwaukee, Wisconsin United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mediocre Read. Highlight is Frank DeFord's SI article on Billy Conn, originally titled the "Boxer and The Blonde". It helped that I had some knowledge of the subject matter. My Father knew Billy Conn's Father-in-Law, and I visited the Funeral Home when Billy was laid out. Also of interest was the script from the "I coulda been a contendah" Cab scene from "On the Waterfront". Of lesser or no interest were excerpts from the "Illiad and the Odyssey" and 1700/1800 fights. I really would not recommend this book to anyone, including hardened fight fans.