Sting Like a Bee : The Muhammad Ali Story [Paperback]

Jose Torres (Author), Bert Randolph Sugar (Author), Norman Mailer (Preface)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 19, 2001

For four decades Muhammad Ali's enduring story has gripped the American public, his profile extending far beyond the boxing community. This account of his life is written by a professional boxing champion. who offers an authentic view of Ali and the world of prizefighting, told by a true insider. Just three years earlier than Ali, Torres himself was the light-heavyweight champion of the world. Torres, who had first met Ali in their Olympic days, delivers explicit accounts of Ali's major fights with the verisimilitude of one who's lived it. Also included are little known anecdotes and facts about Ali's background. With an introduction by Norman Mailer and an epilogue by Budd Schuller.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Acrid, penetrating, a book fuming with the ammonia of the prize ring (Publishers Weekly )

“Marvelous. . . . It is a study of the psychic contest that in boxing is the hidden part of the iceberg.”—New York Times

(New York Times )

"With his keen, analytical eye, [José Torres] takes us inside the gym, inside the locker room, and even inside the psyche of the boxer in the ring. He explains the feelings, including fear and exhaustion, that all boxers, even Ali, experience prior to, during and after a fight. This makes Sting Like a Bee more than a valuable insight into a significant period in the career of a boxing legend. It is also a benchmark against which to measure other boxing books, if not sports literature in general."—Tim Gebhart, Blogcritics.org

(Tim Gebhart Blogcritics.org ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

Climb inside the ring with a world-champion boxer for a behind-the-scenes look at Muhammad Ali

Writers have long been attracted to boxing. Hemingway, Mailer, Algren, Plimpton, Oates, and many others have stepped into the ring--at least in spirit--to give voice to an otherwise wordless sport, to celebrate that "sweet science," and to bear witness to its romance and tragedy. In this acclaimed book, hailed by Norman Mailer as an "impressive event," we are brought for the first time into the ring for a close-up look at the "manly art" through the eyes of José Torres, a man who was a great boxer himself. When former light-heavyweight world champion José Torres traded in his gloves for a typewriter, boxing finally found its eyewitness.

In the classic Sting Like a Bee, Torres turns his well-trained eye on one of the most celebrated and controversial athletes of all time: Muhammad Ali. In this penetrating view of Ali and the world of prizefighting, told by a true insider and "boxing's Renaissance man," Torres delivers exciting and explicit accounts of all of Ali's major fights with the cool authenticity of one who has lived it.

". . . Acrid, penetrating, a book fuming with the ammonia of the prize ring and the psychic steam of champions."
--Publishers Weekly

"Marvelous . . . it is a study of the psychic contest that in boxing is the hidden part of the iceberg."
--The New York Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies (November 19, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071395881
• ISBN-13: 978-0071395885
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,812,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendous, March 26, 2003

By 

Allen Baker (Philly representin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sting Like a Bee : The Muhammad Ali Story (Paperback)

This book is great for all readers and is a great biography that puts you in the mind of a writer. You will feel like you are actually there witnissing these masterfull events.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From one warrior to another, July 29, 2005

By 

Leo Lim (Collierville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sting Like a Bee : The Muhammad Ali Story (Paperback)

Jose Torres first offering takes us to the point in Ali's career after his reinstatement which include tuneup fights with Quarry, Bonavena and finally to the first fight with Frazier. Interspersed with these narratives is the life of Ali from his Golden Glove Days to the revocation of his license for refusing the draft.

What makes this book unique from all the other Ali biographies out there is that the writer was quite of a boxer himself, a former light heavyweight champion in fact. From this vantage point, he gives us a glimpse of the boxer's psyche - particularly interesting is his anatomy of the knockout punch. Whereas other biographies speak about Ali in reverential tones, Torres puts Ali to task for his bad game plan in the first Frazier fight and his penchant for playing with his opponent.

Indeed, Torres acquits himself well as a boxing writer. I wish he could have deferred writing this book for a few years so that the "Rumble in the Jungle" and the next two Frazier fights would be included.