100 Boxing Books, I own, that I recommend:

[hawk5ins]

Clay's Langford book and KOJO's suggestion on Harry Otty's Charley Burley Book A few days ago.

Expect to sub them into the 100 list upon completeing them.

Looking forward to both reads!

Clay and KOJO, thanks a bunch!

(and Psst. Don't tell my wife.)

Hawk

[iskigoe]

I have Clay's and Tracy's book coming. I just brought by the sportswriter Bill Corum, and one about Wilson Mizner on Ebay. And Iam a guy who has read about 10 books my whole life. Looks like Im hooked.

[jim glen]

Hawk your Boxing book collection and indeed your overall view of British boxing would not be complete without Gilroy was here! and I don't just say that because I wrote it, but because I made it my intention that it read a little more complete than just another Boxing bio, it reads very well and is very visual and brings the times, fighters and players to life in a very full and visual manor.

It has met with excellent reviews from all who have read it, including this board and in fact Ron Lipton stated that Gilroy's story would make an excellent film...among others (I'm doing my best to make this happen), it is without question the greatset British boxing story NEVER told - for that is 'almost' what happened to Bert Gilroy, but divine wisdom is greater than the pride of man and not only has Bert's story been told but he is steadily being returned to his former glory.

Thanks be to God.
yours Jim Glen.

[hawk5ins]

Thank you very much for the recomendation!

I will absolutely check it out.

Much appreciated and good luck with your project.

Hawk

[hawk5ins]

And Like an overexcited 13 year old, I start tearing it out of the Amazon.Com Packaging and I end up ripping the Front Cover jacket almost all the way off.

Son-uv-a......

Just a quick Thumbing through Clay. Looks Friggen Awesome.

Hawk

[cmoyle]

Ouch! As a boxing book collector I feel your pain Hawk, I'd go nuts if I ripped a dust jacket up while opening a inbound package. And I love that jacket.

[hawk5ins]

My wife won't think I went out and bought a new book. THank Heavens for Scotch tape.

I'm trying to Stay positive!

I do like I always do when I get a new book. I skip ahead to a chapter that jumps out at me, in this case Ketchel. (I then go to the beginning and then read from start to finish. Odd I know. But then again, I can't open a package without ripping the jacket cover, so what do you expect?)

All I can say is: AWESOME. The sources you use and the detail you go to......Man. The next 30 responses from me when my wife asks me a question will no doubtedly be: "Hmmm? You say something?"

Thank you Clay for writing this book.

Congratulations!

Hawk

[iskigoe]

Ok, now you got me pacing the floor waiting for my book to come. I haven't checked the mail today. Can't wait to get home.

P.S. If it makes you feel better Hawk, I just tore a dust cover opening a book I brought on EBAY last about sportswriter Bill Corum. Instead of going in the house like a normal person. I tore it open right there in the street. As you say a little tape on the back and good as new [almost]. I also scan to a part I like best, then I goe back and finish.

I

[hawk5ins]

Just a couple of kids at Christmas time I guess I.

But, there is that sense of excitement when you do see that package and you are looking forward to what's coming.

Clay, it can only be interperated as a compliment!

"41 year old man, acts like a child opening his new Sam Langford Book he recieved in the mail and accidentally tore the cover jacket, nearly in half, in his haste to get to his package."

Ok, it makes me sound like a loon. But it's Still a Compliment!

Hawk

[Overhand_Right]

Have you guys mentioned 'My Life' by Joe Louis yet?

Long deleted but a really great read, from Joes own mouth.

[hawk5ins]

But at the time I had recently Chris Mead's Champion. WHihc as far as Louis's Bio's go, is hard to top.

I Just also recieved Harry Otty's book in the mail yesterday (opened it with greater care..) So now I have two books backing me up.

Not a bad problem to have.

Hawk

[brutu]

I thought the book UNFORGIVABLE BLACKNESS by Geofrrey Ward
was light years better then the dopey documentery Ken Burns made for PBS.
According to the program Geoffry Ward wrote the screen play.
But if you ask me Ken Burns must have been standing over his shoulder.
The book was more about the man,Jack Johnson,
the documentry was more about"outraged Honkie sensabilities".

[brutu]

Jack Johnson's 1927 autobiography IN THE RING AND OUT,
IMOP was pretty good.
Its been critized for its many inaccuricies and contradictions .
But it seems to me it was probably just rushed to press,before a fact checker could look it over.

[hawk5ins]

I think you might be on to something here about the judgement placed on Wards book being more about the Documentary than the actual book itself.

The Book was simply too good to be passed off as terrible or anthing else derogatory.

Was it the BEST boxing book ever? Or even the best Johnson book ever? No on the first one and it's up for debate on question 2.

But the book did NOT suck.

Hawk

[Sharkey]

But at the time I had recently Chris Mead's Champion. WHihc as far as Louis's Bio's go, is hard to top.

I Just also recieved Harry Otty's book in the mail yesterday (opened it with greater care..) So now I have two books backing me up.

Not a bad problem to have.

Hawk

Didn't Louis' son write a book about Joe?

[hawk5ins]

50 Years an American Hero.

I own that as well as Richard Bak's Louis Bio.

Champion by Mead, I think is the best of the lot.

And although it doesn't deal solely with Loius, Erenberg's The Greatest Fight of Our Generation (Louis Schmeling II) is another excellent Louis book.

Hawk

[Mike DeLisa]

David Margolick's book on Louis-Schemling -- "Beyond Glory" is absolutely great

[hawk5ins]

I did not pick that one up, mainly becuase I had heard and read that it was a bit "rough" on Schmeling and his Ties to Nazism.

Can you lend any of your insight to what your feelings were with regards to this?

Thanks.

Hawk

[Overhand_Right]

But at the time I had recently Chris Mead's Champion. WHihc as far as Louis's Bio's go, is hard to top.

I Just also recieved Harry Otty's book in the mail yesterday (opened it with greater care..) So now I have two books backing me up.

Not a bad problem to have.

Hawk

It never even occured to me to buy a biog when an autobiography is available as i prefer to hear the fighters tell it, and i did really like My Lifes tone, but i guess im gonna have to check out this Chris Mead book now which is also highly rated by reviewers on Amazon - another sickening blow to the credit card.

[Overhand_Right]

Jack Johnson's 1927 autobiography IN THE RING AND OUT,
IMOP was pretty good.
Its been critized for its many inaccuricies and contradictions .
But it seems to me it was probably just rushed to press,before a fact checker could look it over.

I have a book called 'Jack Johnson Is A Dandy', some late 60s paperback, i'm guessing it is the same book as 'In The Ring & Out'? Then again, if memory serves Johnson goes into detail about his later life, so maybe a revised edition?

Its an entertaining, occasionally confusing read full of tall tales many of which were later discredited.

Johnson might be a rare case when its better to have an academic like Randy Roberts or Ward tell their story.

[hawk5ins]

I've read both. I think Mead's superior.

Just my opinion.

Hawk

[Mike DeLisa]

I did not pick that one up, mainly becuase I had heard and read that it was a bit "rough" on Schmeling and his Ties to Nazism.

Can you lend any of your insight to what your feelings were with regards to this?

Thanks.

Hawk

Margolick did a great job depicting the truth -- he portrays Schmeling as he was -- a complicated guy who carefully polished his image over the years.

I can't imagine what you could have read that turned you off to this book.

[hawk5ins]

If you recommend the book, I certainly trust your word here.

I have been trying to look for the review and in going through some notes of mine, I may actually be thinking of the wrong book here and have been doing myself and Mr. Margolick a great disservice.

At around Erenberg's and Margolick's books came out covering the Louis Schmeling fight, there was a THIRD book that came out that covered the topic as well: Patrick Myler's RIng of Hate.

I think I may very well be confusing Myler's book with Margolick's. In any case, the review that I was associating with Margolick's book, portrayed Schmeling in a very unfavorable light, that the reviewer thought was innacurate and unfair.

I may very well be confusing the two here.

But agian, if you are of the opinion that it is a fantastic book (and let me share that Erenberg's book is fantastic as well), I will trust you and seek out the book to add to the library.

Thanks Mike.

Hawk

[brutu]

I thought Chris Mead's book about Joe Louis's life was kind of boring(i.e Academic).
IMOP too much sociol-studies of what was happening around in America at the time,not enough beef about his boxing career.
I thought Joe Louis's autobiography MY LIFE published in 1978 was really interesting.
Chris Mead states in his book that possibly Joe Louis was mentally ill when the manuscript was being written along with Art Rust for his autobiography,but I dont think he was,he was stablized on medicine in 1976-1977,I seen him do interviews around that time and Joe Louis was lucid. Much more intesting is his autobiography.

[brutu]

You know that HBO documentery broadcast earlier this year?
America's Hero Betrayed.
I thought that they were going to use Joe Louis's 1978 autobiography and
Barney Nagler's 1972 book THE BROWN BOMBER,as the basis.
However for most of it,it seemed like just another cleaned up/sanitized documentery of Joe Louis.
How many have we seen the past 20 years?
I think the producers were chicken sh*t to do a documentery that people like Charley Wrangel do not want to admit to themselves what eventually happened to the Brown Bomber.

[hawk5ins]

Found it fascination and thoroughly enjoyable to have read it on 3 seperate occasions cover to cover.

I guess I don't know what was boring about it. The Book detailed as much about the fights Louis was involved in as much as it did with his out of the ring situations and happenings.

It referenced from so many "at the Time" sources, that you had a feel for what went on WHEN it was happening.

Mead provided so much detailed information, I can't imagine not owning this book.

Sorry Brutu. I respectfully disagree. I honestly can not remember ever reading a dissatisfied or poor review of the book.

Hawk

[brutu]

I prefer reading fighters own autobiographies ,although its difficult to say on some just how much are the actual fighters participated and are their words and not those of the"as told to" or ghost writer.
I thought John L. Sullivan's autobiography,
I CAN LICK ANY SONOFABITCH IN THE HOUSE,
really opened up a window into pugilism in the late 19th century.
It was published just a couple months before and to promote Sullivan's fight with James J. Corbett in 1892.
The edition I saw was a re-print from the late 1970's.
The only drawback is that its so far back in time there are no motion pictures
of his fights to refer to.

[brutu]

I got to admit I only recently read Chris Mead's book about Joe Louis cover to cover just last year even though it was originally published 25 years ago.
Back then there just were not many books about Joe Louis(or ESPN Classic),and I have since seen a number of documenteries about Joe Louis's life and fights that used that book as a reference,so thats probably why it wasnt as new aas if I had read it back in the early 1980's.

[hawk5ins]

It's informative and I learn something new, that is really my criteria for whether it was a Great book or not.

A Great Bio will always be my cup of Tea over a Good Auto Bio.

That's simply how I see these books.

It's all personal preference I guess.

Hawk

[jim glen]

Hawk don't forget Gilroy was here!
Clay, DBergin & Antiqities of the Prize Ring have some forsale... if you like to learn something new that Bio is packed with insight into British war-time boxing, the famous Boxing Booths, and the age old North/South divide (Scotland/England) as well as local & family history, Gilroy was Italian, real name Antonio Rea.

Jim.