Quote:
Originally posted by mking55
Did you read the books I read, and if so, what did you think?
'Cut Time: An Education at the fights' by Carlo Rotella.
Released August, 2003
Excellent. The man can write and that helps..
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I also read this recently and I agree completely with your assessment.
Quote:
Originally posted by mking55
'The Devil and Sonny Liston' by Nick Tosches
Released April, 2000
Good reviews but I didn't really like it.
"Nick Tosches writes like Sonny Liston hit"--Chuck Wepner, who fought them both.
I was hoping to gain an understanding of the man and the myth. Was he really as bad as he was made out to be? Was he evil personified in the black man?
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Although we are given 'excuses' and some understanding of what he came from, I still found the characterization of the man to be very one-dimensional. Maybe he was.
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I read this book last summer and enjoyed it despite its dark and depressing tone. Tosches does write rather well. I think it is a good place to start for someone who does not know a great deal about Liston.
I think that book and "Ghosts of Manila," which I also read last summer, would be better understood if the reader is either a) African-American or b) understands Afr-Am culture and life really, really well. I read many passages in "The Devil and Sonny Liston" that are very, very "black." Impressions and observations that anybody who is not "a" or "b" above would have a hard time understanding. Tosches impressed me with his ability to achieve these insights and get them down on paper.
As for his one-dimensional portrayal of Liston the human being, well, some people do have less substance than others. But I don't intend to let Tosches' book be the last word on Sonny Liston for me.