Boxing Books I've Recently Bought.

I just read the description on Amazon and I am adding it to my list to purchase.

 

I will definitely re-read his books - well researched and engaging. You can tell the love he has for the sport.

 

Yes, it is an excellent book on Fitz by Pollack ....... if you have zero interest in Fitz's career after he beat Corbett that is.

I would recommend Keith Robinson's 'Lanky Bob' or even Gilbert Odd's 'Fighting Blacksmith' over Pollack's book as they both cover his whole career.

 

I like Prizefighter over the bottom 2. It's cheaper and reads smoother

 

Jamie Moore - Mooresy, The Fighters' Fighter.

 

Yes, it reads smoother but that's because the prose is like something you would read in the sportspages of a newspaper with very little substance.

Dale Webb's Prizefighter is lightweight fluff which skims across Fitz's life and career, which is fine if you want a quick read. But if you want a bit more depth and a scholarly read then you need to look elsewhere.
The book's cover also gives you a clue as to what you will find inside as it's a picture of Australian Billy Smith against Billy Lewis ..... the famous picture which is continually mis-identified as Fitz v Maher. Later editions of the book changed the cover.

It's a shame Pollack's book on Fitz ends with the Corbett fight. It's the book in his series which suffers the most from his format of ending the story when the subject wins the title. There's a hell of a lot more to Fitz's career after he beat Corbett.

 

I also have the fighting blacksmith and lankey Bob. I just enjoyed Prizefighter the most. Maybe it's because I read the others first that went over more detail especially lankey bob but again enjoyed prizefighter the most

 

Just bought Road to Nowhere by Tris Dixon. Can’t put it down. Great book.

 

I enjoyed Odd's book, haven't read Robinson's

 

I found Tobin's 1990 book good for photos and a brisk read. The 1927 Davis book was very entertaining and gave a feel for the man the later more detailed and researched books lack.

The Odd book was good, the McInnes book too brief. Looking forward to Pollack's.

 

A brief anecdote on Odd's book.

Flew to Simi Valley California in 2016 for an inlaw visit and brought the book for reading. My brother-in-law had a long time house guest who he informed me was related to some famous boxer from long ago. So when I met the house guest, I asked him who he was related to. He said something to the effect of " My great great grandfather was heavyweight champion, but I don't know much about him. "

I asked him what his last name was, and he told me "Fitzsimmons ". I was blown away. We spent the next 10 minutes on YouTube watching the Corbett fight, the first footage he had ever seen of his great great grandfather.

I finished the book that week before I flew back home.

 

Wow! - Great stuff

 

Good thread, just busted a move and nabbed a few.

 

Lanky Bob provides alot more detail than the Fighting Blacksmith. Alot!

 

Discussing book recommendations is very subjective - what you'll like depends on what you like.

Your list is fairly mixed. I find Toledo's books to be excellent - though 'Cheap Seats' doesn't quite measure up to 'Gods of War'. I haven't read his third yet.

Tosches books are absolute garbage - cranky nonsense about 'writers who can fight and fighters who can write' by a guy who, on his own testimony, can do neither. Weirdly obsessed with Sonny Liston's no-doubt magnificent ****.

Giudice's book on Duran another one best avoided. Well researched, but terribly written. I was genuinely stunned when I learned the writer wasn't ESL.

Remnick's 'King of the World' on Ali is one of the best boxing books I've ever read. Ray Leonard's biography is also pretty good, but really needed a more objective voice.