Finally got my hands on this classic by sports writer legend Paul Gallico and have to say I'm blown away by it just a few chapters in .. for starters , his portrait of Dempsey is far and away the most three dimensional and deep I have ever read .. Gallico gets into the psychological breakdown of what type of man Dempsey was in the 20's and it is captivating .. he takes us behind the sugar coated revisionist folklore and details a dark and dangerous guy that could have easily drifted into crime or worse if fate did not intervene and realign his once ill-fated boxing career .. His chapter on Carnera is painful, detailing his take on how Primo was manufactured with precision in set up after set up, milked for every nickel and tossed aside as a near wreck when there was nothing left to exploit. There is a ton more ahead nd I'm looking forward to it .. I strongly advise anyone interested to pick up a copy out in reprint form.
QUOTE="he grant, post: 19726712, member: 30974"]Finally got my hands on this classic by sports writer legend Paul Gallico and have to say I'm blown away by it just a few chapters in .. for starters , his portrait of Dempsey is far and away the most three dimensional and deep I have ever read .. Gallico gets into the psychological breakdown of what type of man Dempsey was in the 20's and it is captivating .. he takes us behind the sugar coated revisionist folklore and details a dark and dangerous guy that could have easily drifted into crime or worse if fate did not intervene and realign his once ill-fated boxing career .. His chapter on Carnera is painful, detailing his take on how Primo was manufactured with precision in set up after set up, milked for every nickel and tossed aside as a near wreck when there was nothing left to exploit. There is a ton more ahead nd I'm looking forward to it .. I strongly advise anyone interested to pick up a copy out in reprint form.[/QUOTE] Is it ,"pity the poor giant?" I have that.According to Janitor ,Gallico was nothing but ,"a hack". The crucial difference between' Gallico and the forum's Janitor is that Gallico saw Carnera fight in the flesh from his early days in the Salle Wagram though his tours of the tank towns,and up to his gaining of the title.He also spoke to Carnera's US manager, Billy Duffy,but he is a hack ,because his take on Carnera is the exact opposite of Janitor's. How arrogant is that?