after hinting just slightly to my family that the above book by adam j. pollack would make me a great christmas present,i was delighted to find it under the christmas tree yesterday morning on christmas day.i've always wanted to know more about "ruby robert" and my word what compulsive reading it is.at this moment i'm about two thirds of the way through and simply can't put it down.i feel as though i've been transported back in time. taken almost wholly from primary sources it chronicles bob's career in great detail from moving as a child to new zealand,receiving his boxing education in australia before moving to the states and wreaking havoc amongst all the best middleweights and heavyweights of the day.my estimation of him as a fighter and his achievements has gone up and while we can all argue till the cows come home about the merits of fighters of those days,i think his stunning power as a puncher cannot be disputed.however reading the book it is evident that he was much more than that,and was one of the great thinking fighters. i would recommend this read to all true lovers of the noble art,and congratulate adam j. pollard on producing such a thoroughly researched and compelling piece of work.
Thats sold me then,im gonna order it as well,i have a previous book on fitz and it was good,this one sounds like a dream
It is. I'm about a quarter of the way through and fully concur with ron - this is an excellent, and extremely well researched book. For those not familiar with Pollack's books, they use archival material from local newspapers and other sources to reconstruct what actually happened in the various fights in a fighter's career - and in so doing, often uncover new information, and also refute myths and distortions that have developed about a fighter. They are, imo, the best boxing books around - and I've read a LOT of boxing books. There's nothing quite like them.
it's the fact that the author sticks with the primary sources,that makes you think that your getting as accurate as an account that can be gained from something that happened such a long time ago.secondry sources are occasionally referred to,but the author makes it plain in that is what they are and they could be purely conjecture.the detail of the fights and of the intrigue surrounding them is spellbinding.what comes across is a picture of a very noble man for his day and genius of a fighter.
Check out winbykopublications.com And thanks for all the kind words, guys. Keep posting what you think as you read it.
I just finished reading Adam's new book about Bob Fitzsimmons, and like many others who have done so, strongly endorse it. I learned plenty that I didn't already know, especially about his early boxing career, and his fights with the likes of Peter Maher, Tom Sharkey, and Jim Corbett. Just a terrific resource concerning Fitzsimmons career in the ring. Congratulations on another outstanding effort Adam!
Yeah, I read it a couple of days back, you must be delighted. Makinde is a very fine writer and seems impressed. Is he working on anything knew do you know? I LOVED his Dick Tiger work.
Fine book, recommended. I'm puttering away at the Corbett book, but I've sneeked a lot of peaks at the Fitz book. Aside from being a boxing immortal, Ruby Robert was a world class talker.
