I recently devoured Mike Tyson's autobiography over a couple of days on long train journeys, and found it largely excellent. I just wanted to share a few thoughts and ask the opinion of people here about some of the things in the book. As I said, it's mostly excellent. The first third or so is devoted to Tyson's tough upbringing, and his rebirth as Cus's protege. I found this part really compelling. Tyson, or at least his writer, seems most interested in telling this part of the story too. We hear about scrapes with the police, with thugs, with drugs and with his beloved pigeons. We get to learn about training routines, and how Cus instilled confidence, bordering on hubris (and perhaps ultimately nemesis). We are also allowed a chance to ponder on whether Tyson's upbringing was the major factor in how his life panned out. It's superb biography, and Sloman does a good job at letting Tyson's voice come through (bad, unbelievable ghostwriting is why I rarely read autobiographies, prefering biographies). But after Cus dies, I feel like the story does too. It becomes repetitive, and the boxing falls by the wayside. It's replaced by dozens of meandering tales of lawsuits, lays, lawyers, drugs, drink and alleged betrayal. This sounds interesting on paper, but it's not really. Apart from a couple of notable ones like the Douglas and Holyfield fights, the bouts and their preparation are mentioned only briefly. It stops being a boxing book and becomes a celebrity book. It's very hard to like Tyson at this point. Another thing that bugs me is how important characters suddenly disappear from the story without warning or explanation. He drifted apart from his wife Monica, for example, but we don't hear much about why. Things pick up again after he retires, and he explains how he attempted to reinvent his career and to get clean. There's genuine pathos and heartbreak here, especially when his daughter dies. I found myself back on Team Tyson at this point. The end of the book is an extraordinary reflection on the nature of love and loss, and on the human condition itself. Tyson quotes Napoleon's love letters to Josephine to illustrate his thoughts. His intelligence and humanity shine through, and we're left with a better, though still occasionally frustratingly incomplete, understanding of his character and psyche. On balance, it's a great book. But the monotony in the 90s and early 00s affects the pacing and I found I was forcing myself to get through this part. If I hadn't been on a train I might have stopped reading. Another bugbear is not knowing just how much to believe. At this point, I don't know what to believe about his **** conviction, his alleged assaults against his wife, whether his lifestyle stopped him beating Lewis or Douglas. But I 100% recommend reading this book. I really liked Tyson before this - he might just be my favourite boxer now. Couple of questions, if anyone cares to answer (especially if you've read the book): To what extent do you think Cus's death affected his career? I actually thought this was underplayed a little in the book. He went from regimented training in a place with a father figure, to suddenly being a kid with too much money and no idea how to control himself. Might the Tyson legend burn even brighter if he'd had longer with Cus? I was too young (or even unborn) to appreciate him in his prime, though I've seen all his fights on the internet.
