Showing posts with label memoirs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label memoirs. Show all posts

Blows to the Head: How Boxing Changed My Mind (Excelsior Editions) Review

Blows to the Head: How Boxing Changed My Mind (Excelsior Editions)
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Blows to the Head: How Boxing Changed My Mind (Excelsior Editions) ReviewFirst off I will say that I am not a fan of boxing, despite the important historical and cultural impact that personalities in the sport such as Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis had during the last century. I've read too much about the corruption, hype and brutality that unfortunately has dogged certain segments of the sport since - well, the beginning of human history. However, from the whimsical cover to the final page, "Blows to the Head" is a beautiful, winning and openly personal meditation on the sweet science that convinced me how pure and fulfilling boxing can be in the right hands (no pun intended), and how life-affirming and positive it is for one incredible woman. Binnie Klein "turns over stones" and finds her "out of the box" self as she describes her fascinating personal journey of mind, body and spirit by taking up boxing at an age when many people are considering slowing down and working on Sudoku puzzles as a lifestyle.
Through a variety of compelling anecdotes, the author relates in intimate detail her rigorous training full of blood, sweat and tears with an amazing boxing coach whom she originally discovered through an AARP article, and who becomes a part-Angelo Dundee and part-shaman to her. However, this book contains a lot more layers in addition to describing a woman's personal heroine-quest accompanied by Everlast gloves. With incisive humor and a unique perspective, she relates how she spied a pair of boxing gloves on a wall, and among other circumstances those gloves not only helped to open up to her a luminous new world of personal fitness, strength, and colorful personalities, but also a new-found interest in history and her family's genealogy. Those gloves also become an invaluable metaphorical aid to confronting some of the demons of her past - and present.
As entertaining as the book reads as a memoir and family history, it's also an absorbing history of boxing and athletics, feminism and empowerment, and the struggles of Jewish immigrants to America in the late 19th-early 20th centuries. Klein describes fantasy "interviews" with historical Jewish boxing luminaries such as Benny Leonard, Barney Ross and Daniel Mendoza. These gentlemen come alive on the pages as courageous, brilliant, charming and sophisticated, and they shatter all dismissive preconceptions and negative stereotypes about boxers being a bunch of palookas. However, even more empathetic are the descriptions of the ever-supportive relationships within the author's contemporary new universe. Klein and her readers joyously uncover the positive impacts that her coach, other female and male boxers, and children from contemporary American immigrant societies at a local community center discover in opportunities to build self-confidence through activities like boxing. It's both astonishing and encouraging.
I can say wholeheartedly that this book is one of the most enlightening, witty, and captivating reads I've had in a long time. And while this might sound trite, perhaps the book's greatest message is this: don't be afraid to try new challenges no matter what your age, condition, gender or station in life is, and despite what other people say about what you do. After all, if you're not open to new experiences, the fun in life you're missing is probably your own!
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Bang Your Head: The Real Story of The Missing Link Review

Bang Your Head: The Real Story of The Missing Link
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Bang Your Head: The Real Story of The Missing Link ReviewFor those who remember pro wrestling before the explosion of popularity fueled by Hulk Hogan and WWF, there was territories where certain wrestlers were the superstars.
Dewey Robertson was one of these stars in regions - especially in Canada and Texas - before and during his gimmick as The Missing Link. In the classic Sports Illustrated story on pro wrestling - which featured Hulk Hogan on the cover - The Link had a photograph that essentially anchored the article on the emergence of pro wrestling in mainstream athletics.
But Robertson's climb through the ranks of the industry came with a price; a too-often told tale by those who sacrificed so much to get to the top. He doesn't blame anyone but himself for the actions that almost killed him.
Robertson - in a style that makes him sound as if he is sitting down and talking with you - does not cut corners in discussing how a variety of addictions left him virtually penniless, homeless for a period of time and estranged from a variety of family members and friends.
It is not a story without its light moments, especially when The Link finds himself in situations where he remains in character within daily settings.
From page one, Robertson stays the course of talking about experiences and individuals from what he recalls. It is an inspirational story, especially since the character remains a favorite with kids today; years after his national appearances in the WWF and WCCW.
There are plenty of wrestling autobiographies on the market, and so many become a means for the person to settle grudges outside the ropes. Robertson keeps the focus on his life and - for that alone - makes it a very special read.Bang Your Head: The Real Story of The Missing Link Overview

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Mark and Me: Mark McGwire and the Truth Behind Baseball's Worst-kept Secret Review

Mark and Me: Mark McGwire and the Truth Behind Baseball's Worst-kept Secret
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Mark and Me: Mark McGwire and the Truth Behind Baseball's Worst-kept Secret Reviewhave followed Mark McGwire, so really wanted to see what the book was about. It is a great family story, talks about Jay and his relationship with his brothers, only talks about Mark in the end. It neither confirms or denys, it only creates speculation. Writen well, i hope people take it in the manner it is written.Mark and Me: Mark McGwire and the Truth Behind Baseball's Worst-kept Secret Overview

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Becoming the Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage Review

Becoming the Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage
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Becoming the Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage ReviewPerhaps no one personifies the face of MMA more than Randy Couture. "The Natural," "Captain America" and "Old Man" are perhaps a few of his better known nicknames. His mixed martial arts career spans the explosive popularization of what was once a fringe sport into its mainstream position currently.
Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz have all launched their own autobiographies over the past year. Now "The Natural" adds his. Couture provides an absorbing narrative of a working class kid from the Northwest who became a teenage father, got involved in wrestling and showed a quick aptitude for it. As his Greco-Roman career wound down and his Olympic dreams receded, the UFC was just appearing on the horizon and -- almost as an afterthought -- Couture was talked into entering one of the competitions. He quickly distinguished himself as a formidable warrior in the octagon.
Most readers will know the major story lines from then on: the bouts with Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz and the three matches against Chuck Liddell. Other memorable bouts are the improbable victories over Tim Sylvia and Gabriel Gonzaga.
One remarkable aspect of Couture's career has been his sheer longevity, competing on a world class level well into his 40's, often fighting guys a decade younger. No rocking chair for The Natural!! I would have been interested in hearing his "secret" for staying competitive so long.
What all these MMA guys seem to have in common is complex relationships with their fathers, often absentee fathers or fathers with (often alcoholic) baggage. No exception here.
Another feature they often seem to have in common is keeping it in their pants. Fidelity is an issue as the MMA guys often freely philander and, well, "dip their wicks" in various inviting female inkwells. Couture traces the rise and fall of Marriage #1, Marriage #2 and the rise of Marriage #3 to Kim Couture. Having hit the marital trifecta, he is well on his way to an octet! Which woman will truly be The One, since they all seem to get traded in for a newer model after a few years. (Are the 2009 models out yet?)
Guys like Couture keep divorce lawyers fully employed.
Couture has always come across though as a regular nice guy with his head screwed one and this memoir is consistent with that impression. It's impossible to dislike the guy. He gives you his side of the developing feud with the UFC brass and the ups and downs of his personal relationship with the ever polarizing Dana White.
As "Becoming the Natural" ends, the reader is left to wonder if Couture's career has had the final coda written. Legal and contractual constraints may do what few opponents have been able to do inside the octagon - defeat Randy Couture. By the time he clears away his legal dispute with Zuffa, will Father Time overtake his willingness to engage? Will the ring rust and erosion of skills allow Couture to compete, especially against the likes of Fedor Emilianko? After seeing Fedor demolish Tim Sylvia on July 19th, it's tempting to give "The Natural" no shot at winning such a match, but the old man has proven me and many others wrong before. One bets against Randy Couture at his peril.
MMA fans will relish this autobiography of an extraordinary athlete - Randy "The Natural" Couture!
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