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Strong Boy
- The Life and Times of John L. Sullivan, America’s First Sports Hero
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
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Strong Boy
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Publisher's summary
"I can lick any son of a bitch in the world."
So boasted John L. Sullivan, the first modern heavyweight boxing champion of the world, a man who was the gold standard of American sports for more than a decade and the first athlete to earn more than a million dollars. He had a big ego, a big mouth, and even bigger appetites. His womanizing, drunken escapades, and chronic police-blotter presence were godsends to a burgeoning newspaper industry. The larger-than-life boxer embodied the American dream for late 19th-century immigrants as he rose from Boston's Irish working class to become the most recognizable man in the nation. In the process the "Boston Strong Boy" transformed boxing from outlawed bare-knuckle fighting into the gloved spectacle we know today.
Strong Boy tells the story of America's first sports superstar, a self-made man who personified the power and excesses of the Gilded Age. Everywhere John L. Sullivan went, his fists backed up his bravado. Sullivan's epic brawls, such as his 75-round bout against Jake Kilrain, and his cross-country barnstorming tour in which he literally challenged all of America to a fight are recounted in vivid detail, as are his battles outside the ring with a troubled marriage, wild weight and fitness fluctuations, and raging alcoholism. Strong Boy gives listeners ringside seats to the colorful tale of one of the country's first Irish American heroes and the birth of the American sports media and the country's celebrity obsession with athletes.
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-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 54
Through most of the Roaring '20s, Jack Dempsey was the heavyweight champion of the world. With his fierce good looks and matchless dedication to the kill, he was a fighter perfectly suited to his time. In A Flame of Pure Fire, renowned sports writer Roger Kahn not only chronicles the thrilling, brutal bouts of the Manassa Mauler, but also illustrates how the tumultuous 1920s shaped Dempsey - and how the champ, in turn, left an indelible mark on sports and American history.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Ambitious but poorly executed
- By Keith on 10-02-19
By: Roger Kahn
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Unbeaten
- By: Mike Stanton
- Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 162
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 143
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Story5 out of 5 stars 142
From the best-selling author of The Prince of Providence comes a revelatory biography of Rocky Marciano, the greatest heavyweight champion of all time.The son of poor Italian immigrants, with short arms and stubby legs, Rocky Marciano accomplished a feat that eluded legendary heavyweight champions like Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson: He never lost a professional fight. His record was a perfect 49-0.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Superb book: the full story in great detain
- By John Wood on 08-16-20
By: Mike Stanton
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The Boxing Kings
- When American Heavyweights Ruled the Ring
- By: Paul Beston
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 146
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 123
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Story5 out of 5 stars 123
The Boxing Kings tells the story of the heavyweight title in the days when it was a defining institution in the United States. Author Paul Beston places special emphasis on those champions who held a central place in American culture beyond just in the boxing ring, including John L. Sullivan, who made the title a commercial property; Jack Johnson, who in 1908 became the first black man to claim the title; Joe Louis, whose contributions to racial tolerance and social progress transcended even his greatness in the ring; and many more.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An outstanding book on heavyweight champions
- By LSmith on 02-01-18
By: Paul Beston
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Cinderella Man
- James J. Braddock, Max Baer and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History
- By: Jeremy Schaap
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 285
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 158
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 159
Lost in the annals of boxing is the sport's true Cinderella story. James J. Braddock, dubbed "Cinderella Man" by Damon Runyon, was a once promising light heavyweight for whom a string of losses in the ring and a broken right hand happened to coincide with the Great Crash of 1929.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent
- By MA on 06-05-05
By: Jeremy Schaap
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Terror in the City of Champions
- Murder, Baseball, and the Secret Society That Shocked Depression-Era Detroit
- By: Tom Stanton
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 44
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Story4 out of 5 stars 41
Detroit, mid-1930s: In a city abuzz over its unrivaled sports success, gun-loving baseball fan Dayton Dean became ensnared in the nefarious and deadly Black Legion. The secretive, Klan-like group was executing a wicked plan of terror, murdering enemies, flogging associates, and contemplating armed rebellion. The Legion boasted tens of thousands of members across the Midwest, among them politicians and prominent citizens - even, possibly, a beloved athlete.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Interesting stories but oversold
- By Theron Schultz on 09-15-18
By: Tom Stanton
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My Thoughts Be Bloody
- The Bitter Rivalry Between Edwin and John Wilkes Booth
- By: Nora Titone, Doris Kearns Goodwin - introduction/notes
- Narrated by: John B. Lloyd
- Length: 19 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 243
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 192
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 191
My Thoughts Be Bloody, a sweeping family saga, revives an extraordinary figure whose name has been missing, until now, from the story of President Lincoln's death. Edwin Booth, John Wilkes's older brother by four years, was in his day the biggest star of the American stage. Without an account of Edwin Booth, author Nora Titone argues, the real story of Lincoln's assassin has never been told.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful!
- By Tad Davis on 11-30-10
By: Nora Titone, and others
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The Sweet Science
- By: A. J. Liebling
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 168
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 140
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 138
This collection of A.J. Liebling's classic New Yorker pieces on the "sweet science of bruising" brings vividly to life the boxing world as it once was. It depicts the great events of boxing's American heyday: Sugar Ray Robinson's dramatic comeback, Rocky Marciano's rise to prominence, Joe Louis' unfortunate decline. Liebling never fails to find the human story behind the fight, and he evokes the atmosphere in the arena as distinctly as he does the goings-on in the ring.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Liebling is a master wordsmith, Gardner an incredible narrator
- By Josh on 03-29-16
By: A. J. Liebling
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The Masters
- Golf, Money, and Power in Augusta, Georgia
- By: Curt Sampson
- Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 234
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 171
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 167
The Masters golf tournament weaves a hypnotic spell. It is the toughest ticket in sports, with black-market tickets selling for $10,000 and more. Success at Augusta National breeds legends, while failure can overshadow even the most brilliant of careers. But as Curt Sampson reveals in The Masters, a cold heart beats behind the warm antebellum facade of this famous Augusta course.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Okay Listen, but
- By Scott D. Loeffler on 05-02-08
By: Curt Sampson
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Smoketown
- By: Mark Whitaker
- Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 88
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 78
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Story5 out of 5 stars 78
Mark Whitaker's Smoketown is a captivating portrait of this unsung community and a vital addition to the story of black America. It depicts how ambitious Southern migrants were drawn to a steel-making city on a strategic river junction; how they were shaped by its schools and a spirit of commerce with roots in the Gilded Age; and how their world was eventually destroyed by industrial decline and urban renewal. Whitaker takes listeners on a rousing, revelatory journey - and offers a timely reminder that Black History is not all bleak.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Hopes for Pittsburgh aka "Up South"
- By Dr. Pepper on 05-01-18
By: Mark Whitaker
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Sin in the Second City
- Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul
- By: Karen Abbott
- Narrated by: Joyce Bean
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 325
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 203
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Story4 out of 5 stars 203
Karen Abbott's colorful, nuanced portrait of the iconic Everleigh sisters; their world-famous brothel, the Everleigh Club; and the perennial clash between our nation's hedonistic impulses and Puritanical roots culminates in a dramatic last stand between brothel keepers and crusading reformers. Sin in the Second City offers a vivid snapshot of America's journey from Victorian-era propriety to 20th-century modernity.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book - brilliant narrator!
- By Z. Halley on 04-17-10
By: Karen Abbott
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Rome 1960
- The Olympics that Changed the World
- By: David Maraniss
- Narrated by: David Maraniss
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 78
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 44
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
The athletes competing in the 1960 Rome Olympics included some of the most honored in Olympic history: decathlete Rafer Johnson, sprinter Wilma Rudolph, Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila, and Louisville boxer Cassius Clay, who at 18 seized the world stage for the first time, four years before he became Muhammad Ali.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Very Good Book
- By Jay on 07-30-08
By: David Maraniss
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One Summer
- America, 1927
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,552
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,017
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,999
One of the most admired nonfiction writers of our time retells the story of one truly fabulous year in the life of his native country - a fascinating and gripping narrative featuring such outsized American heroes as Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, and yes Herbert Hoover, and a gallery of criminals (Al Capone), eccentrics (Shipwreck Kelly), and close-mouthed politicians (Calvin Coolidge). It was the year Americans attempted and accomplished outsized things and came of age in a big, brawling manner. What a country. What a summer. And what a writer to bring it all so vividly alive.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Why 1927?
- By Mark on 10-18-13
By: Bill Bryson
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The Summer of Beer and Whiskey
- How Brewers, Barkeeps, Rowdies, Immigrants, and a Wild Pennant Fight Made Baseball America's Game
- By: Edward Achorn
- Narrated by: Ax Norman
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 108
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 95
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Story4 out of 5 stars 96
Chris Von der Ahe knew next to nothing about baseball when he risked his life’s savings to found the St. Louis Browns, the franchise that would become the St. Louis Cardinals. Yet the German-born beer garden proprietor would become one of the most important - and funniest - figures in the game’s history.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Well written and extensive research but just not interesting
- By Samuel C on 07-30-20
By: Edward Achorn
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The Real All Americans
- The Team That Changed a Game, a People, a Nation
- By: Sally Jenkins
- Narrated by: Don Leslie
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 123
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 84
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 84
The most popular college football team in the early 20th century belonged to an institution called the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Its story begins with Lt. Col. Richard Henry Pratt, a fierce abolitionist who believed that Native Americans deserved a place in American society. In 1879, Pratt made a treacherous journey to the Dakota Territory to recruit Carlisle's first students. Years later, three students approached Pratt with the notion of forming a football team.
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5 out of 5 stars
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brain candy
- By Michelle E on 06-23-17
By: Sally Jenkins
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Wonder Girl
- The Magnificent Sporting Life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias
- By: Don Van Natta Jr.
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
Texas girl Babe Didrikson never tried a sport too tough and never met a hurdle too high. Despite attempts to keep women from competing, Babe achieved All-American status in basketball and won gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Olympics. Then, Babe attempted to conquer golf. One of the founders of the LPGA, Babe won more consecutive tournaments than any golfer in history. But at the height of her fame, she was diagnosed with cancer. Babe would then take her most daring step of all....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great read
- By Jajam on 01-07-18
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The Comeback
- Greg LeMond, the True King of American Cycling, and a Legendary Tour de France
- By: Daniel de Vise
- Narrated by: Pete Cross
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 342
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 302
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Story5 out of 5 stars 304
Greg LeMond stunned the sporting world by becoming the first American to win the Tour de France in 1986, defeating French cycling legend Bernard Hinault. Nine months later, LeMond lay in a hospital bed, his career as a bicycle racer seemingly over. And yet, barely two years after this crisis, LeMond mounted a comeback. In 1989, he once again won the Tour - by a narrow margin of eight seconds. It remains the closest Tour de France in history. The Comeback chronicles the life of this great American athlete, from his roots in Nevada and California to the heights of global fame.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Good book. Flawed reading.
- By david savage on 07-23-18
By: Daniel de Vise
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Road to Valor
- A True Story of World War II Italy, the Nazis, and the Cyclist Who Inspired a Nation
- By: Aili McConnon, Andres McConnon
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 132
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 118
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 118
Based on nearly 10 years of research in Italy, France, and Israel, including interviews with Gino Bartali's family, former teammates, a Holocaust survivor Bartali saved, and many others, Road to Valor is the first book ever written about the Italian cycling legend in English and the only book written in any language to fully explore the scope of Bartali's wartime work. An epic tale of courage, comeback, and redemption, it is the untold story of one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Hollywood .... look this story !!!
- By Fabiano on 04-03-19
By: Aili McConnon, and others
What listeners say about Strong Boy
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- John Wood
- 07-06-22
Excellent
The very interesting bio of the first American sports super-
star. JLS closed out the era of the bare-knuckle fighter, and ushered in the modern sport of boxing by Queensbury rules. A fascinating account and a more than worthwhile listen for anyone interested in fistic history. Highly recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- SBR72
- 02-17-22
Such an interesting life
I never knew such a colorful character pioneered American sports celebrity, and the author writes with such colorful description you’ll feel like you’re in the boxing ring trading blows with the champ. Outstanding book!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- robert
- 03-07-21
Worth a listen
This is an interesting tale about a natural fighter, his family fights, life his demons and his redemption. There's nothing superfluous in this book. The main character and his actions are the story. Think of Babe Ruth's skill and exploits off the field. Such was the life of this fighter.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- steve p.
- 11-19-20
an icon of american history. well perforned
what a crazy time and what an absolute lunatic john L. was.
tragedy victory tragedy
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 12-22-15
Great book!
As a boxing fan I truly enjoyed this book. What a fascinating character in boxing history. Truly entertaining!
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