A breathtakingly brutal and evocative account of the life of infamous boxing world champion Sonny Liston
''Dazzling . . . An unforgettable journey to some of boxing''s darkest places'' Steve Bunce, author of Bunce''s Big Fat Short History of British Boxing
Sonny Liston is one of the most controversial men the boxing world has ever seen. He rose from a childhood of grinding poverty to become 1962''s heavyweight world champion. He spent time in prison, he was known to have mob connections, he was hated and vilified by his public. And after he lost the world title to Cassius Clay in a spectacular fall from grace, he died under mysterious and never fully explained circumstances.
Sonny Liston''s life story is an unsolved mystery and an underappreciated tragedy. In uncompromising detail, Nick Tosches captures the shadowy figure of Liston, this most mesmerising and enigmatic of boxing antiheroes.
''Crackling [and] unmissable . . . A warped fairy tale and a dark murder mystery'' Maxim
''Nick Tosches is an extraordinary writer'' Hubert Selby Jr, author of Requiem for a Dream
''A profound voyage into the twisted psyche of a sportsman . . . Brings you face to face with [a] hard life and ugly death'' FHM
Industry Reviews
Dazzling, unforgiving... Tosches and Liston smash their way through fights and beaten men... Tosches understood the large heart and vicious ways of Liston and together they take an unforgettable journey to some of boxing's darkest places -- Steve Bunce, author of 'Bunce's Big Fat Short History of British Boxing' Shooting from the hip, Nick Tosches brings Liston and the lurid underworld of boxing brilliantly to life... The fullest portrait yet of this troubled man. Told in the spare, muscular prose Tosches is known for, Liston's story is the tale of a man who "died on the day he was born" * Esquire * Liston's story comes alive though hard facts and breathtaking writing... As much about boxing as it is about the darkest side of the American Dream * Time Out * Tosches has a talent for getting inside the skin of men [and] drawing out meaty stories... The prose sizzles - hard, tough writing suited to a hard, tough subject * New York Times Book Review * Crackling [and] unmissable... A warped fairy tale and a dark murder mystery * Maxim * Brash [and] astute... Tosches gets in the ring and slugs it out from the first bell as if he were the twin reincarnation of John L. Sullivan and Jack Dempsey. [He] picks the dirtiest, ugliest, saddest man the fight game has thrown up in a hundred years and rides the story all the way to the grave * Observer * A fantastic book about a life that started in darkness and continued to go deeper into the darkness until the only light was death. Nick Tosches is an extraordinary writer -- Hubert Selby Jr, author of 'Requiem for a Dream' A profound voyage into the twisted psyche of a sportsman... Brings you face to face with [a] hard life and ugly death * FHM * Tosches is a remarkable reporter... While Liston demolishes opponents with the brutality of his blows, Tosches goes down the mean streets of professional boxing, ventures into the shadowy corners of mob dealings and dares to reveal the fixed fights... A great story * Salon * [A] hyper-noir meditation on the devil and his relationship to Sonny Liston... Tosches has attitude to spare, agile and sublime, smooth and cool... A captivating, tragic tale * Austin Chronicle * Grandmaster of grit lit, Tosches writes eloquently about America's underbelly * Boston Globe *
