|
| 
 enlarge | Author: Jeremy Schaap
Publisher: Random House Large Print
Category: Book
List Price: $24.00
Buy New: $4.95
You Save: $19.05 (79%)
New (5) Used (11) from $4.08
Avg. Customer Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 1191923
Format: Large Print
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 576
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.2 x 1.6
ISBN: 0375435433
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.83092
EAN: 9780375435430
ASIN: 0375435433
Publication Date: May 10, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New - may have a small remainder mark on the edge.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Cinderella Man:James Braddock, Max Baer, and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History August 28, 2006
0 out of 12 found this review helpful
I haven't had time to read the book yet but it arrived very quickly, wich pleased me.
Great book! February 27, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
If you liked the movie you will love the book. The book goes into much greater detail about the man and the time period. Also, if you want to know more about Max B. you will not be disappointed. He was unfairly shown in the movie as a one dimensional bad guy.
If you want to step into a time machine and see what boxing was like in the late 20's and early 30's, this one is for you. I could not put it down till I was done.
 Admiring tribute to a great comeback fighter January 9, 2006
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
James J. Braddock wasn't a great Heavyweight Champ; he lost the title in his first defense bout after he'd won it. But his is, perhaps, the greatest comeback story of 20th century pugilism. The CINDERELLA MAN had heart.
Author Jeremy Schaap's book begins with the commencement of Braddock's comeback in June 1934 with his victory over "Corn" Griffin. Jim's last previous fight had been nine months earlier, at the end of which, with a right hand that had been repeatedly broken and numerous defeats under his belt, he was thought to be washed up. To the point of the Griffin match-up, he was barely able to feed his family with odd jobs on the New York and New Jersey docks and welfare help; it was the Depression, and Braddock's fortunes were at their rock bottom. Then, Schaap regresses in time to the period 1926-33 when Jim fought as a light heavyweight, almost winning that title in 1929. The author alternates the early Braddock saga with the same for the 1929-1934 career of Max Baer, who won the heavyweight title from Primo Canera, also in June 1934, thus setting up the confrontation that established Jim's fame and won him the heavyweight crown, the Braddock-Baer bout in June 1935.
Schaap's summaries of Braddock's eighty-three fights and Baer's forty-seven prior to their epic battle are, almost by necessity in a volume of only 276 pages, spotty in detail, yet are sufficient to establish the two fighters' characters. There is an adequate section of photographs, as well as the complete ring records of both Braddock and Baer and a complete listing of all the heavyweight division champs since John L. Sullivan. (Who is Hasim Rahman, champ in 2001, for Pete's sake?!)
For a boxing aficionado, CINDERELLA MAN is perhaps, despite its relative brevity, a must read. For those who otherwise couldn't care less about the sport, then viewing the excellent 2005 film CINDERELLA MAN, starring Russell Crowe in the title role, is the preferred, shorter option that provides all the basics. The visual version skips the preliminaries, starts with Braddock's last fight in 1933, his and his family's descent into near destitution, his enduring relationships with his wife Mae (Renee Zellweger) and manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti), his comeback contests versus Griffin, Lewis, and Lasky, and his win by decision over Baer in 15 gritty rounds.
Though it wasn't the author's intent, I gather, it was Baer's personality that came across as the more intriguing, at least for me. Max was a hard-punching, underachieving champ who fell more in love with the perks of his achievements - the fame, women, fine clothes, good food, showmanship - than with the commitment to his profession and hard work necessary to stay at the top. It's one of his quotes that stays with me:
"Listen, I don't want to be one of those champions who fights once a year. I need to fight. Dames are expensive." Truer words were never spoken.
Resurrection of an Era as well as a Career January 3, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Sports fans have been blessed with a number of quite readable books in the past decade, and this ranks right up there with the best of them. The author recreates an entire era when boxing was the king of sports and then tells one of the most amazing stories in the annals of the ring. And while the book is comprehensive, it is not a difficult read -- so I'd even recommend it as a gift for the sports fan who usually doesn't do more than ESPN: The Magazine.
My grandfather grew up in New York City's immigrant neighborhoods and boxed as a young man. He lived the life described in the book, and he attended major prize fights in NYC for decades. This book filled out some historical figures and events my grandfather used to tell me about, with both the hardship/drudgery of boxing anonymity and the glamour of boxing fame.
Cinderella Man August 12, 2005
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
Hard hitting. A good look at the Depression and the effect upon ordinary people
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
