Description
Oates, Joyce Carol ‘On Boxing’ 1987 1st edition. 118-pages. Very good condition in a good non-price clipped dust jacket. Included with the book and laid inside is a letter from Michael Sherman of Hudson Strategy Group Inc. asking if she was familiar with a story about “Sugar” Ray Robinson throwing his fight against Joey Maxim.
AI Mode Conversation: Please provide a brief summary of Adam Pollack’s book, ‘In The Ring With James J. JeffriesPlease provide a brief summary of Adam Pollack’s book, ‘In The Ring With James J. JeffriesIn the Ring With James J. Jeffries by Adam Pollack is a meticulous, deeply researched biography that chronicles the boxing career of heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries from his birth and early bouts in the 1890s up until his first retirement in 1905. Published by Win by KO Publications, it serves as the fourth installment in Pollack’s comprehensive heavyweight champion series.Key Elements of the BookFight-by-Fight Breakdown: The book provides exhaustive, round-by-round accounts of Jeffries’ major bouts, along with thorough pre- and post-fight technical analysis.Primary Source Methodology: Rather than relying on modern retellings or anecdotal myths, Pollack reconstructs the era by heavily drawing from, comparing, and contrasting local, next-day newspaper accounts.Broader Boxing Landscape: Beyond Jeffries himself, the book features chapters dedicated to analyzing iconic contemporary matchups, including Corbett–Sharkey II, Fitzsimmons–Ruhlin, Fitzsimmons–Sharkey II, and Corbett–McCoy.Social and Political Context: Pollack embeds the fights within the cultural realities of the turn of the 20th century. He details the political and legal obstacles facing the sport at the time, pre-fight contract negotiations, and the impact of the boxing “color line”.Training and Tactics: Readers get an authentic look at Jeffries’ specific training regimens, his unique physical conditioning, and the strategic build-ups engineered by his opponents and managers.The 688-page book functions as an encyclopedic look at early gloved boxing, complete with over 100 historical photographs, Jeffries’ official career record, and nearly a thousand research footnotes.Are you researching James J. Jeffries for a specific project, or are you interested in other biographies from Adam Pollack’s In the Ring series?Amazon.comIn the Ring with James J. Jeffries – Amazon.comIn the Ring With James J. Jeffries is Adam Pollack’s 4th book in his heavyweight champion series. It describes in meticulous detai…Win By KO PublicationsIn the Ring With James J. Jeffries – Win By KO PublicationsAs the new millennium began, an Iowa attorney and boxing aficionado named Adam Pollack decided to write biographies of boxing’s ea…Amazon.com.beIn the Ring with James J. Jeffries : Pollack, Adam J – Amazon.com.beBook overview In the Ring With James J. Jeffries is Adam Pollack’s 4th book in his heavyweight champion series. It describes in me…Show allWhat’s the estimated value of the 1999 1st edition hardcover ‘A Flame of Pure Fire. Jack Dempsey…’ by Roger Kahn in very good condition with a very good non-price clipped dust jacket?An estimated market value for the 1999 1st edition, 1st printing hardcover of A Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring ’20s by Roger Kahn in Very Good/Very Good condition (unclipped dust jacket) is between $10.00 and $25.00.Value BreakdownRetail Market Listings: Individual independent bookstores and online antiquarian marketplaces price this exact copy very modestly. For example, Sag Harbor Books and Barker Books & Vintage value copies matching your criteria exactly at $12.00. Specialist book dealer catalogs like Old Scrolls Book Shop list it at $12.00 as well. Specialty boxing collector lists, such as Prize Fighting Books, list it for $15.00.Auction & Open Marketplace Peer Pricing: On platforms like eBay and AbeBooks, uncommitted or higher-end collector copies in “Like New” or “Fine” condition with intact jackets float closer to $23.00 to $27.50. High-premium antiquarian listings sometimes push copies toward $50+, but these usually sit unsold unless the book holds unique attributes like an author signature.Why is the value relatively low?Despite Roger Kahn being a highly celebrated sports author (most famous for The Boys of Summer), this biography had a large initial print run by Harcourt Brace. Because there are plenty of first-printing copies readily available on the secondary market, it has not accumulated significant scarcity value among sports memorabilia or book collectors.Are you looking to sell this specific copy, or are you a collector trying to find out if it’s worth having the book signed or professionally appraised?Rare Book CellarA FLAME OF PURE FIRE; JACK DEMPSEY and the …A FLAME OF PURE FIRE; JACK DEMPSEY and the ROARING ’20s. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1999. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover.Sag Harbor BooksA Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring ’20sA Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring ’20s. Edition: FIRST EDITION Book Condition: Collectible – Very Good Jacket Con…AbeBooksA Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring ’20sA Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring ’20s. Roger Kahn. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1999. ISBN 10: 015100…Show allPlease provide a brief summary of the bookA Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring ’20s by Roger Kahn is a compelling biography of the legendary heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey that weaves his life story tightly into the cultural and social tapestry of the 1920s. Kahn, a renowned sports journalist who actually befriended Dempsey later in life, uses the fighter’s trajectory to mirror a rapidly changing, prosperous, and tumultuous America.Key Elements of the BookThe Rise of the “Manassa Mauler”: The book traces Dempsey’s rugged origins as a hobo, roughneck, and saloon brawler in Western mining towns. It follows his brutal rise through the boxing ranks, culminating in his historic, violent 1919 defeat of Jess Willard to claim the heavyweight crown.The Symbol of the Roaring ’20s: Kahn positions Dempsey as the quintessential icon of the era. He argues that Dempsey’s fierce style, free-and-easy ways, and colorful personal history (which included a marriage to a former prostitute and a highly publicized, scandalous trial for World War I draft evasion) perfectly captured the cynical, brawling appetite of 1920s America.The Birth of Big-Money Sports: The narrative heavily chronicles how Dempsey and his brilliant, controversial manager, Doc Kearns, revolutionized sports into a massive commercial spectacle. Kahn describes legendary, record-breaking fights—such as the wild brawl against Luis Ángel Firpo and his million-dollar gates—that drew massive crowds of over 100,000 people and forced millions of Americans to buy their first radios just to listen along.An Idiosyncratic Structure: Rather than a strict chronological timeline, Kahn builds the book using an unconventional structure. He intersperses vivid descriptions of iconic bouts with personal reflections from his own 1950s and 60s encounters with an older Dempsey at the champ’s famous New York restaurant.A Fluid Cultural Tableau: The biography is populated by the larger-than-life characters who defined the age, including gangsters, Prohibition-era starlets (like Dempsey’s actress wife Estelle Taylor), and legendary sportswriters like Ring Lardner and Damon Runyon.Ultimately, Kahn’s book portrays Dempsey not just as a brutal knockout artist, but as a deeply generous, honorable man who outgrew his roughneck past to become a true gentleman and a foundational pillar of modern American celebrity culture.Would you like to explore specific chapters of the book, such as Kahn’s breakdown of the “Long Count” fight against Gene Tunney, or are you interested in how it compares to other Roger Kahn sports biographies?Amazon.comA Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring ’20sJack Dempsey (1895-1983) launched the age of big-money, high-visibility boxing with his 1919 defeat of heavyweight champion Jess W…Publishers WeeklyA Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring ’20sHis transformation from rural tough, the “”Manassa Mauler,”” into the preeminent athlete in the world marked the arrival of sport …LA84 Digital LibraryKahn, Roger. A Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the …Apr 10, 2017 — Roger Kahn has been an outstanding sports journalist and has written sixteen books, most memorably The Boys of Summer. In this lov…Show allPlease provide a brief summary of the 1977 book ‘Fight Doctor’ by Ferdie Pacheco.Fight Doctor (originally published in 1977 by Futura Publications / W.H. Allen) is an intimate, raw, insider memoir written by Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, the longtime personal physician and cornerman to Muhammad Ali.Released at a pivotal moment—the very same year Pacheco famously walked away from Ali’s camp—the book provides a unique, unvarnished look at the peak and eventual physical decline of “The Greatest.”Key Elements of the BookThe Golden Era Inside the Corner: Pacheco details his 15-year journey alongside Ali and legendary trainer Angelo Dundee. He takes readers deep inside the locker rooms and corners of boxing’s most iconic historical bouts, including the Sonny Liston fights, the “Rumble in the Jungle” against George Foreman, and the brutal “Thrilla in Manila” against Joe Frazier.The “Ali Circus”: The book pulls back the curtain on the chaotic entourage, promoters (like Don King), politicians, and hanger-on figures who surrounded Ali. Pacheco outlines how this overwhelming “circus” operated, how it fueled Ali’s celebrity, and how it occasionally complicated his training and personal life.A Medical Perspective on Boxing: Unlike standard sports biographies, Pacheco writes from a clinical perspective. He examines the immense physical toll that heavy heavyweight boxing takes on the human body, detailing how he patched Ali up, managed his weight, and monitored his reflexes.The Warning Signs of Decline: The emotional core of the book addresses Pacheco’s growing alarm over Ali’s health. He details the specific neurological warning signs and slowed reflex tests that began appearing in the mid-1970s, illustrating the tragic friction between a doctor begging his patient to save himself and a legendary champion who refused to quit.Ultimately, Fight Doctor serves as both a celebration of Ali’s unparalleled greatness and a sobering, historic warning about the long-term dangers of the sport.Would you like to know more about the specific health concerns that caused Pacheco to officially quit Ali’s team in 1977, or are you looking to see where you can find a copy to read?GoodreadsFight Doctor: Muhammad Ali’s True Story by Ferdie PachecoFerdie Pacheco, Ivan J. Parron (Editor). 4.45. 11 ratings4 reviews. Want to Read. Kindle Unlimited $0.00. Rate this book. Muhammad…WikipediaFerdie Pacheco – WikipediaFernando Pacheco Jimenez (December 8, 1927 – November 16, 2017) known publicly as Ferdie Pacheco, was the personal physician and c…Amazon.comBlood in My Coffee: The Life of the Fight Doctor – Amazon.comAbout the Author Ferdie Pacheco, M.D., “the Fight Doctor,” is a physician, boxing analyst, author, screenwriter and fine artist. A…Show allPlease provide a brief summary of the book ‘On Boxing’ by Joyce Carol OatesOn Boxing by Joyce Carol Oates is a celebrated, deeply philosophical collection of essays that explores the history, psychology, and dark allure of professional prize fighting. Rather than a standard sports biography or historical timeline, the book operates as a work of literary and cultural criticism, treating boxing not as a mere game, but as a profound and tragic art form.
Boxing as a Tragic Spectacle: Oates famously argues that boxing is not a game; you play football or tennis, but you do not “play” boxing. Instead, she frames the boxing ring as an altar or a theater stage where raw human combat is ritualized, exposing the absolute limits of human strength, will, and suffering.
The Concept of Time and Aging: The book examines the unique, accelerated timeline of a fighter’s life. Oates explores how a boxer at age 35 is considered “ancient,” and how the very athletic excellence they achieve inherently works to destroy their own body and mind.
Masculinity and Domination: Oates looks closely at the intense, wordless dialogue between two fighters. She analyzes the ring as a space of idealized, aggressive masculinity, famously describing the sport’s underlying homoerotic undertones where one man seeks to fully overcome and dominate another through sheer physical mastery.
Socioeconomic and Racial Realities: She delves into the recruiting grounds of boxing, noting that it has historically drawn from impoverished neighborhoods and disenfranchised communities. The book touches upon how the sport reflects American racial tensions and exploitation, utilizing the stories of icons like Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, and Muhammad Ali to show how the ring magnifies broader societal conflicts.
The Figure of Mike Tyson: In expanded editions of the book, Oates features a compelling focus on a young Mike Tyson at the absolute peak of his early career. She examines his transformation from a feral street youth into a terrifyingly disciplined engine of destruction under trainer Cus D’Amato, using him as a case study for the sport’s intoxicating raw power.
Written with a distinct poetic intensity, Oates’s book serves as an ongoing meditation on why a civilized society remains utterly transfixed by a sport rooted in structured, mutual self-destruction.




Reviews
There are no reviews yet.