Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: The Harder They Fall: A Novel by Budd Schulberg ISBN: 1-56663-107-6 Publisher: Ivan R Dee, Inc. Pub. Date: March, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (6 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Vintage boxing expose
Comment: Budd Schulberg's 1947 classic isn't nearly as dated as you might think. The Harder They Fall is a fictitious expose of the seamier underbelly of the boxing rackets as they existed in the 40's. It provided the framework for an excellent 1956 movie of the same name which was Bogart's final flick.
Through the eyes of Eddie Lewis, an Ivy League educated sometimes sportswriter who is on the payroll of mobster Nick Latka, we see the deceipt and unscrupulousness of the boxing business. Latka has elevated himself from a small time juvenile delinquent to one of the heads of the boxing racket. He pulls the strings of corruption from his palatial estate. For a weekly stipend, Lewis is the press agent for Latka's boxing patsies.
Latka's latest crony is one Toro Molina, a gargantuan peasant boy and wine barrel maker from Argentina. Brought to the U.S. by the owner of a circus in which he performed as a strong man, Molina's contract is bought by Latka. Unfortunately Molina is slow, lumbering, unschooled in self defense, and has powder puff punching power.
Regardless, Latka plans to glorify Molina and through a series of fixed fights designed to elevate him to championship contending status. What follows is the inevitable rise to the penthouse followed by the fall to the cellar and the endless depravity to make a dishonest dollar.
Rating: 4
Summary: Schulberg should be more famous
Comment: WMSR is enjoying a nice revival at the moment, and it's time for this superior work to come into the sun as well.
What's most arresting about Schulberg is his ability to infuse formulaic subject matter with pathos and humanity. He wears his politics on his sleave, but his characters don't suffer much because of it. In an era when partisan opinion is treated as graceless error, it's exciting to read someone who gives a damn about the sorry state of the world.
Schulberg handles American vernacular speach well, but falters with his Argentine characters. Still, a rapid, crisp and entertaining book
Rating: 3
Summary: Well written but dated
Comment: The novel is an interesting tale of the classic American boxing age, but Schulberg's attempt to bring it current with slams on Don King is a stretch. Read it for what it is: the story of a bygone age, not an-up-to date review of the ring.
 |
Title: The Professional by W. C. Heinz, Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0306810581 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: 04 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
 |
Title: The Hardest Game : McIlvanney on Boxing by Hugh McIlvanney ISBN: 0658021540 Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books Pub. Date: 21 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title: Fat City (California Fiction) by Leonard Gardner ISBN: 0520206576 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: October, 1996 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
 |
Title: What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg ISBN: 0679734228 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 06 December, 1993 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: On Boxing by Joyce Carol Oates ISBN: 0880013850 Publisher: Ecco Pub. Date: 01 January, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
