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Title: Going the Distance : The Ken Norton Story by Ken Norton, Marshall Terrill, Mike Fitzgerald ISBN: 1-58261-225-0 Publisher: Sports Publishing Pub. Date: 01 June, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.83 (6 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Ken Norton's Book Does NOT Go The Distance
Comment: Being a boxing fan since 1971, I lived through the era of great heavyweights of the seventies: Ali, Frazier, Holmes, Foreman, and Norton. Ken Norton was a terrific competitor of that era, and I expected his book to be an exciting retelling of his experiences of that era. Unfortunately, the book left me disappointed. Norton spends too much time explaining blow by blow, round by round, his greatest fights. Although this may appeal to some, I found it repetitive and somewhat boring. One can get the round by round analysis by watching the fight videos. I found myself skimming over these sections to get to his feelings and thoughts about the fights. This was THE major drawback of the book.
Norton's three fights with Ali are covered in great detail, as these fights brought him into the public's consciousness. But once again the emphasis was on the blow by blow coverage instead of anecdotes and recollections about the fights. He expresses his bitter feelings about his third fight with Ali in which he feels he should have been given the decision. Having trained so tremendously hard for this fight and then having the decision go against him, Norton relates how this heart went out of boxing at this point. Although he becomes the Heavyweight Championship of the World title two years later when Ali retires, Norton is unable to retain te title in his first defense against Larry Holmes. He blames his failure to defend the title on his lack of dedication to boxing after the last Ali match. His heart was just not in it. I can't help but think Norton would have received the professional recognition and justification he so craved had he defeated Holmes. Their match was an exciting battle that culminated in perhaps one of the greatest rounds of boxing ever. Had Norton pulled out the decision, he would have probably been rematched with Ali one final time and had his best chance to defeat his nemesis decisively. However, history and fate turned a different direction, one that did not include a prominant role for Ken Norton.
Norton's private and then public feud with his son, Ken Norton Jr., make up a complete chapter in the book but this held little interest to me, a boxing fan.
Ken Norton is a decent man who had an interesting career, being both a boxer and a fighter. His experience acting as the characters "Mandingo" and "Drum" are only briefly mentioned. Again, there are few interesting stories or revelations about this time of his life. I would have liked to hear more.
Norton's book is a quick and easy read, as there are no major character controveries, conflicts, or issues to digest. I did not find it compelling in any regard. It was an easy book to put down. I had hoped for much more. As far as boxing books go, I have to rate it sub-par.
Jim Koenig
Rating: 4
Summary: THAT LONG DISTANCE
Comment: "Going the Distance: The Ken Norton Story" makes a compelling read. It is one unassuming autobiography.
Ken was a remarkable fighter: a great one whose hulky hew was intimidating. His era was the one which notable names like Ali, Foreman and Frazier dominated; yet, he still fought his way to the top: becoming a champion in 1978. He is remembered as one of the few boxers who scored a victory over Muhammad Ali. He broke The Greatest's jaw in the process. Ken's (championship) fight against Larry Holmes was a gut-wrenching one: regardless of his losing it via majority decision.
This book rides one across his humble up-bringing; and then into the 1970s. I liked the way it refreshed my memory. It recounted Ken's life story in a candid manner. Reading it was a pleasure!
Rating: 3
Summary: HEAVILY FLAWED
Comment: the problem with some boxers autobiographies is that they skim over big fights with a line or two. in ken nortons book he goes into FAR, FAR too much detail on his big fights, sometimes four to five pages of a round by round breakdown. it's all, quite frankly, too much.
kens a funny guy to listen to, but his humour doesn't really come across well in this book. overall it's a relatively interesting read, but does not draw you in the way the books of george foreman, joe frazier, larry holmes, and quick tillis do.
unless you really love kenny, i'd give this one a miss.
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Title: Earnie Shavers: Welcome to the Big Time by Earnie Shavers, Mike Fitzgerald, Marshall Terrill, Bert Randolph Sugar ISBN: 158261363X Publisher: Sports Publishing Pub. Date: May, 2002 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: Larry Holmes: Against the Odds by Larry Holmes, Larry Holmes ISBN: 031218736X Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 1998 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: By George : The Autobiography Of George Foreman by George Foreman, Joel Engel ISBN: 0743201124 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 11 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Smokin' Joe: The Autobiography of a Heavyweight Champion of the World, Smokin' Joe Frazier by Joe Frazier, Phil Berger ISBN: 002860847X Publisher: Hungry Minds, Inc Pub. Date: 01 March, 1996 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: Bert Sugar on Boxing: The Best of the Sport's Most Notable Writer by Bert Randolph Sugar ISBN: 159228048X Publisher: The Lyons Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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