This collection of A. J. Liebling's classic New Yorker pieces on the "sweet science of bruising" brings vividly to life the boxing world as it once was. It depicts the great events of boxing's American heyday, including Sugar Ray Robinson's dramatic comeback, Rocky Marciano's rise to prominence, and Joe Louis's unfortunate decline. Liebling never fails to find the human story behind the fight, and he evokes the atmosphere in the arena as distinctly as he does the goings-on in the ring—a combination that prompted Sports Illustrated to name The Sweet Science the best American sports book of all time.
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"I wuvs, wuvs, wuvs A.J. Liebling. After reading him, I want to get into a time machine and travel back to mid-20th-century New York City. He's so economical and has a deft dry wit. He defines dry wit for me, I think. Also, I really need the dictionary close by when I read him, which I love." — Jenny (5 out of 5 stars)
"I wuvs, wuvs, wuvs A.J. Liebling. After reading him, I want to get into a time machine and travel back to mid-20th-century New York City. He's so economical and has a deft dry wit. He defines dry wit for me, I think. Also, I really need the dictionary close by when I read him, which I love."
“Nobody wrote about boxing with more grace and enthusiasm than Joe Liebling.”
“In The Sweet Science—in all his books—Liebling himself, the voice and the character, is immensely appealing.”
“Grover Gardner is the perfect narrator for this collection of Liebling’s New Yorker pieces about boxing, written in the '30s, '40s, and '50s…No one else has ever written so well about this sport. Gardner captures the voices of ‘know-it-all’ New York fight fans and the denizens of the Neutral Corner, a New York City bar owned, tended, and patronized by fighters and their retinue Gardner’s rendition of Tommy Farr, the Welsh heavyweight, alone is worth the purchase price. Those who love boxing, and even those who don’t, will enjoy the Liebling-Gardner team.”
“Liebling’s articles…present a personal and polished account of the square ring…Excellent reading and not only for the buffs.”
" The writing is beautiful and fun, the blow-by-blow suspenseful and transporting, but sadly, in this fleeting sport, it's impossible to care about obscure fights half a century old. "
" From back in the day when boxing was boss. Very well written, "I ate such and such, then went to the fight and such and such happened," but much prettier, of course. "
" Good, solid, artistic sports writing. Interesting and well crafted. "
" Colonel Stingo, Mush Sallow, Chickie Ferrara, Whitey Bimstein, Tiny Payne, Philadelphia Jack O'Brien, Jimmy Tomato, Bertie Briscoe . . . This book is worth reading just for the names. "
" the ahab vs. nemesis piece is mindblowing, but this suffers by being about boxing. "
" It's not the best sports book ever. Liebling did have the job that every writer in America wants. Maybe that's enough for them, but not all that. Worth reading if you love boxing and the post war New York. "
" I enjoyed the essays about Marciano and Joe Louis. The other chapters didn't keep my interest and I like boxing. "
" The best book on boxing I know. "
" Fans of boxing history, or sporting history in the US, would appreciate this book "
" An excellent look at the boxing world, and the wide range of characters that inhabit it. Liebling's psychological analysis of fight observers is especially entertaining, and puts his full range of wit, intelligence, and observational ability on display. "
" short of actually having attended the fights, liebling's accounts of the bygone boxing era are the next best experience. "
" What an amazing collection. Makes you want to get into boxing right away, but really the best part of it is how he makes you feel like you're at each and every one. The boxing's not even as interesting as the look at 1950s NYC. Have to read more from him. "
" I like watching boxing. I like reading about boxing. If you're like me you will like this book. "
A. J. Liebling (1904–1963), a graduate of the School of Journalism at Columbia University, joined the staff of the New Yorker in 1935. He served as a war correspondent during World War II, writing and filming stories from France, England and the African continent. Liebling is one of the few foreign nationals to have been awarded the Cross of the Légion d'honneur by the French government.
Grover Gardner (a.k.a. Tom Parker) is an award-winning narrator with over a thousand titles to his credit. Named one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, he has won three prestigious Audie Awards, was chosen Narrator of the Year for 2005 by Publishers Weekly, and has earned more than thirty Earphones Awards.
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