Anyone read "The Fixer" by Steve Bunce?

[Srebmun]

im reading dark trade at present Mark. great read

Ditto. Took me a little while to get into it as I'd just finished the Duran book, so the shift in subject flow and style took some getting used to.

Now tho' I'm loving it, makes my journey to work pass in a flash it seems.

I've got My View from the Corner (Dundee), The Sweet Science (Liebling) and Ringside: A Treasury of Boxing Reportage (Schulberg) next in line (not sure which to read first). Mouth watering tho'.

I'll prob' read Buncey's after I finish those 3.

[Srebmun]

im reading dark trade at present Mark. great read

If you like that you should check out the book he wrote about Jesse owens & Joe Louis i think it's called "Black & White". He also wrote a book called "winter colours" which is in the same style as Dark Trade but about Rugby but lacks the characters of Dark Trade. He also wrote a great book about prostitution in London which is worth checking out and like Dark Trade has plenty of characters some even to rival James Toney

Have you got a fav' Boxing book Mark?

[J]

thanks mark ill check some of those out.....

facing ali was a good book by the way if you havent read it.

Gilroy was here was entertainig enough as well gave a real social insight into the times of pre and post war glasgow and the boxing booths.

unforgivable blackness bout jack hjohnson was great to apoint but became a labour of love as its so detailed and a bit anally retentive at times.

read the duran book enjoyed that, benn hatton etc i find a bit like reading hardman books i twatted hom he twatted me etc etc...but samey but light reading.

Read alot about all sports to be honest.

One of the best was the guy who in 12 months trained with the 95 WCUP winning springbok side, trained with Janshger Khan the squash champ, then regrave, and roy jones...was a great read think it was cvalled something like playing with the gods or similar...its ten years odd old now..

[Srebmun]

Cheers chaps, I know what you mean about Unforgivable Blackness, it is quite detailed. I read it on the beach in Greece over a 2 week period last summer so had plenty of time to digest it, thus loved it.

I've been voraciously reading since then and have been through Calzaghe, Becoming Holyfield, Atlas, War Baby, 4 Kings, The Hitman, King of the Gypsies, Sonny Liston His Life, Strife and the Phantom Punch, Hurricane, Duran and Muhammad Ali His Life and Times by Hauser - and the only one which disappointed (in a sense) was The Hitman.

All of the rest I absolutely loved, as I am Dark Trade now and as mentioned earlier I've got 3 more beauties on the shelf waiting.

[mickey1975]

The Dark Trade is an excellent read.I also enjoyed Heart,Soul and Fire by Paul Briggs.I read one a few years ago but i forget the name,but it had a lot on Michael Gomez and other Manchester fighters in it.The Black Lights is also a very good read.

[Buncey]

Some terrific modern books have been suggested here, but a minute or two with Mullan's Fighting Words and depth, warmth, love and a true understanding of the fight game grabs you by the goolies. It's the same with Whiting, Berger, Anderson etc.
It takes more than a few months in the company of fruitcakes and their lackeys to produce a truly memorable boxing book.
On the Tyson trail I believe that Montieth Illingworth's Mike Tyson: Money, Myth and Betrayal is the superior book by some distance.
I've forgotten Kevin Mitchell's Jacobs Beach. That was cool.
By the way the Errol Christie book is out next Thursday (25th) and I've got Errol as a guest on my BBC London show - I want to devote the show to boxing books. More on that next week.

Adios and thanks.

[Buncey]

No, I did a short unpaid intro for Errol's book.
I'm told that the full book is very impressive. Errol has a hard and harsh tale to tell. He put in a brilliant performance on my tour.

Adios.

[JimJim2009]

Sorry for going slightly off topic but Steve when are you doing the "history of the heavyweight championship" tour this year ? Attended your live event in Leeds with my girlfriend and dad, and we all really enjoyed it :)

[Chris W 1982]

Four Kings and Dark Trade are 2 favourites of mine.

Rope Burns by Ian Probert is another book I enjoy.

[gobbles]

The Dark Trade is an excellent read.I also enjoyed Heart,Soul and Fire by Paul Briggs.I read one a few years ago but i forget the name,but it had a lot on Michael Gomez and other Manchester fighters in it.The Black Lights is also a very good read.

The Black Lights was an excellent book.

[Carbo]

Out on April 1...honest!

There is a plan for a book signing in Deansgate a few hours before the Haye/Ruiz fight.
I will post details.

Adios.

When is the Guardian publishing the Marina Hyde review, Steve?

[Buncey]

Easy Carbo!!!
Hopefully Kevin Mitchell will take care of the Guardian.

Adios.

[chinny]

Out on April 1...honest!

There is a plan for a book signing in Deansgate a few hours before the Haye/Ruiz fight.
I will post details.

Adios.

When is the Guardian publishing the Marina Hyde review, Steve?

Our friend Marina was on Charlie Brookers Newswipe the other night. She's very ugly on screen, much more so than in her guardian pic.

[Carbo]

Easy Carbo!!!
Hopefully Kevin Mitchell will take care of the Guardian.

Adios.

Personally, Steve, I hope they put some high-brow literary type from the Guardian Books section on it. Or perhaps have Ian McEwan come and do a guest review -- or even better, Christopher Hitchens.

Seriously, though: It sounds like a proper page turner, so good luck with that. I'm sure it'll have plenty of success.

[Counter-puncher]

Out on April 1...honest!

There is a plan for a book signing in Deansgate a few hours before the Haye/Ruiz fight.
I will post details.

Adios.

When is the Guardian publishing the Marina Hyde review, Steve?

a-hahahahaha. you beat me to it, shot son

[fatman]

Buncey... what a legend.

Adios

[Buncey]

On the BBC London show this week (25th) I'm doing a book special.
Hopefully, Brian Hughes with his Hearns book can be added to Errol Christie and George Kimball.
I'm going to try and track down the Charley Burley author.

Adios.

[boxer70]

Steve,
Michael Murray wrote a book called 'the Journeyman' any chance of getting him on as i would love to know how he's getting on these day's.

Read 'on boxing' by Joyce Carol Oates many years ago and really enjoyed it, it never gets a mention when books are talked about which is a shame.

[Buncey]

The Murray book was great fun, but a few liberties were taken with facts!
Oates on boxing was very, very nice.
I will reach out to Murray.

Adios.

[Wake up call]

I got Errol Christie's book at the weekend and I got £4 off. I didn't think it was out yet so I snapped it up. Read your intro Buncey, good stuff.

[Buncey]

Wake,
Well done on getting that because its official launch is Thursday.
It's a proper book, no gush.

Adios.

[Wake up call]

Yeah started reading it this weekend. Very honest details about his relationship with his father and his father's condition.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Some terrific modern books have been suggested here, but a minute or two with Mullan's Fighting Words and depth, warmth, love and a true understanding of the fight game grabs you by the goolies. It's the same with Whiting, Berger, Anderson etc.
It takes more than a few months in the company of fruitcakes and their lackeys to produce a truly memorable boxing book.
On the Tyson trail I believe that Montieth Illingworth's Mike Tyson: Money, Myth and Betrayal is the superior book by some distance.
I've forgotten Kevin Mitchell's Jacobs Beach. That was cool.
By the way the Errol Christie book is out next Thursday (25th) and I've got Errol as a guest on my BBC London show - I want to devote the show to boxing books. More on that next week.

Adios and thanks.

Yes, Money Myth and Betrayal is a fantastic book - my favourite boxing book to date, the most illuminating account of Mike Tyson's rise to prominence and subsequent deterioration - it's just a shame it was written before his comeback. Still anyone who wants to know about the goings on behind the Tyson Myth need look no further than this book.

[Boxingnut]

I'm going to try and track down the Charley Burley author.

Adios.

If you mean Harry Otty then I can put you in touch Buncey. By all means pm me.

[Boxingnut]

Another modern classic I like is Jonathan Rendall's This Bloody Mary Is The Last Thing I Own.