New Gene Tunney Book

[Ambling Alp]

I just finished reading a new book that I checked out at the library on Gene Tunney. It's written by Sports Illustrated Writer Jack Cavanaugh.
A book about Tunney was long overdue. It goes into some depth on Tunney's career and what it was like being a boxer in his era.
Occasionally the author goes on a tangent and writes several pages on other fighters such as Greb, Battling Levinsky, Benny Leonard and for some reason Primo Carnera. Greb and Levinsky fought Tunney so it made sense that they would be featured. However, Benny Leonard didn't really seem to fit and why there were a few pages on Carnera was puzzling since he really had nothing to do with Tunney. However it's interesting if not always relevant to Tunney.
There was a minor mistake when talking about how often Levinsky fought. He mentions that Levinsky had years when he fought more than 35 fights a year which the author says is more than Greg Page, Tim Witherspoon, and Michael Dokes fought in their entire career, which isn't true.
Jack Dempsey is in about 25% of the book. The book is pretty much in chronological order and often discusses Dempsey's fights as well as Tunney's. Dempsey's manager Jack Kearns and promoter Tex Rickard are also featured quite a bit.
There was some information regarding Tunney's manager Billy Gibson but I would liked to have known more about him.
There is some good background information on Tunney's major opponents as well.
Overall I thought this was a very interesting book and a fast read. I thought some of you guys would be interested in it.

[Ambling Alp]

Wow what a reaction. Well, another indication how underrated Tunney
is. The guy loses only 1 fight in a long career, beats 5 Hall of Famers and most people seem to have no interest in him.

[Expug]

Thanks for that info Alp.
I saw the book at the store this past weekend and was hoping that someone here would review it.
Tunney is an interesting subject.

[iceman21287]

I finished reading this book directly after reading "Clemente," which was pretty much the most critically acclaimed sports bio of last year.

I can safely say that "Tunney" is no "Clemente," though it is certainly worth the price. If you're looking for an entire book full of nothing but Gene Tunney, then this is definitely not for you. A more appropriate title would have been "Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey, with mini bios on Battling Levinsky, Benny Leonard, and others." I'm also not a huge fan of the way Jack Cavanaugh writes. He reminds me a little too much of Bert Sugar (great for entertainment value, not so great for factual accuracy). That said, there is still plenty of interesting stuff in here, especially for those interested in the fight scene in general during the late 1910s and early 1920s. I particularly found the chapter on Battling Levinsky to be captivating, as he has been for years one of the fighters that I constantly search for info on.

If you're looking pure match analysis and facts, then this is definitely not the bio for you (despite what the back cover may say). However, if you like a little added spice and entertainment at the expense of complete accuracy (not to mention objectivity), then "Tunney" is a bio you should check out.

[zojo]

I read it too.

The one part of the book I found really interesrting was when he retured to get married.

His wife was from a blue-blooded family from Greenwich, CT. Therefore, most of her circle of friends were people who became wealthy because their families were wealthy. For some reason, Gene was not completely accepted by his wife's peers because he was a rags-to-riches story instead of a riches-to-even-richer story.

However, if you do the math, he earned roughly $20 million (adjusted to 2007 dollars) which was more money than many of the Greenwich crowd.

[Ambling Alp]

I agree that overall it was a good book. As mentioned previously, there are certainly some flaws with it. However, there was a lot of interesting parts as well. Since so little has been written about Tunney (considering how great he was) really helps make this book interesting.

[boxpope]

and why there were a few pages on Carnera was puzzling since he really had nothing to do with Tunney. However it's interesting if not always relevant to Tunney.

Is it positive writing about Primo ?

[Ambling Alp]

Well, it wasn't positive about his fighting ability. It was made out to be that he couldn't fight at all and that almost all of his wins were fixed.
He was portrayed a someone who didn't realize his fights were fixed and was basically a good person.

[boxpope]

Well, it wasn't positive about his fighting ability. It was made out to be that he couldn't fight at all and that almost all of his wins were fixed.
He was portrayed a someone who didn't realize his fights were fixed and was basically a good person.

that's bad. sure there were some fixed fights... but he "couldn't fight at all" ?
that' rubbish in my opinion. If you compare him with other guys of his size (there weren't manny) like Valuev he had quite good skills.

[iceman21287]

Well, it wasn't positive about his fighting ability. It was made out to be that he couldn't fight at all and that almost all of his wins were fixed.
He was portrayed a someone who didn't realize his fights were fixed and was basically a good person.

that's bad. sure there were some fixed fights... but he "couldn't fight at all" ?
that' rubbish in my opinion. If you compare him with other guys of his size (there weren't manny) like Valuev he had quite good skills.

Yeah Cavanaugh basically said that Carnera had no power whatsoever and when the mob decided to drop him or whatnot he was confused because fighters wouldn't get "hurt" anymore when he hit them. Cavanaugh definitely made Primo sound as if Shannon Briggs would destroy him.

[Seamus]

Just finished the book and it was very enjoyable reading. Lot's of great stories about Tunney, Dempsey, Greb and others and the build up to the two Tunney v Dempsey fights are highly detailed.

Interesting that Tunney and Dempsey both had a brother murdered (Dempsey had two) and missed the funerals. Also, I never knew Tunney's daughter was an axe murder. Gotta like Gene though. A guy who can recite Shakespeare and still bust up Dempsey.