Dewey Edition23
Reviews"A bloody, beautiful elegy to hard-won manhood, The Good Son is a great read. Kriegel, one of America's best writers, is every bit as fierce and fearless as his subject." --Scott Raab, author of The Whore of Akron and Esquire Writer at Large, "The Good Son is muscular, literary sportswriting at its best, which is what we've come to expect from Mark Kriegel. But it's also much, much more. Here is the story not just of the rise and fall of a great prizefighter from a hard-luck industrial town-rendered, throughout, with tremendous heart-but of fathers and sons, (and brothers), of America's hunger for mythic heroes, of the tragic collision of two lives. It's a slender, yet epic book, as graceful, layered and achingly intimate as the finest novel." -Jonathan Mahler, author of Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning, "Honestly, it's simply not possible to write a better book-sports, non-sports, fiction, non-fiction-than The Good Son, Mark Kriegel's remarkable biography of Boom Boom Mancini, which is by equal turns uplifting, heartbreaking, cautionary and redemptive. And impossible to put down." Mike Vaccaro, New York Post columnist, eoeThe Good Son is muscular, literary sportswriting at its best, which is what we've come to expect from Mark Kriegel. But it's also much, much more. Here is the story not just of the rise and fall of a great prizefighter from a hard-luck industrial towne"rendered, throughout, with tremendous hearte"but of fathers and sons, (and brothers), of America's hunger for mythic heroes, of the tragic collision of two lives. It's a slender, yet epic book, as graceful, layered and achingly intimate as the finest novel.e e"Jonathan Mahler, author of Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning, An absorbing blend of psychological drama and fearless reportage, Kriegel deconstructs the sprawling consequences of that fateful day at Caesars Palace, driving at the heart of where the heady romanticism and stark reality of the cruelest sport converge., "It's easy to say The Good Son will go down as one of the great boxing books of all time. But in telling the story of Ray (Boom Boom) Mancini, Mark Kriegel has accomplished something beyond sports. His book is, put simply, a masterpiece; an ode to father-son relationships, to the drive and makeup of champions; to what it is to experience the high of a world championship and the low of watching an opponent die in the ring. There's a reason Kriegel is one of America's elite biographers. The Good Son is spectacular." --Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton, "A bloody, beautiful elegy to hard-won manhood, The Good Son is a great read. Kriegel, one of America's best writers, is every bit as fierce and fearless as his subject." -Scott Raab, author of The Whore of Akron and Esquire Writer at Large, "Kriegele(tm)s smoothly written biography tells the story of a rust belt hero whose boxing career was marred by tragedy in the ring.. . . as a saga of two families dealing with hardship and violent death, this boxing history is completely engaging."e"e" Publishers Weekly, "Honestly, it's simply not possible to write a better book-sports, non-sports, fiction, non-fiction-than The Good Son, Mark Kriegel's remarkable biography of Boom Boom Mancini, which is by equal turns uplifting, heartbreaking, cautionary and redemptive. And impossible to put down." - Mike Vaccaro, Goes so deep into the history and entanglement of the dysfunctional and violence-based immigrant Mancini family and the men who strived to make their mark within it, that it reads like something Dostoyevsky might have served up, had he been a modern-day sportswriter ., "It's easy to say The Good Son will go down as one of the great boxing books of all time. But in telling the story of Ray (Boom Boom) Mancini, Mark Kriegel has accomplished something beyond sports. His book is, put simply, a masterpiece; an ode to father-son relationships, to the drive and makeup of champions; to what it is to experience the high of a world championship and the low of watching an opponent die in the ring. There's a reason Kriegel is one of America's elite biographers. The Good Son is spectacular." -Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton, "Honestly, it's simply not possible to write a better book--sports, non-sports, fiction, non-fiction--than The Good Son, Mark Kriegel's remarkable biography of Boom Boom Mancini, which is by equal turns uplifting, heartbreaking, cautionary and redemptive. And impossible to put down."-- Mike Vaccaro, New York Post columnist, eoeAs told by Mark Kriegel, the true tale of Boom Boom Mancini is one of blood and spirit, of the ghosts bequeathed from fathers to sons, from pugilists to their progeny. If The Good Son is a sports book, ite(tm)s the best Ie(tm)ve ever read. Either way, in any genre, it is masterful storytelling.e e"David Milch, "Kriegel is a meticulous researcher and gifted interviewer, and, in this stirring biography, the joy and tragedy experienced by the Mancini family is palpablee"never more than in the account of a meeting between Kime(tm)s son and Ray 30 years after Kim died at Raye(tm)s hand. Kriegel picks his subjects carefully and does them justice. Can there be higher praise for a biographer?"e"e" Booklist, starred review, eoeIte(tm)s easy to say The Good Son will go down as one of the great boxing books of all time. But in telling the story of Ray (Boom Boom) Mancini, Mark Kriegel has accomplished something beyond sports. His book is, put simply, a masterpiece; an ode to father-son relationships, to the drive and makeup of champions; to what it is to experience the high of a world championship and the low of watching an opponent die in the ring. Theree(tm)s a reason Kriegel is one of Americae(tm)s elite biographers. The Good Son is spectacular.e e"Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton, "Kriegel is a meticulous researcher and gifted interviewer, and, in this stirring biography, the joy and tragedy experienced by the Mancini family is palpable-never more than in the account of a meeting between Kim's son and Ray 30 years after Kim died at Ray's hand. Kriegel picks his subjects carefully and does them justice. Can there be higher praise for a biographer?" Booklist, starred review, "Honestly, it's simply not possible to write a better booke"sports, non-sports, fiction, non-fictione"than The Good Son, Mark Kriegel's remarkable biography of Boom Boom Mancini, which is by equal turns uplifting, heartbreaking, cautionary and redemptive. And impossible to put down."e"e" Mike Vaccaro, New York Post columnist, "As told by Mark Kriegel, the true tale of Boom Boom Mancini is one of blood and spirit, of the ghosts bequeathed from fathers to sons, from pugilists to their progeny. If The Good Son is a sports book, it's the best I've ever read. Either way, in any genre, it is masterful storytelling." --David Milch, "The Good Son is muscular, literary sportswriting at its best, which is what we've come to expect from Mark Kriegel. But it's also much, much more. Here is the story not just of the rise and fall of a great prizefighter from a hard-luck industrial town--rendered, throughout, with tremendous heart--but of fathers and sons, (and brothers), of America's hunger for mythic heroes, of the tragic collision of two lives. It's a slender, yet epic book, as graceful, layered and achingly intimate as the finest novel." --Jonathan Mahler, author of Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning, "A bloody, beautiful elegy to hard-won manhood, The Good Son is a great read. Kriegel, one of America's best writers, is every bit as fierce and fearless as his subject." e"Scott Raab, author of The Whore of Akron and Esquire Writer at Large, "Honestly, it's simply not possible to write a better book-sports, non-sports, fiction, non-fiction-than The Good Son, Mark Kriegel's remarkable biography of Boom Boom Mancini, which is by equal turns uplifting, heartbreaking, cautionary and redemptive. And impossible to put down."-- Mike Vaccaro, New York Post columnist, "Our American literary tradition happily disregards the intellectuals and cherishes the sportswriters. As we should, for the great sportswriter combines the fan's love of American Culture with the scribe's intuition of tragedy. Or, as Red Smith, Damon Runyon, or Bill Heinz might have put it: 'Kriegel does for Boom Boom what Margaret Mitchell did for the Civil War.'" -David Mamet, eoeOur American literary tradition happily disregards the intellectuals and cherishes the sportswriters. As we should, for the great sportswriter combines the fane(tm)s love of American Culture with the scribee(tm)s intuition of tragedy. Or, as Red Smith, Damon Runyon, or Bill Heinz might have put it: e~Kriegel does for Boom Boom what Margaret Mitchell did for the Civil War.e(tm)e e"David Mamet, "Kriegel is a meticulous researcher and gifted interviewer, and, in this stirring biography, the joy and tragedy experienced by the Mancini family is palpable-never more than in the account of a meeting between Kim's son and Ray 30 years after Kim died at Ray's hand. Kriegel picks his subjects carefully and does them justice. Can there be higher praise for a biographer?"-- Booklist, starred review, Kriegel's smoothly written biography tells the story of a rust belt hero whose boxing career was marred by tragedy in the ring. . . . as a saga of two families dealing with hardship and violent death, this boxing history is completely engaging., With The Good Son , Kriegel plays a long shot and wins a unanimous decision. . . . Kriegel knows how to set up a good emotional punch, and plays on the major themes of Mancini's life like a master novelist. , A timeless mythic tale of fathers and sons . . . Kriegel's reporting is impeccable, his passion muted but no less heartfelt for that . It takes one hell of a writer-period-to handle so rich a mix of manhood, legacy, and blood sport with such grace., "Our American literary tradition happily disregards the intellectuals and cherishes the sportswriters. As we should, for the great sportswriter combines the fan's love of American Culture with the scribe's intuition of tragedy. Or, as Red Smith, Damon Runyon, or Bill Heinz might have put it: 'Kriegel does for Boom Boom what Margaret Mitchell did for the Civil War.'" --David Mamet, "As told by Mark Kriegel, the true tale of Boom Boom Mancini is one of blood and spirit, of the ghosts bequeathed from fathers to sons, from pugilists to their progeny. If The Good Son is a sports book, it's the best I've ever read. Either way, in any genre, it is masterful storytelling." -David Milch, "Kriegel is a meticulous researcher and gifted interviewer, and, in this stirring biography, the joy and tragedy experienced by the Mancini family is palpable--never more than in the account of a meeting between Kim's son and Ray 30 years after Kim died at Ray's hand. Kriegel picks his subjects carefully and does them justice. Can there be higher praise for a biographer?"-- Booklist, starred review, "Kriegel's smoothly written biography tells the story of a rust belt hero whose boxing career was marred by tragedy in the ring. . . . as a saga of two families dealing with hardship and violent death, this boxing history is completely engaging."-- Publishers Weekly