Dark Trade Audiobook By Donald McRae cover art

Dark Trade

Lost in Boxing

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Dark Trade

By: Donald McRae
Narrated by: Virtual Voice
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About this listen

 No boxing book collection is complete without the classic, award-winning, Dark Trade: Lost in Boxing. With this updated edition, brought to the United States for the first time, the original cover art by fine artist Amanda Kelley, depicting James "Lights Out" Toney, a central figure in the book's gripping narrative, makes this a gorgeous and essential addition to any boxing fan's collection.

"McRae brings to the highly charged, obsessive world of professional boxing a novelist's eye and ear for revealing detail and convincingly recalled dialogue. This is an impassioned book."―Joyce Carol Oates, LA Times

Dark Trade: Lost in Boxing, by Donald McRae, award-winning author of twelve non-fiction books and staff writer for The Guardian, is widely considered of one of the best boxing books all time.

This is a new edition, released in the United States for the first time, that includes a new chapter by the author, plus a stunning cover that features a painting of boxer James Toney by noted boxing artist Amanda Kelley.

There is no other sport like boxing. Over twenty years ago, Donald McRae set out across the United States and his adopted home, Britain, to find deeper meaning in the brutal trade that had transfixed him since he was a young man. The result is a stunning chronicle that captures not only McRae's compelling personal journey through the world of professional prizefighting, but also the stories of some of its biggest names in boxing―James Toney, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Oscar De La Hoya, Naseem Hamed, Roy Jones, Jr., and others.

Singular in his ability to uncover the emotional forces that drive men to get into the ring, McRae brilliantly exposes the hopes and fears and obsessions of these legendary fighters, while revealing some of his own along the way. What he shares with them most, he comes to realize, is that he is hopelessly, and willingly, lost in boxing.

PRAISE FOR DARK TRADE

"McRae brings to the highly charged, obsessive world of professional boxing a novelist's eye and ear for revealing detail and convincingly recalled dialogue. This is an impassioned book."—Joyce Carol Oates, LA Times

"For fans of the sport, [McRae's] illuminating book exploring this fierce world may rival the works of such famed boxing writers as Bert Sugar, Norman Mailer, and A.J. Liebling...At the heart of this engaging and eloquent work...is McRae and his intriguing attempts to explain his 'seemingly illogical but enduring love' of boxing."—Kirkus Reviews

“This deeper understanding of everything that surrounds the fight game is what makes Dark Trade so compelling and why McRae’s brave book remains essential reading for any boxing fan.”—Joshua Isard, The Fight City

"The sombre truths [McRae] learned inspired...a haunting, utterly memorable book."—The Independent

“Donald McRae has proven again and again that he’s a superb writer who understands the sport and business of boxing —and so much more.”—Thomas Hauser, author of Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
1 The Baddest Man
2 The Force
3 This Is Boxing, Baby
4 Oscar’s Night
5 The King and the Prince
6 Guns and Fathers
7 Looking on Darkness
8 Death and the Man
9 The Cinderella Men
10 The Soldier Boy
11 Nothing Is Forever
12 The Beacon
13 The Bite
14 Fading Away
15 Still Lost in Boxing
Acknowledgments Combat Sports & Self-Defense Sports Combat Sports Boxing Warrior
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Fantastic book that covers the behind the scenes affairs of a lot of fighters and fights from the 80's and beyond.

Must-listen for boxing fans

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The AI narration is surprisingly listenable, better than a lot of human readers. The book itself is essential if you have even a passing interest in boxing, but especially if you plan to compete in it, or write on it (or both).

A modern Sweet Science

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