The Fight
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Narrated by:
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Arthur Morey
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By:
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Norman Mailer
About this listen
In 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaïre, two African American boxers were paid five million dollars apiece to fight each other. One was Muhammad Ali, the aging but irrepressible "professor of boxing." The other was George Foreman, who was as taciturn as Ali was voluble. Observing them was Norman Mailer, a commentator of unparalleled energy, acumen, and audacity. Whether he is analyzing the fighters' moves, interpreting their characters, or weighing their competing claims on the African and American souls, Mailer's grasp of the titanic battle's feints and stratagems - and his sensitivity to their deeper symbolism - makes this book a masterpiece of the literature of sport.
©1975 Norman Mailer. Grateful acknowledgment is made to Grove/Atlantic, Inc., and Faber and Faber Ltd. For permission to reprint an excerpt from The Palmwine Drunkard by Amos Tutuola (published by Faber and Faber Ltd. as The Palm Wine Drinkarct), © 1953 by George Braziller, © the Estate of Amos Tutuola. Reprinted by permission of Grove/Atlantic, Inc., and Faber and Faber Ltd. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Great insight into Ali & Cosell
- By Steve on 05-04-06
By: Dave Kindred
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A Separate Peace
- By: John Knowles
- Narrated by: Scott Snively
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Now a modern classic, this story of two boys' friendship at an exclusive New Hampshire prep school as it parallels the inescapable and escalating atmosphere of World War II, is intense and engaging to the last word.
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How can one fault a Classic like this?
- By Theodore on 06-02-13
By: John Knowles
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Unbeaten
- By: Mike Stanton
- Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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From the best-selling author of The Prince of Providence comes a revelatory biography of Rocky Marciano, the greatest heavyweight champion of all time.The son of poor Italian immigrants, with short arms and stubby legs, Rocky Marciano accomplished a feat that eluded legendary heavyweight champions like Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson: He never lost a professional fight. His record was a perfect 49-0.
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Great book, terrible accents in the reading
- By Ishmael Angaluuk Hope on 11-02-21
By: Mike Stanton
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The Boxing Kings
- When American Heavyweights Ruled the Ring
- By: Paul Beston
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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The Boxing Kings tells the story of the heavyweight title in the days when it was a defining institution in the United States. Author Paul Beston places special emphasis on those champions who held a central place in American culture beyond just in the boxing ring, including John L. Sullivan, who made the title a commercial property; Jack Johnson, who in 1908 became the first black man to claim the title; Joe Louis, whose contributions to racial tolerance and social progress transcended even his greatness in the ring; and many more.
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An outstanding book on heavyweight champions
- By LSmith on 02-01-18
By: Paul Beston
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The Left Hand of God
- By: Paul Hoffman
- Narrated by: Steve West
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The Left Hand of God is the story of 16-year-old Thomas Cale, who has grown up imprisoned at the Sanctuary of the Redeemers, a fortress run by a secretive sect of warrior monks in a distant, dystopian past. He is one of thousands of boys who train all day in hand-to-hand combat, in preparation for a holy war that only the High Priests know is now imminent.
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Enjoyed every minute
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 09-07-12
By: Paul Hoffman
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Netherland
- By: Joseph O'Neill
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Alone and un-tethered, feeling lost in the country he had come to regard as home, Hans stumbles upon the vibrant New York subculture of cricket, where he revisits his lost childhood and, thanks to a friendship with a charismatic and charming Trinidadian named Chuck Ramkissoon, begins to reconnect with his life and his adopted country. Ramkissoon, a Gatsby-like figure who is part idealist and part operator, introduces Hans to an "other" New York populated by immigrants and strivers of every race and nationality.
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Get Your Post-Colonial Gatsby ON!
- By Darwin8u on 04-13-12
By: Joseph O'Neill
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The Lost Weekend
- By: Charles Jackson
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 1936, and on the East Side of Manhattan, a would-be writer named Don Birnam decides to have a drink. And then another, and then another, until he's in the midst of what becomes a five-day binge. A classic tale of one man's struggle with alcoholism, this revolutionary novel remains Charles Jackson's best-known book - a daring autobiographical work that paved the way for contemporary addiction literature.
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What a terrific audiobook!
- By Bill on 11-10-14
By: Charles Jackson
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A Flame of Pure Fire
- Jack Dempsey and the Roaring '20s
- By: Roger Kahn
- Narrated by: Kevin Yon
- Length: 17 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Through most of the Roaring '20s, Jack Dempsey was the heavyweight champion of the world. With his fierce good looks and matchless dedication to the kill, he was a fighter perfectly suited to his time. In A Flame of Pure Fire, renowned sports writer Roger Kahn not only chronicles the thrilling, brutal bouts of the Manassa Mauler, but also illustrates how the tumultuous 1920s shaped Dempsey - and how the champ, in turn, left an indelible mark on sports and American history.
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Ambitious but poorly executed
- By Keith on 10-02-19
By: Roger Kahn
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The Philosopher's Flight
- A Novel
- By: Tom Miller
- Narrated by: Gibson Frazier
- Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins
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Eighteen-year-old Robert Weekes is a practitioner of empirical philosophy - an arcane, female-dominated branch of science used to summon the wind, shape clouds of smoke, heal the injured, and even fly. Though he dreams of fighting in the Great War as the first male in the elite US Sigilry Corps Rescue and Evacuation Service - a team of flying medics - Robert is resigned to mixing batches of philosophical chemicals and keeping the books for the family business in rural Montana, where his mother, a former soldier and vigilante, aids the locals.
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Brilliant multi layered story
- By Kent Lanigan on 02-21-18
By: Tom Miller
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Freddy and Fredericka
- By: Mark Helprin
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 25 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling, critically acclaimed author Mark Helprin's work has drawn favorable comparisons to an elite group of literary legends, including James Joyce, Franz Kafka, Edgar Allan Poe, and Thomas Mann. Helprin's sheer comic brilliance shines in this ingenious farce.
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Can't rate it high enough (and I'm a tough grader)
- By Annette on 09-06-05
By: Mark Helprin
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In a life as tough as his battles in the ring, Ron Lyle had already served hard time for second-degree murder before he started his amateur boxing career at the age of twenty-nine. After he turned pro, fans knew him as the man who had Muhammad Ali beat on the scorecards for ten rounds in a fight for the heavyweight title; as the man who fought George Foreman in a legendary brawl with four knockdowns that nearly saw Foreman knocked cold; and as the man who was arrested for murder a second time.Off the Ropes: The Ron Lyle Story is not your typical boxing biography, exploring not only the ...
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1968. The Vietnam War was raging. President Lyndon Johnson, facing a challenge in his own Democratic Party from the maverick antiwar candidate Eugene McCarthy, announced that he would not seek a second term. In April, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and riots broke out in inner cities throughout America. Bobby Kennedy was killed after winning the California primary in June. In August, Republicans met in Miami, picking the little-loved Richard Nixon as their candidate.
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1968 Was A Crazy Political Year
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Albert Camus' The Stranger is one of the most widely read novels in the world, with millions of copies sold. It stands as perhaps the greatest existentialist tale ever conceived, and is certainly one of the most important and influential books ever produced. Now, for the first time, this revered masterpiece is available as an unabridged audio production.
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What listeners say about The Fight
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Tanya
- 11-17-16
Worth the time to read or listen to
Of course I like the description of the fight most of all, but overall a good book. It helps people who don't remember the way George Foreman and Muhammad Ali actually used to be thought of before they got old. Before Foreman became a nice guy who sold grills, and before Ali became famous for his philanthropy and valiant battle with Parkinson's syndrome.
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- Ray M
- 11-16-16
Boxing's Heavyweights by a Literary Heavyweight
The great triumph of Ali over Foreman in Zaire gets first class coverage by Norman Mailer. With a novelist's flair, Mailer reports on Ali's shocking upset win over George Foreman. Foreman had bludgeoned his way to an Olympic gold medal and then utterly demolished virtually every professional that came his way. Mailer brings us inside the chaos of Zaire, and we get a peek into the camps and personas of both Ali and Foreman. Oddly enough, the most interesting characters in the book are Drew Bundini Brown and the assorted fighters who served as sparring partners for Ali and Foreman. Ali was a huge underdog in the match against a young and terrifyingly destructive Foreman. But Mailer gives the listener a sense of the head games that Ali played on the mind of his less worldly opponent. The culmination of the book is the round by round deconstruction of the fight. Ali's victory seems very much in doubt throughout this book as Foreman stages small rallies and lands blows that would never have landed before in Ali's prime. The genius of Ali and Mailer captures this well, is that Ali made the adjustments and knew better than his corner that the tactics he adopted for Foreman would wear the younger man down.
This is a treat for the boxing fan. More though, it is a treat for the fan of good nonfiction. I have always felt that Mailer's fiction, with the exception of The Naked and the Dead, is quite overrated, but feel that his nonfiction writing (particularly on politics) will stand the test of time. I am not sure we will ever see boxing return to this type of prominence and perhaps it shouldn't. I do know that few writers will ever write this well about sports again.
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- tinyclanger
- 04-13-20
I enjoyed the heck out of this audiobook
Here is one of the best writers of his generation writing about the best fighter of that time. The book is read by the best and most aptly chosen narrator I remember hearing. The book is of course dated in some of its language and cultural assumptions, being both sexist and racist as context demands. Nevertheless: what a book, even if you're not all that into boxing. I'm not sure they write them like this anymore. I had so much fun.
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- Dr. Jon McClean
- 02-09-23
Beautiful
Wonderful wordsmithing and prose. Really enjoyable . You are in the arena on that hot sweaty night .
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- Katie
- 08-01-18
Narrator refers to himself in 3rd person.
So as the title states the author refers to himself in 3rd person. Really confused me for a bit! However, besides this an excellent book. I wanted to listen to something on Ali and this was rated as one of the top books about him. I was looking for a biography, and instead got this singular moment in a storied career. It was a suspenseful listen because I had no idea about the outcome of the “Rumble In The Jungle.” As others have states chapters 13-15 is some of the best sports writing you will ever read/listen to.
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- joe amaral
- 02-17-22
Great writing and fighting
A superb mental reenactment. Describing a gruesome human game in such poetic fashion.This listen from men long past have added to our historical acumen. One can only imagine if we had such an account so intimate of other landmark moments in human history.
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- Bookworm
- 12-14-16
Horrible
I couldn't even finish this book because the author comes across as such an arrogant jackass.
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1 person found this helpful