Review: "Sweet Thunder - The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson" by Wil Haygood

[chronicle]

(LA Times) - With this book, Haygood -- a feature writer for the
Washington Post -- completes a biographical trilogy that includes
earlier prize-winning volumes on Sammy Davis Jr. and the Harlem
congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr.

"Sweet Thunder" (Amazon.com: http://xrl.us/SugarRay ) is by far the
best of these books and, in describing an athlete now universally
acknowledged as the greatest prizefighter who ever lived, better also
than Robinson's own collaborative autobiography. Anyone who ever saw
him in the ring, or has watched a film of one of his bouts,
understands why boxing fans paradoxically insist on calling their
sport "the sweet science." Because his professional record included
multiple welter- and middleweight titles and a stunning overall record
of 174-19-6, it's often unappreciated that Robinson was, along with
Jesse Owens, the greatest amateur athlete of the 20th century..

Continued: http://xrl.us/SugarRay2

[pmfan57]

On Oct 29, 3:37 pm, chronicle <Use-Author-Supplied-Address-Header@

[127.1]> wrote:
> (LA Times) - With this book, Haygood -- a feature writer for the
> Washington Post -- completes a biographical trilogy that includes
> earlier prize-winning volumes on Sammy Davis Jr. and the Harlem
> congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
>

> "Sweet Thunder" (Amazon.com:http://xrl.us/SugarRay) is by far the

> best of these books and, in describing an athlete now universally
> acknowledged as the greatest prizefighter who ever lived, better also
> than Robinson's own collaborative autobiography. Anyone who ever saw
> him in the ring, or has watched a film of one of his bouts,
> understands why boxing fans paradoxically insist on calling their
> sport "the sweet science." Because his professional record included
> multiple welter- and middleweight titles and a stunning overall record
> of 174-19-6, it's often unappreciated that Robinson was, along with
> Jesse Owens, the greatest amateur athlete of the 20th century..
>
> Continued:http://xrl.us/SugarRay2

Thanks for the recommendation.

[ddc...@yahoo.com]

On Oct 29, 2:37 pm, chronicle <Use-Author-Supplied-Address-Header@

[127.1]> wrote:
> (LA Times) - With this book, Haygood -- a feature writer for the
> Washington Post -- completes a biographical trilogy that includes
> earlier prize-winning volumes on Sammy Davis Jr. and the Harlem
> congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
>

> "Sweet Thunder" (Amazon.com:http://xrl.us/SugarRay) is by far the

> best of these books and, in describing an athlete now universally
> acknowledged as the greatest prizefighter who ever lived, better also
> than Robinson's own collaborative autobiography. Anyone who ever saw
> him in the ring, or has watched a film of one of his bouts,
> understands why boxing fans paradoxically insist on calling their
> sport "the sweet science." Because his professional record included
> multiple welter- and middleweight titles and a stunning overall record
> of 174-19-6, it's often unappreciated that Robinson was, along with
> Jesse Owens, the greatest amateur athlete of the 20th century..
>
> Continued:http://xrl.us/SugarRay2

SRR got some gift decisions:

Kid Gavilan
Carl "BoBo" Olson
Carmen Basilio.

So, when he got jobbed in those two snoozers
vs Paulie Pender, there was no sympathy.