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The Sweet Science cover art

The Sweet Science

Written by: A. J. Liebling
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
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Publisher's Summary

This collection of A.J. Liebling's classic New Yorker pieces on the "sweet science of bruising" brings vividly to life the boxing world as it once was. It depicts the great events of boxing's American heyday: Sugar Ray Robinson's dramatic comeback, Rocky Marciano's rise to prominence, Joe Louis' unfortunate decline. Liebling never fails to find the human story behind the fight, and he evokes the atmosphere in the arena as distinctly as he does the goings-on in the ring; a combination that prompted Sports Illustrated to name The Sweet Science the best American sports book of all time.
©1951 the Estate of A.J. Liebling (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

What the critics say

"Nobody wrote about boxing with more grace and enthusiasm than Joe Liebling." (New York Times)
"In The Sweet Science, as in all his books, Liebling himself, the voice and the character, is immensely appealing." (New Yorker)

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Niche book, but enjoyable

This book, being a collection of Liebling's coverage for The New Yorker of boxing in his era, is definitely a niche one. If you have any interest in boxing or boxing history, this book is an excellent and impeccably written work whose prose elevates the sport to the level of any sort of intellectual subject you could name.

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