Author:Dominic Calder-Smith
In the late 1980s heavyweight boxing was ruled by one man - Mike Tyson. No one could touch him, it seemed, but nonetheless a generation of fighters tried. From 1986 to 1989, Mitch Green, Reggie Gross, Marvis Frazier, Pinklon Thomas, Tony Tucker and Carl Williams all attempted to bring Tyson to his knees. They all failed.
Everyone knows the story of Tyson's decline and fall - the manchild who seemed poised to become one of the greatest boxers in history is now a disgraced relic - but what happened to the men he defeated during his irrepressible prime?
In The Long Round, Dominic Calder-Smith talks to these men nearly twenty years on - the Baptist minister, the drugs counsellor, the security guard at Ground Zero, the convicted assassin and many of their contemporaries - tracing their lives from their upbringings and years of promise to their encounters with Tyson and the present day.
The Long Round explores, openly and honestly, the pain they felt in defeat and their subsequent search for self-respect, their problems with drugs and relationships, their legal woes and financial mismanagements. Some of these men have forged new lives outside of boxing, others struggle to do so, a few even harbour impossible hopes of one last shot at the title.
The Long Round is the story of the fight game - a story of unfulfilled dreams and turbulent lives, of letting boxing go and making a fresh start. It is the story of what happens to fighting men when they move away from the spotlight of the prize ring and have to survive the game of life - the longest round of all.
One of the most fascinating books of the year
—— Independent[A] great read on those who had walk-on (and be-carried-out) parts in Tyson's life
—— ObserverAmong the lost and broken, the crazy and the dangerous, The Long Round is as compelling as it is compassionate
—— Donald McRaeA talented writer... He loves boxing and knows the sport
—— The RingThis is a powerful book which transcends football.
—— Sport MagazineDeeply affecting
—— Matt Dickinson , The TimesMoving...after reading it, I felt I not only understood depression a little better but also determined never again to believe the myth of the sporting superman, impervious to criticism or pressure
—— Sarah Crompton , Daily TelegraphDeeply affecting
—— Ian Hawkey , Sunday TimesA Life Too Short is a sports biography about as much as BS Johnson's classic The Unfortunates is a sports novel. Both are books about grief. But football runs through the heart of Enke's story and this book belongs to the first rank of publications on the game of minds and souls that exists behind the beautiful game that is seen on the field. It is both a fitting tribute to a lost friend but it is also a salutary warning to the great football clubs of the world
—— Keith Duggan , Irish TimesEnlightening and visceral...An indispensable insight into a man and an illness, Reng's book is a sobering yet brilliant account and may yet restore faith for the disenchanted man in the street
—— Sabotage TimesEnke had often talked to his friend Reng, a journalist-cum-novelist, about writing a book together. Now Reng has done it alone, beautifully...this is the mature work of a writer who has gone far beyond sensationalism. It allows you to turn back and read football differently
—— New StatesmanIt should be on every British football fan's reading list
—— Ben East , MetroA masterpiece… I have read few other books, fiction or non-fiction that is so startlingly sensitive, honest and sincere
—— Bundesligafanatic.comIt’s pitched perfectly – intensely moving without becoming overly emotional or morbid
—— Sharon Wheeler , Times Higher EducationThis seductive book will engage those who don’t know a googly from a doosra and enlighten those who do
—— Independent
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