Overview

From ancient Greece to the present day, Boddy charts the myriad incarnations of boxing in Western society and the larger-than life figures who have played pivotal roles in its history. The book traces the portrayal of the sport in literature and media, from Greek odes to hip-hop lyrics to silent films, and shows the sport to be a complex cultural act that transforms the voyeur into a participant.

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9781861894113

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Reviews

A treasure trove for boxing historians and aficionados ... At nearly five hundred densely packed pages ... Boxing: A Cultural History would seem to include everything that has ever been written, depicted or in any way recorded about boxing... To read Boddy's book is to confront dozens hundreds? of inspired mini-essays. -- Joyce Carol Oates The New York Review of Books a penetrating, sparky and powerfully intelligent work of artistic, sporting and cultural history ... when you get to its final page you will find that you have not merely been entertained but enlightened, too. A literary knockout. The Times Sports Books of the Year 'Boddy explains why so many great writers and artists have been fascinated by the dark lure of boxing. With a cast of characters from Daniel Mendoza, DW Griffith, and James Joyce to Joe Louis, Bob Dylan, Muhammad Ali and Public Enemy she avoids pontification to mine a riveting history. -- Donald McRae The Guardian Sports Books of the Year 'For what seems like forever, writers have tried to make sense of man's attraction to the sport of pugilism. Precious few have succeeded in explaining the relationship, while many have failed ... Kasia Boddy is one of those who have successfully captured the essence of boxing's grip on us, and she has done so with flying colors ... a tour de force' The Ring 'A triumph of research in an unexpected field ... Impressively comprehensive, Boddy's study of the culture inspired by knuckle-ups is a knock out. The Independent a serious yet entertaining study, packed with obscure facts and accompanied by a huge selection of marvellous photos and illustrations'. Marcel Berlins, The Guardian 'superbly researched and beautifully illustrated, with sources ranging from Greek epic to American hip hop. Time Out The merit of Kasia Boddy's meticulously researched and deeply intelligent examination of boxing through the ages is that it refuses to take the pop historian's route of lazy simplification. The political and moral ambiguity of the fights that have played such a seminal role in shaping human consciousness are chronicled in all their rich and equivocal detail ... her volume is one of the most intelligent sporting books of recent times The Times

A treasure trove for boxing historians and aficionados ... At nearly five hundred densely packed pages ... Boxing: A Cultural History would seem to include everything that has ever been written, depicted or in any way recorded about boxing... To read Boddy's book is to confront dozens - hundreds? - of inspired mini-essays. -- Joyce Carol Oates The New York Review of Books a penetrating, sparky and powerfully intelligent work of artistic, sporting and cultural history ... when you get to its final page you will find that you have not merely been entertained but enlightened, too. A literary knockout. The Times Sports Books of the Year 'Boddy explains why so many great writers and artists have been fascinated by the dark lure of boxing. With a cast of characters from Daniel Mendoza, DW Griffith, and James Joyce to Joe Louis, Bob Dylan, Muhammad Ali and Public Enemy she avoids pontification to mine a riveting history. -- Donald McRae The Guardian Sports Books of the Year 'For what seems like forever, writers have tried to make sense of man's attraction to the sport of pugilism. Precious few have succeeded in explaining the relationship, while many have failed ... Kasia Boddy is one of those who have successfully captured the essence of boxing's grip on us, and she has done so with flying colors ... a tour de force' - The Ring 'A triumph of research in an unexpected field ... Impressively comprehensive, Boddy's study of the culture inspired by knuckle-ups is a knock out. The Independent a serious yet entertaining study, packed with obscure facts and accompanied by a huge selection of marvellous photos and illustrations'. - Marcel Berlins, The Guardian 'superbly researched and beautifully illustrated, with sources ranging from Greek epic to American hip hop. Time Out The merit of Kasia Boddy's meticulously researched and deeply intelligent examination of boxing through the ages is that it refuses to take the pop historian's route of lazy simplification. The political and moral ambiguity of the fights that have played such a seminal role in shaping human consciousness are chronicled in all their rich and equivocal detail ... her volume is one of the most intelligent sporting books of recent times The Times

Author Information

Kasia Boddy teaches in the English Department at University College London and has published widely on British and American literature and film.

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