Sting Like a Bee: The Muhammad Ali Story
Jose Torres, Bert Randolph Sugar, Norman MailerBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Writers have long been attracted to boxing. Hemingway, Mailer, Algren, Plimpton, Oates, and many others have stepped into the ring—at least in spirit—to give voice to an otherwise wordless sport, to celebrate that “sweet science,” and to bear witness to its romance and tragedy. In this acclaimed book, hailed by Norman Mailer as an “impressive event,” we are brought for the first time into the ring for a close-up look at the “manly art” through the eyes of José Torres, a man who was a great boxer himself. When former light-heavyweight world champion Torres traded in his gloves for a typewriter, boxing finally found its eyewitness.In the classic Sting Like a Bee, Torres turns his well-trained eye on one of the most celebrated and controversial athletes of all time: Muhammad Ali. In this penetrating view of Ali and the world of prizefighting, told by a true insider and “boxing’s Renaissance man,” Torres delivers exciting and explicit accounts of all of Ali’s major fights with the cool authenticity of one who has lived it.
Synopsis
For four decades, Muhammad Ali's enduring story has gripped the American public, far beyond the boxing community. Among the dozens of books written about Ali, Sting Like a Bee is unique because of its authorship. Few writers have been professional boxing champions. Few professional fighters have been successful writers. Author Jose Torres has been both.
First published in 1971, Sting Like a Bee gained a following because Torres had written perhaps the first book of its kind -- a genuine and authentic view of Ali and the world of prizefighting, told by a true insider. Just three years earlier, Torres himself was the light-heavyweight champion of the world. That's what gives the book its distinct flavor. Torres, who had first met Ali in the Olympics, delivers exciting and explicit accounts of Ali's major fights with the cool verisimilitude of one who has lived it. Also included are little-known anecdotes and facts about Ali's background. With an introduction by Norman Mailer and an epilogue by Budd Schulberg.
New York Times
"Marvelous. . . . It is a study of the psychic contest that in boxing is the hidden part of the iceberg."
Editorials
Blogcritics.org -
"With his keen, analytical eye, [José Torres] takes us inside the gym, inside the locker room, and even inside the psyche of the boxer in the ring. He explains the feelings, including fear and exhaustion, that all boxers, even Ali, experience prior to, during and after a fight. This makes Sting Like a Bee more than a valuable insight into a significant period in the career of a boxing legend. It is also a benchmark against which to measure other boxing books, if not sports literature in general."—Tim Gebhart, Blogcritics.orgNew York Times
“Marvelous. . . . It is a study of the psychic contest that in boxing is the hidden part of the iceberg.”—New York TimesBlogcritics.org
"With his keen, analytical eye, [José Torres] takes us inside the gym, inside the locker room, and even inside the psyche of the boxer in the ring. He explains the feelings, including fear and exhaustion, that all boxers, even Ali, experience prior to, during and after a fight. This makes Sting Like a Bee more than a valuable insight into a significant period in the career of a boxing legend. It is also a benchmark against which to measure other boxing books, if not sports literature in general."—Tim Gebhart, Blogcritics.org
— Tim Gebhart