Overview
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.
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