Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing

by Tris Dixon Narrated by Jonathan Cowley

Overview

It's an old story-a fighter gains fame, drives fast cars, makes piles of cash, and dates beautiful women. Then comes the fall-booze, drugs, depression, poverty, illness. This dark narrative has been playing out for a hundred years.



Doctors first identified "Punch Drunk Syndrome" in 1928. It later became known as "Dementia Pugilistica." Today, we call it CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). The secret history of this disease in boxing has never been fully told-until now.



In Damage, Tris Dixon uncovers the difficult truths of boxing and CTE and chronicles the lives of fighters affected by it. He interviews some of the sport's biggest names, some lesser-known journeymen, and highly respected trainers and other figures to try to understand why no one wants to discuss CTE or take responsibility for it. Ultimately, Dixon takes aim at what boxing can do to help the warriors who sacrifice their health seeking glory in the ring. Will this book finally drive the sport to address the issue and help fighters get the help they deserve?

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

“Given that this remarkable, long-overdue treatise on the mental and physical ravages of boxing doesn’t hold anything back, it’s fitting that Mr. Dixon’s book lands with power and precision…Dixon tackles his subject with great compassion.”—T.J. English, Wall Street Journal

"...Dixon [has] published an important book about boxing, one that all boxing fans should read, precisely because some of them may find that it affects their fandom."—Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker

"There have been many great books about boxing but Tris Dixon, a former editor of Boxing News, may have a claim to have written the most important…it should be compulsory reading for ringside doctors, fighters, trainers and promoters...it should be read by every fan of the sport who roars on one boxer to smack another in the head, and to rattle a soft brain inside a hard skull."—Matt Dickinson, Chief Sportswriter, The Times

"Damage is an important book...Tris Dixon writes well...He's a meticulous researcher which further elevates his work...Dixon has made a major contribution to the health and safety of fighters. Now let's see who's paying attention.”—Thomas Hauser, BoxingScene

"Dixon is a man of strong principles and a journalist of high standing in the sport...[he] is the author of perhaps the most important book the fight game has ever seen...Damage is wonderfully written and contains some sumptuous storytelling..."―Matt Christie, Boxing News

"...this is a book that should be required reading for anyone involved in boxing. It’s not an easy read, and upon finishing it, you may look at the sport in a different way. But that’s necessary."―Thomas Gerbasi, The Ring Magazine

“Anyone who loves boxing—even the sport's most die-hard supporters—must take a longer and more serious look at the issues that Tris Dixon writes about with such nuance and humanity in Damage. Having covered the NFL for two decades, I've seen increasing awareness of traumatic brain injuries. We need the same in boxing, for the fighters and their families, and there's no better argument for more studies, discussion, and awareness than this book, a volume equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring with respect to the need for change.”—Greg Bishop, Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated

“This is the book that boxing has always needed. Tris Dixon has written about the dark and distressing truth that lies at the heart of the sport. He confronts the damage done to fighters who have taken too many blows to the head with unflinching honesty. This is a work of great importance. It is shattering yet moving, informative yet tender as Dixon charts the history and the science of CTE and meets boxers who have suffered damage over the years. An essential read for anyone who cares about boxing and its courageous, damaged fighters.”—Donald McRae, The Guardian

“Damage isn’t merely excellent or overdue; it should be mandatory reading for anyone who claims to care about boxing. With deep research and dogged reporting, Tris Dixon has managed to remain both clear-headed and compassionate. It’s not an easy task, trying to reconcile the great, enduring love for an international sport with its apparently inevitable price. But Dixon has done it by giving voice to the physicians and the fighters themselves, by balancing biology with humanity. In the end, though, he’s reminded us how tough the fighter really is.”—Mark Kriegel, ESPN commentator, author of The Good Son: The Life of Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini.

"[Aaron Pryor's] cautionary tale is told in Tris Dixon’s fascinating new book, 'Damage - The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing'...Dixon’s disturbing book ensures boxing no longer has any excuse."―Dave Hannigan, The Irish Times

"I’ve often said while commentating for fights that a boxer's age should not be judged chronologically, but rather by the amount of punches he has taken. Tris Dixon’s book Damage, adds forensic proof to that statement, as he walks you and these fistic titans from the lights of the ring into the shadows of their dressing rooms. I highly recommend this book."—Teddy Atlas, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, broadcaster, and author of Atlas: From the Streets to the Ring: A Son's Struggle to Become a Man

"Tris Dixon’s Damage hits as hard as any of the boxers whose sad decline it chronicles. For fight fans—as well as the fighters they admire—this is a must-read book. Dixon has both detailed the scientific study of brain trauma in the sport and the personal voice of the fighter. In Damage, Paulie Malignaggi characterizes boxing’s dilemma as ‘Doctors have to be doctors but fighters have to be fighters also. That’s also the problem—it’s hard to intermingle the two.’ Dixon has created what will be long seen as the seminal work on the price boxers pay to chase money and glory and why those of us who admire them for it must do more to protect them from ‘the hurt business.’”—Ron Borges, winner of the BWAA Nat Fleischer Award for Excellence in Boxing Journalism

“In Damage, Tris Dixon has written an excellent book that is a must-read for everyone who is passionate about the sport of boxing. Dixon truly presents the viewpoints of all parties in a thorough fashion. Everyone should read this book-Commission staff, commentators, sports governing bodies, referees, doctors who work ringside, coaches, corner staff and someone who works as a cutman but most importantly boxers and their families.”—Dr. Nitin Sethi, neurologist and member of the Association of Ringside Physicians and the Weill Cornell Concussion and Brain Injury Clinic

"[Damage], a harrowing book on the long-term effects of brain injury in the ring is the wake-up call the sport needs...Four years in the making, [Tris Dixon's] book should be essential reading for anyone with even a passing interest in boxing."―Mark Gallagher, The Irish Mail on Sunday

“Kudos to Tris Dixon for writing a book that should be on the shelf of every library in every corner of the English-speaking world.”—Arne K Lang, Editor, The Sweet Science

"Damage pulls no punches...Yet [the book] is a story of hope. Boxing fans cannot accuse it of being a woke critique and abolitionists cannot call it an apology."—Rick Broadbent, The Times

"The wealth of information contained in this remarkable book is more important than 100 medical papers about brain damage in boxing because it is written in layman’s language and exposes the personal stories behind the cold statistics and scientific jargon. Its words should serve as a clarion call for action on behalf of the athletes for whom boxing is not so much a choice as a calling."—Mike Silver, Boxing Over Broadway

"Through the passage of a quarter century, Tris Dixon has been at various times an amateur boxer, trainer, editor and writer...And for all this, it’s Dixon’s most-recent book, 'Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing', that he has delivered his most-telling blow...Here’s hoping Dixon’s book is a clarion call to everyone involved in the sport..."—Rick Assad, The Sweet Science

“In his...ground-breaking Damage, Dixon documents the long-term effects that follow from eating thousands of brain-swirling blows.”—Gordon Marino, The Daily Beast

"A strong recommendation for Damage, by Tris Dixon. It is marvelously researched and beautifully written, and it's likely the most important book about boxing you're going to read.—Steve Farhood, Showtime boxing analyst, and International Boxing Hall of Fame member

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159649317
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	07/11/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

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