The New York Times Book Review - Marc Tracy
"Who killed Davey Moore?" Bob Dylan asks of a dead fighter. The song points to the guilt of all involved, and so does Hannigan, who sketches the enabling of the incompetently crooked promoter James Cornelius; the ineffable Don King; a doctor named Harry Demopoulos, who reported that "Muhammad's blood vessels were those of a young man"; Ali's colorful cornerman Bundini Brown; John Travolta; and of course Ali's backers in the press. But Dylan doesn't directly address the second question articulated in his song's chorus—"Who killed Davey Moore? Why and what's the reason for?" Hannigan's book excels here with well-chosen quotations painting the unique status, even among athletes, of the boxer.
From the Publisher
"Hannigan’s book excels here with well-chosen quotations painting the unique status, even among athletes, of the boxer." —The New York Times Book Review
“It’s a brilliant piece of reportage, full of quirks and factoids from an almost unrecognisable time and place. If it was fiction, it would be thoroughly enjoyable. The fact that it’s all appallingly true makes it too grim for that.” —The Irish Times
“Released shortly after the death of ‘The Greatest,’ this requiem for a heavyweight should enjoy a wide readership among boxing fans and a general audience.” —Library Journal, starred review
“Boxing is not like baseball. A ballplayer who comes back for one too many seasons risks embarrassment. A boxer faces far worse dangers. After his October 1980 beating at the hands of Larry Holmes, Muhammad Ali should have exited the sport. But he didn’t. He needed one more fight, one final sad exhibition of courage before calling it quits. Dave Hannigan traces the reasons why, and the men who allowed it to happen. Drama in the Bahamas reads like a train wreck, making one want to turn away and not watch. But it details a reality in the sport.” —Randy Roberts, author of Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X and Joe Louis: Hard Times Man
"Hannigan’s book excels here with well-chosen quotations painting the unique status, even among athletes, of the boxer." —The New York Times Book Review
“It’s a brilliant piece of reportage, full of quirks and factoids from an almost unrecognisable time and place. If it was fiction, it would be thoroughly enjoyable. The fact that it’s all appallingly true makes it too grim for that.” —The Irish Times
“Released shortly after the death of ‘The Greatest,’ this requiem for a heavyweight should enjoy a wide readership among boxing fans and a general audience.” —Library Journal, starred review
“Boxing is not like baseball. A ballplayer who comes back for one too many seasons risks embarrassment. A boxer faces far worse dangers. After his October 1980 beating at the hands of Larry Holmes, Muhammad Ali should have exited the sport. But he didn’t. He needed one more fight, one final sad exhibition of courage before calling it quits. Dave Hannigan traces the reasons why, and the men who allowed it to happen. Drama in the Bahamas reads like a train wreck, making one want to turn away and not watch. But it details a reality in the sport.” —Randy Roberts, author of Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X and Joe Louis: Hard Times Man
From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY
"Hannigan's book excels here with well-chosen quotations painting the unique status, even among athletes, of the boxer." —New York Times
Library Journal
★ 09/01/2016
Relatives at the bedside of the dying Muhammad Ali (1942–2016) reported that his heart continued to beat for 30 minutes after massive organ failure, and it was this heart that kept him upright through his last bout in the boxing ring in Nassau, the Bahamas. Sadly, Ali's performance only echoed the general ineptitude that surrounded the event. Arranged by a neophyte promoter under investigation by the FBI and held in a dilapidated baseball stadium, this December 1981 fight matched Ali with Trevor Berbick, a relatively unknown Jamaican competitor. Boxers on the undercard resorted to physical threats against the promoter in order to be paid and were forced to share gloves because new ones hadn't arrived. Berbick was over a decade younger than Ali, cannon fodder for the former champion in his prime. Thus, the drama centered first on whether the fight would actually materialize, and then on whether Ali would escape intact. Hannigan (history, Suffolk Cty. Community Coll.; The Big Fight) examines both the backstory and the fight itself. VERDICT Released shortly after the death of "The Greatest," this requiem for a heavyweight should enjoy a wide readership among boxing fans and a general audience.—Jim Burns, formerly with Jacksonville P.L., FL
