- Keyword = boxing
-
THE SWEET SCIENCE.
Edition: First printing.
New York: The Viking Press, 1956. dj. Hardcover first edition - "Boxing and Boxiana - a Ringside View." Uncommon first edition of these essays which originally appeared in the New Yorker on the high points (and some of the low points) of boxing in that era. "Named the best sports book of all time by Sports Illustrated in 2002, The Sweet Science offers a lively and idiosyncratic portrait of boxing in the early 1950s that encompasses boastful managers, veteran trainers, wily cornermen, and the fighters themselves: Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Archie Moore, 'a virtuoso of anachronistic perfection.' No one has captured the fierce artistry of the ring like Liebling. (Pete Hamill) . 306 pp.
Condition: Very good in black boards in a good only dust jacket (creasing at edges, rubbing at folds, original price of 3.95 on flap)
Book ID: 89738More details Price: $125.00 -
KING KONG: An African Jazz Opera.
Edition: Paperback original - first printing.
Condition: Near Fine in white pictorial wraps with red & black lettering (an export edition with the price on the front cover replaced with 2 small red triangles)
Book ID: 88617More details Price: $35.00 -
12 ROUNDS WITH OSCAR DE LA HOYA: An Illustrated Tribute to Boxing's Bright Star
Edition: First printing, a large trade paperback original.
Dallas, Texas: Beckett Publications (1998). First edition - Illustrated throughout with full color photographs from his championship fights and earliest ring successes to his youth in Los Angeles, his charity work and his celebrity status. Large square format. 144 pp. ISBN: 1-887432507.
Condition: Fine in glossy illustrated wrappers.
Book ID: 88563More details Price: $20.00 -
BLESS ME, FATHER.
Edition: First printing.
New York: Doubleday, (1995) dj. Hardcover first edition - The first novel by this award-winning journalist, a story of "crime, vengeance, and redemption, set on New York City's meanest streets,. . Frank Battaglia is a swaggering soldier of the Mafia, greedy for the power generations of thugs have taken as their right and compelled by an inner demon to rip away the shame that surrounds him like a shroud." and he plans to use his 16 year old son to do this. 321 pp. ISBN: 0-385474946.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 88190More details Price: $20.00 -
THE SET-UP.
Edition: 6th printing (just one month after the first)
Condition: Good only in illustrated yellow cloth (wear to edges and corners, some loss at top of spine and a short tear to the side of spine, but contents are clean, binding is straight and sturdy)
Book ID: 88042More details Price: $30.00 -
THE SET-UP.
Edition: Limited, signed first edition.
Condition: Very good overall in red and black decorative paper covered boards with a beige cloth spine, paper label on spine - a bit of wear to the edges of the boards, inscription on first blank page, but a tight and sturdy copy.
Book ID: 88041More details Price: $300.00 -
SHADOW BOX.
Edition: First US printing.
New York: Grove Press, (1999) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - Irish author's award winning first book (the Irish Times Literature Prize for Fiction for 1999). This interweaves the lives of three characters: Arthur Cravan, art critic, bon vivant, amateur boxer and nephew of Oscar Wilde, who disappeared shortly after his marriage to poet Mina Loy, as he was attempting to avoid conscription in the first World War, and Jack Johnson who become the first black heavyweight champion of the world. Much of the novel is told in the form of letters between Loy and Johnson, thirty years after Cravan disappered. SIGNED on the title page. Review copy with publisher's material laid in. 308 pp. ISBN: 0-802116477.
Condition: Very near fine in a like dustjacket (some toning and minor foxing to edges of textblock)
Book ID: 87634More details Price: $30.00 -
IRON MAN.
Edition: First printing.
New York: Dial Press, 1930. Hardcover first edition - The author's second novel (his first, 'Little Caesar' was made into the 1931 film, starring Edward G. Robinson and considered the first gangster movie) is a powerful and brutal story of boxing, and the basis for two films: in 1931 featuring Lew Ayres and Jean Harlow and a film noir in 1951 starring Jeff Chandler, Evelyn Keyes and Rock Hudson. 312 pp.
Condition: Very good in dark blue cloth - darkening to spine, some toning to pages, but tight and straight, no dust jacket.
Book ID: 85892More details Price: $27.50 -
FLESH AND BLOOD.
Edition: First printing.
New York: Random House, (1977) dj. Hardcover first edition - The author's third novel, a story of boxing and sexual obsession. From the dust jacket: "They were mother and son. Kate and Bobby Fallon. He was to become the best white heavyweight of his generation, a rough, handsome contender from the streets and bars of Brooklyn." Basis for the 1979 television film of the same name. 276 pp. ISBN: 0-394494377.
Condition: Near fine in very good dust jacket (a bit of creasing and wear to the top edge of the dj, price-clipped).
Book ID: 84419More details Price: $16.50 -
UNFORGIVABLE BLACKNESS: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.
Edition: First printing.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 84204More details Price: $28.50 -
LOSER AND STILL CHAMPION: MUHAMMAD ALI
Edition: Early printing.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1972. dj. Hardcover - Based on Schulberg's time spent with Ali's entourage in the months leading up to the Frazier fight, this is described as "uncompromising look at an uncompromising sport." Illustrated with photographs. Very early printing with code of N14 on last page, indicating a 1972 printing date. 158 pp,
Condition: Very good in a good dust jacket (some rubbing and edgewear to the dj, especially at the ends of the spine)
Book ID: 83876More details Price: $19.50 -
READING THE FIGHTS: The Best Writing About the Most Controversial of Sports.
Edition: 1st trade paperback printing.
New York: Prentice-Hall, (1990). Collects 23 essays on the sport of boxing by Michael Stephens, Norman Mailer, Elliot Gorn, George Plimpton, Pete Hamill, A. J. Liebling, Gay Talese, Edward Hoagland, Gerald Early, George Garrett, and the editors Oates and Halpern and others. Introduction by Halpern. Illustrated with photographs. xii, 305 pp. ISBN: 0-137611498.
Condition: Very good (remainder line)
Book ID: 83848More details Price: $14.50 -
DON'T SKIP OUT ON ME.
Edition: Advance Reading Copy (trade paperback format. )
New York: Harper Perennial, (2018). First edition - A contemporary Western novel about finding your way, finalist for the Pen/Faulkner Award, and an ALA Notable Book. Horace Hopper is a half-Paiute, half-Irish ranch hand who has spent most of his life on the ranch of his kindly guardians, Mr. and Mrs. Reese, herding sheep alone in the mountains of Nevada. The Reeses treat him like a son, but he can't shake the shame he feels from being abandoned by his parents, and so he decides to leave and prove his worth by training to become a boxer. Vlautin's books have been praised by such diverse writers as Craig Johnson, Ursula Le Guin, Ann Patchett and many others. 269 pp
Condition: Fine in illustrated wrappers.
Book ID: 83478More details Price: $17.50 -
DON'T SKIP OUT ON ME.
Edition: Advance Reading Copy (trade paperback format. )
Condition: Fine in illustrated wrappers.
Book ID: 83477More details Price: $27.50 -
CHAMPION: Joe Louis, Black Hero in White America.
Edition: First thus- a trade paperback.
New York & London: Penguin, (1986). A title in The Penguin Sports Library, which traces the life and career of the Black, world heavyweight champion boxer, describes public attitudes towards him, and looks at how he paved the way for other Black athletes. Notes. Index. xii, 330 pp. ISBN: 0-140092854.
Condition: Very good in illustrated wrappers.
Book ID: 83440More details Price: $10.00 -
FAMOUS NEGRO ATHLETES.
Edition: First edition.
New York: Dodd, Mead, (1964) dj. Hardcover first edition - Illustrated with photographs. Biographies ranging from Joe Louis and Satchel page thru Wilt Chamberlain and Althea Gibson. Written for young adults. Index. 155 pp.
Condition: Very good in orange cloth with black lettering in a very good dust jacket (prev owner's last name, the dust jacket flaps had been pasted down inside the covers, separated now some short edgetears to dj, original price of $3.25 on dj flap) Despite the flaws this is a very uncommon first edition in better condition than usually found.
Book ID: 83279More details Price: $65.00 -
HOLYFIELD: The Humble Warrior.
Edition: 2nd printing.
Nashville: Thomas Nelson Inc, (1996) dj. Hardcover - Autobiography of this boxer who was three times the world heavyweight boxing champion, focusing on his youth as he learned to box, his Olympic bronze medal, and his eventual triumph at becoming the champion, as well as the values he held which led to him being called "the real deal." Photographs. 241 pp. ISBN: 0-785276939.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 83098More details Price: $15.00 -
KING OF THE WORLD: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero.
Edition: Trade paperback.
New York: Vintage Books, (1999). More than just a biography of Muhammad Ali, this shows how revolutionary his role was in the world of sports. Cassius Clay grew up in the segregated South but became a beloved figure in American life. Illustrated with photographs. Notes, index. 326 pp. ISBN: 0-375-702296.
Condition: Very good.
Book ID: 83072More details Price: $12.50 -
ALL BLOOD RUNS RED: The Legendary Life of Eugene Bullard - Boxer, Pilot, Soldier, Spy.
Edition: Advance Reading Copy (trade paperback format. )
New York: Hanover Square Press, (2019). First edition - "The extraordinary story of the first African American military pilot in World War I, who went on to become a Paris nightclub impresario, a spy in the French Resistance and an American civil rights pioneer." Bullard, the son of a former slave and an indigenous Creek woman, fled home as a young boy to escape the racial hostility of his Georgia community, determined to get to France. He garnered fame as a boxer, but when war broke out he joined the French Foreign Legion. 324 pp plus author's note and bibliography.
Condition: Fine in glossy illustrated wrappers.
Book ID: 80402More details Price: $27.50 -
(WOMAN) WRITER: Occasions and Opportunities.
Edition: First printing.
New York: Dutton, (1988) dj. Hardcover first edition - Collection of essays on topics ranging from Moby Dick to Emily Dickinson, from Robert Louis Stevenson to Charlotte Bronte, from Kafka to Mike Tyson and boxing, on Hemingway and on using a pseudonym. 402 pp. ISBN: 0-525-246525.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 79803More details Price: $30.00 -
THE GOLDEN PEOPLE.
Edition: First printing.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1965. dj. Hardcover first edition - Informal profiles by this former sportswriter of some of the stars of the "Golden Decade" of the 1920s - in boxing, tennis, baseball, football, golf - including Bobby Jones, Babe Ruth, Gertrude Ederle, Gene Tunney, Helen Wills, Ty Cobb, Jack Dempsey, Knute Rockne and many more. Illustrated with many photographs. 315 pp.
Condition: Very near fine in a very good dustjacket (some short closed edge tears to dj) .
Book ID: 79229More details Price: $20.00 -
BLESS ME, FATHER.
Edition: Advance Reading Copy (trade paperback format. )
New York: Doubleday, (1995). First edition - The first novel by this award-winning journalist, a story of "crime, vengeance, and redemption, set on New York City's meanest streets. Frank Battaglia is a swaggering soldier of the Mafia, greedy for the power generations of thugs have taken as their right and compelled by an inner demon to rip away the shame that surrounds him like a shroud. As a young fighter, Frank fell apart in the ring at Madison Square Garden, a humiliation witnessed by the most powerful gangster in the city. In Frank's eyes, only one person can salvage his reputation: his son Nicky." 321 pp.
Condition: Fine in illustrated wrappers.
Book ID: 78709More details Price: $18.00 -
BLACK AJAX.
Edition: First printing.
London: HarperCollins, (1997.) dj. Hardcover first edition - The true first edition of this highly acclaimed novel based on the true story of the real-life bare-knuckle boxer Tom Molineaux, a Virginia slave who fought his way to freedom and to celebrity in England in the early 1880's. Although not officially part of the Flashman Papers - and set earlier in time during Regency England - Captain 'Mad Buck' Flashman, father of Harry Flashman, plays a large role in this wonderful novel. Glossary. 248 pp. ISBN: 0-00-2255855.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket (appears unread.)
Book ID: 75339More details Price: $25.00 -
(WOMAN) WRITER: Occasions and Opportunities.
Edition: First printing.
New York: Dutton, (1988) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - Collection of essays on topics ranging from Moby Dick to Emily Dickinson, from Robert Louis Stevenson to Charlotte Bronte, from Kafka to Mike Tyson and boxing, on Hemingway and on using a pseudonym. SIGNED on the title page. 402 pp. ISBN: 0-525-246525.
Condition: Near fine in a near fine dustjacket (light wear)
Book ID: 73657More details Price: $35.00 -
DEMPSEY IN NEVADA.
Edition: First edition.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 72151More details Price: $35.00 -
A BETTER GOODBYE.
Edition: Advance Reading Copy (trade paperback format. )
Blue Ash, OH: Tyrus Books, 2015. First edition - The author's first novel, set in Los Angeles, and named a Sports Illustrated Sports Book of the Year 2015. "Nick Pafko knows he can't be a professional boxer forever. But he never guessed it would end so quickly, and so wrong. Broke and unemployed, Nick has little choice but to call a number given to him by a friend. On the other end? Scott, a washed-up B-movie actor who runs a so-called massage parlor looking for somebody desperate enough to work security." 298 pp
Condition: Fine in glossy illustrated wrappers.
Book ID: 70018More details Price: $15.00 -
THE CRIMSON FLASH: A Mystery Story for Boys #4.
Edition: Early printing.
Chicago: Reilly & Lee, (1922). Hardcover - Mystery and adventure set in the circus world and the world of boxing. 238 pp.
Condition: Very good in red cloth with black lettering (prev owner's name dated 1933, a bit of fraying to the ends of the spine)
Book ID: 68827More details Price: $15.00 -
THE CRIMSON FLASH: A Mystery Story for Boys #4.
Edition: First or very early edition.
Chicago: Reilly & Lee, (1922.). Hardcover - Mystery and adventure set in the circus world and the world of boxing. 238 pp.
Condition: Very good in green cloth with black lettering (prev owner's name)
Book ID: 63142More details Price: $18.00 -
BECOMING HOLYFIELD: A Fighter's Journey.
Edition: Advance Reading Copy (trade paperback format. )
New York: Atria Books, (2008). First edition - The story of his rise from poverty to four time world heavyweight boxing champion, told in his own words. Includes an appendix with his professional fight record. Cover praise from President Bill Clinton who says "Passion, drive and athleticism shine through on every page of this absorbing memoir." 273 pp.
Condition: Fine in glossy illustrated wrappers.
Book ID: 59642More details Price: $17.50 -
BUFFALO NICKEL: A MEMOIR.
Edition: First printing.
Houston, TX:' Arte Publico Press, (1992.) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - This coming of age account of a young man at first following his older brother into a life of crime and drug use, and then struggling to save himself (and failing to save his brother) is an "autobiography that reads like a well-crafted novel in its recording of the excessive human costs of drug addication.". SIGNED and dated on the title page. 347 pp. ISBN: 155885049X.
Condition: Near fine in very good dust jacket (creasing to front cover of dj.)
Book ID: 52248More details Price: $35.00