Editorial Reviews:
Iron Mike collects the best writing on the tumultuous fifteen-year career of the most reviled and idolized athlete in the world, Michael Gerard Tyson. Since becoming, at age nineteen, the youngest heavyweight champion in history, Tyson's dramatic rise, fall, and continuing struggle has provoked more passionate writing, both in and out of the sports pages, than that of any other boxer since Muhammad Ali. Iron Mike is about more than boxing. Like no other athlete, Mike Tyson is at the nexus of America's cultural anxieties about race, class, masculinity, violence, and celebrity; like no other athlete his story of high drama and low comedy inspires writers to wrestle with these themes, with Tyson often no more than the occasion for the writer's own preoccupations. And Tyson has provided many such occasions: his rise to the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship at age twenty-one; his rocky marriage to Robin Givens; his controversial conviction for the rape of Desiree Washington; his return to boxing and reclamation of the WBC and WBA belts; his biting of Evander Holyfield. Iron Mike is a kaleidoscopic portrait of a man who, for better and worse, is one of the most recognizable, popular, and defining icons of our time. The book includes selections from Joyce Carol Oates, Pete Hamill, Jose Torres, Pete Dexter, Phil Berger, Christopher Hitchens, Robert Lipsyte, Dave Anderson, Jonathan Yardley, Richard Rodriguez, Katherine Dunn, Budd Schulberg, William Plummer, David Remnick, Keith Botsworth, and others.
Customer Reviews:
 Wow this is a compilation of many Tyson prose and it's great.
Great job putting this together.
The only thing I would have liked is a little more details within the fighters life.  For The Tyson Fan, Hater & Everyone Interested
For The Tyson Fan, The Tyson Hater & Everyone Interested In The Tyson StoryTruly a great and encompassing book. First - you should know that I am a big Mike Tyson enthusiast and supporter. Iron Mike - A Mike Tyson Reader - is a compilation of stories written by different authors. The chapters go pretty much in chronological order of Tyson's life. From a touch on his childhood to the classic saga of Cus & The Kid to post Holyfield II. You get different perspectives of Tyson from those that see him in different ways. You get the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. I felt that a lot of what is covered in the book was pretty fair and balanced (to borrow a phrase). I really appreciated and got a lot out of the different views and different interpretations of Tyson from those who knew him in different avenues of his life. I went into reading this with a sympathetic view of Mike and this view was reinforced and I was actually given more insight into the hardships that he has had to face as a kid and as an adult. You would think that with his money and fame how could he have such a hard time, well this book does a good job in showing you how. What stands out for me is the rape conviction. He had a horrible lawyer - Don King's tax attorney, certain witnesses weren't allowed to testify, certain evidence was not admitted and let's admit it - if he was a Kennedy (see William Kennedy Smith) he wouldn't have gone to jail. There are some extremely interesting chapters in this that are genuinely eye opening into just how unfairly Mike Tyson has treated and taken advantage of. Highly recommended to any boxing fan and especially recommended for anyone interested in the story of Tyson - fan or hater - you'll learn something. Finally
Well, this book is the best all around book I have seen on Iron Mike, and believe me I have seen and read them all. It finally gives an extensive look on this complex individual. Mike is a genius whose greatness may never be understood for years to come. Every quote you you've ever read about him or interview you have ever seen has been doctored to portray him has a brutal, ignorant bully. But in truth he is a very introverted, intelligent, and compassionate human being. But, the media needs a villain so consequently we have an amazing misunderstanding of who the man really is. This book pulls no punches and shows both sides of this often troubled and victimized individual. Be Real Mike and never give up your goal of regaining your belts.Peace,
Soldier
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(3 reviews)
