Reviews of Adam Pollack Books

[apollack]

Check out my new book: In the Ring With James J. Corbett, by Adam J. Pollack.

It is available at lulu.com

Those who enjoyed my John L. Sullivan book will enjoy this one. It is $30 paperback, $45 hardback. The preface and intro are available for review.

This is the second book in Adam J. Pollack’s series on the heavyweight champions of the gloved era. It is the most thoroughly researched boxing-detailed biography on James J. Corbett’s career ever written. It reveals new dates, bouts, and facts, shedding fresh light on his experience, skills, and ability. It meticulously describes his bouts and provides multiple viewpoints by local next day newspapers, giving it unparalleled authenticity and accuracy. The exhaustive research provides an encyclopedic wealth of knowledge about Corbett’s boxing career. His bouts are placed into social, legal, racial, and historic contexts, including anti-prize fighting laws and the color line. A complete record of Corbett’s career is included. 435 pages, 51 photos, 820 footnotes, bibliography, index.

Adam J. Pollack is a staff writer for Cyberboxingzone.com, vice chair of USA Boxing’s Judicial Committee and a member of its Women’s Task Force. He is also a boxing coach and attorney living in Iowa City, Iowa.

[bengidaro]

Is it only sold on the internet or books stores too? I don't trust the internet. Get it to book stores and I'll get it.

[apollack]

Just ask around about my Sullivan book. You'll hear good things. This book is just as good. In fact, just type in my name and the title of my first book and you'll see the good reviews. John L. Sullivan: The Career of the First Gloved Heavyweight Champion.

[apollack]

New Corbett book

The Corbett book is of the same quality and style as my John L. Sullivan book.

Here are some reviews of my previous book:






Other reviews:


Pat Myler, Evening Herald, Dublin, 16 Dec. 2006.

"John L. Sullivan, the Irish-American generally recognized by ring historians as the first world heavyweight champion, has been the subject of many biographies.

None has been as comprehensive in describing the Boston Strong Boy's fights as Adam J. Pollack in his most welcome latest addition to the Sullivan library. ...

He set out to make this a definitive story of what happened when the fistic hero squared up, in bare knuckles or gloves, and in this regard he succeeds admirably."


Jack McCormack, Irish Edition, February 2007

“Everything you ever wanted to know about the great John L. Sullivan and early gloved boxing lies within the covers of this work. … If you are a devotee of the manly art, you will enjoy this biography…”

//krikya360.com/forums/sh...t=89294&page=6

[apollack]

New Corbett book

The Corbett book is of the same quality and style as my John L. Sullivan book. Massive detail on Corbett's bouts and exhibitions - round by round reports, pre and post fight analysis, details about his opponents where applicable, discussion of legal and social issues that affected the sport. You will get to know Corbett as a fighter. It contains information that you will not find anywhere else. I found the previously unknown dates of many bouts, and as a result, I was able to provide the next day newspaper reports. You won’t be disappointed.


This from Kevin Smith:

I had the pleasure of reading an advanced copy of Adam's new book and I can assure you that it is quite worth the price of admission. Like Adam's work on Sullivan, In the Ring With James J. Corbett, is a highly detailed, well written, well researched and thoroughly detailed work. I am a big fan of primary sources and this book supllies them in detail, using them to craft a thoroughly accurate and objective look at Corbett's fighting career, his machinations and his business acumen. Adam remains objective in his prose, giving several sides to each fight, each story. In my opinion, Adam's series on the heavyweight champions is the most exhaustively comprehensive group of works available on the fighting lives of these very public and very important social figures. If you want to know about Jim Corbett's career as a fighter, you needn't look any further than In the Ring With James J. Corbett.

I might also add that at 435 pages, the price tag of $30 is a bargain.


See

[Underboss]

the james sullivan book is pretty good. I'm going to check this one out.

[jason100x]

Yeah, the Sullivan book is well worth reading. The fight descriptions are top notch; it almost makes you feel like you are in the fights. Based on that book being so good, I will definitely check out the Corbett book.

[jason100x]

adam is already working on the fitzsimmons one. im helping him with some images. the fitzsimmons one will hopefully be great

That's an excellent choice for a book. I'm looking forward to it.

[jason100x]

I just placed my order so hopefully this book will be arriving soon! I am looking forward to reading it.

[apollack]

New Review of the Sullivan book

Review of Adam J. Pollack’s John L. Sullivan: The Career of the First Gloved Heavyweight Champion.

by Sergei Yurchenko



John L. Sullivan had become a mythical figure long before he decided to quit the ring. Mythical in both his status as quite possibly the greatest athlete there was in the 19th century, and in the number of stories or legends about him, which were not always true. One of the biggest examples of the latter was that he was primarily a bareknuckle fighter.

A lot was written about Sullivan, some books focusing on him exclusively, some dedicating a chapter to his role in the history of heavyweight boxing. But too often they focused primarily on his biggest fights and on his personality, and offered little about his lesser-known fights and opponents. There wasn't one book that stood out as the consensus best about him. Some preferred his autobiography, some thought Isenberg's 'John L. Sullivan and His America' was best and most thoroughly researched, while some chose Chidsey's 'John the Great' for his writing style.

And while the question about the best description of his personality and his life remains unanswered, it seems to be consensus opinion now that the best book on him as a fighter is the one written by Adam J. Pollack. It's hard to disagree with that.

The author of 'John L. Sullivan - The Career of the First Gloved Heavyweight Champion' reveals his goals from the very beginning:

- present facts and analysis that is based mostly on primary sources;
- provide multiple views where there's a discrepancy between different sources and let the reader decide which of them seems to be closer to truth;
- discuss his opponents, to provide insight into significance of each fight;
- describe the way Sullivan developed as a fighter, his skills and abilities, providing opinions of both his critics and his followers and fans;
- describe the epoch when he fought, and his influence on the course of history in general, and the history of boxing in particular.

The book fulfills these tasks nearly perfectly. The efforts Adam J. Pollack has put into his research is visible from the start, the number of sources and the quality of them is immense, and the way he treats them as a true historian, with excellent objectivity and neutrality, that are not at all clouded by his affection to the object of his research.

The fighting record of Sullivan not only grows in size and rids of multiple errors as compared to any other version that has been compiled before, but it stops being just a list of names on paper too. The author carefully paints images of many of them, who they were and how significant was their role on the boxing scene.

And even though Adam J. Pollack has decided to concentrate only on that part of Sullivan's life that is relevant to his fighting career, the personality of this great pugilist becomes much clearer after reading this book than can be achieved from reading of any other books on him. Dislike of bareknuckle rules; lack of passion for boxing later in his career, drawing the color line and the indecision about his position on it - all these points are discussed in detail.

It can be only criticized the way the book ends at the Corbett fight, without much discussion on it and on what happened to Sullivan afterwards, but this is easily excused by the fact that the author is going to continue and finish the story of Sullivan in his later books, one of which has already been finished and is available via lulu.com, and supposedly discusses the conqueror of Sullivan, James J. Corbett, as thoroughly as the book being reviewed discusses Sullivan. It’s called: In the Ring With James J. Corbett.

In all, the book is a must-have for any follower of the 'sweet science', and fully deserves a place on the shelf with the best books ever written on boxing.



John L. Sullivan: The Career of the First Gloved Heavyweight Champion is available at



In the Ring With James J. Corbett is available at