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Serenity: A Boxing Memoir
"This is a surprising book, a terrific book. It's not about boxing, but about an odd, demanding world in which boxing is the thread, the key to existence. Wiley deftly broadens the delineation of this world and its people. Perceptive reporting is the foundation and perceptive reporting is rare enough. Wiley enhances it with clear, quick writing laced with humor and with a sensitivity that lends brilliance to this impressive work."-Robert W. Creamer, author of Baseball and Other Matters in 1941. "Ralph Wiley, with Serenity, has produced an original book about the ring. . . . He can dig beneath the surface and show us what really happened in a why Thomas Hearns, with too much faith in his powerful right hand, lost to Sugar Ray Leonard in their first match. . . . Or why Roberto Durán was acting out of prudence, not cowardice, when he quit in his second fight against Leonard. . . . Yet the book is not really about boxing. Boxing in Serenity is what T. S. Eliot, speaking of plot, called the meat a burglar brings to distract the watchdog. The book is really about growing up in a world where you had to defend yourself physically to survive."-New York Times. "Wiley's rapport with boxers is profound."-Publisher's Weekly. "Wiley is one writer who really knows his way around a boxing ring. . . . [He writes] with passion and understanding about complex, violent men and their oddly redemptive sport."-Booklist. Ralph Wiley is the author or coauthor of several works, most recently Born to The Eric Davis Story.
- GenresSports
242 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 24, 2008
Half a great book.
The section on Bobby Chacon is one of the best pieces of boxing writing I've ever come across. The section on Mike Tyson is one of the worst (the author posits a conspiracy by The Man to frame Tyson and bring him down, and somehow manages to weave the CIA and the AIDS epidemic in as well).
The chapter on the rivalry between Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard is also top notch.
Overall the good outweighs the bad, but it's a disappointing book.
The section on Bobby Chacon is one of the best pieces of boxing writing I've ever come across. The section on Mike Tyson is one of the worst (the author posits a conspiracy by The Man to frame Tyson and bring him down, and somehow manages to weave the CIA and the AIDS epidemic in as well).
The chapter on the rivalry between Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard is also top notch.
Overall the good outweighs the bad, but it's a disappointing book.
May 2, 2007
Being myself an observer of the fight game with a familial connection to the sport, I appreciate how Wiley identifies boxing as a unifying theme in his life, writing about his uncle, a former prizefighter; his own adolescent experiences with fighting for sport, self-esteem and self-defense; his development as a writer and newspaperman; his education as a ringside reporter; his move from the Oakland Tribune to Sports Illustrated; and finally his insights into the legendary fights and fighters of the last 40 years. Outstanding writing and reportage framed within a personal context that should appeal to even the most casual fight fan.
November 24, 2017
I miss Ralph Wiley. I was introduced to his work on ESPN's Page 2 in the years before his death, and always thought of him as a noble Stephen A. Smith. Jeffrey Wright would play him in the movie. i didn't realize until after his unfortunate death in '02, he didn't have much of a library of work. When I finally came across a copy of Serenity, I was thrilled: he makes boxing intimate and impersonal, a blazing-fast exercise in bravado, instinct, and the Hot Rod. And he keeps it relatable by tying the sport and its participants into his growth and development as a man and as a writer. I really enjoyed it.
January 9, 2017
Ralph Wiley wrote for "Sports Illustrated" and could also be caught doing commentary and interviews for various boxing documentaries (usually aired on HBO). This is my first experience with his writing. I sought out this book on the advice of a "Ring Magazine" article that proclaimed this the best book ever written on the sweet science. I'm not yet ready to call this book the best, since I haven't read every book on boxing (though I intend to). That said, "Serenity" is as near to perfect as one could hope, and ranks up there with McRae's "Dark Trade" as a flat-out masterpiece.
Wiley's focus is on the 80s. when the book was written. At this time there was a golden age in the lower weight classes, with Leonard, Hagler, Duran, and Hearns vying for ultimate supremacy. Mike Tyson wasn't vying for anything; he was mowing down all comers in his path. Wiley leavens his insights on the sport of boxing with details from his life, and chapters on the historical forefathers of the fighters whose lives and legacies he chronicles. There is some great writing on the original "Sugar", Ray Robinson, as well as unexpectedly illuminating ruminations on Ali and Holmes. That Wiley understood how underrated Holmes was in the late 80s is just one example of his uncommon insight (it seems like general reevaluation of the "Easton Assassin" didn't begin in earnest until the early 2000s, which puts Wiley more than a solid decade ahead of the rest of the punditry).
As with the best books on the sport, Wiley makes it all very personal and riveting, and even manages to frame his chapter on Tyson as a letter to his son. He also sees the parallels between boxing and writing that have been cliche since Hemingway made them, but he does what all great writers do and breathes new life into what was considered well-covered ground. It's a shame the man is dead, although at least I have a large backlog of his writing now to trawl through. Rest in Peace, Ralph Wiley. Highest Recommendation.
Wiley's focus is on the 80s. when the book was written. At this time there was a golden age in the lower weight classes, with Leonard, Hagler, Duran, and Hearns vying for ultimate supremacy. Mike Tyson wasn't vying for anything; he was mowing down all comers in his path. Wiley leavens his insights on the sport of boxing with details from his life, and chapters on the historical forefathers of the fighters whose lives and legacies he chronicles. There is some great writing on the original "Sugar", Ray Robinson, as well as unexpectedly illuminating ruminations on Ali and Holmes. That Wiley understood how underrated Holmes was in the late 80s is just one example of his uncommon insight (it seems like general reevaluation of the "Easton Assassin" didn't begin in earnest until the early 2000s, which puts Wiley more than a solid decade ahead of the rest of the punditry).
As with the best books on the sport, Wiley makes it all very personal and riveting, and even manages to frame his chapter on Tyson as a letter to his son. He also sees the parallels between boxing and writing that have been cliche since Hemingway made them, but he does what all great writers do and breathes new life into what was considered well-covered ground. It's a shame the man is dead, although at least I have a large backlog of his writing now to trawl through. Rest in Peace, Ralph Wiley. Highest Recommendation.
March 17, 2019
a brilliant synthesis of Wiley's best writing on boxing with revealing stories from his childhood, adolescence, college years (he played college football at Knoxville College, an HBCU founded shortly after the Civil War), and various reporting gigs leading to his memorable run at Sports Illustrated.
I'm not sure I agree with Wiley's over-arcing claim about seasoned fighters like his uncle developing a sense of "serenity," but his many smaller observations about the men he covered ring true. Wiley is an ex-jock, and those of us who have been "in the arena" at the collegiate level can tell when that's the case...there's a certain swagger, a certain sense of knowing where one is, that comes with each story. In other words, Wiley is never truly impressed by the people he covers, merely appreciative.
As a side note, Wiley's much simpler letter to his son is far less showoff-y than Ta-Nahesi Coates', and as a result much more humane and heartfelt (but no aware of race/etc. in the US...Wiley never got the credit he deserved for tackling those subjects).
I'm not sure I agree with Wiley's over-arcing claim about seasoned fighters like his uncle developing a sense of "serenity," but his many smaller observations about the men he covered ring true. Wiley is an ex-jock, and those of us who have been "in the arena" at the collegiate level can tell when that's the case...there's a certain swagger, a certain sense of knowing where one is, that comes with each story. In other words, Wiley is never truly impressed by the people he covers, merely appreciative.
As a side note, Wiley's much simpler letter to his son is far less showoff-y than Ta-Nahesi Coates', and as a result much more humane and heartfelt (but no aware of race/etc. in the US...Wiley never got the credit he deserved for tackling those subjects).
July 31, 2008
This is one of those great little personal books about boxing - it's a secret gem. The stories range from learning to box as a kid growing up in Oakland CA to being a sports reporter covering Mike Tyson (interesting, but if you've read Joyce Carol Oates on Mike Tyson you can give it a miss). If you like boxing books you won't regret picking this one up.
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August 5, 2011Good stuff.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews