"Cashmore makes an excellent insight into the image of Mike Tyson"

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Product Description

Beast. Monster. Savage. Psycho. The glowering menace of Mike Tyson has spooked us for almost two decades. And still we remain fascinated. Why? Ellis Cashmore′s answer is disturbing: white society has created Tyson as vengeance for the loss of privilege produced by civil rights.

Cashmore′s eviscerating analysis of Tyson′s life and the culture in which he grew up, rose to prominence and descended into disgrace provokes the reader into re–thinking the role of one of the most controversial and infamous figures of recent history. Told as an odyssey–style homeward journey to Tyson′s multi–pathological origins in the racially–explosive ghettos of the 1960s, Tyson′s story is part biography, part tragedy and part exposition. His associations with people like Al Sharpton, Don King and Tupac Shakur shaped his life; and events, such as the O J Simpson trial and the Rodney King riots, formed a turbulent background for the Tyson psychodrama.

Over the course of an epic boxing career, Tyson was transformed from the most celebrated athlete on earth to a primal, malevolent hate–figure. Yet, even after being condemned as a brute, Tyson retained a power – a power to captivate. Cashmore reveals that the sources of that power lie as much in us as in Tyson himself.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #120858 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

Review
“A terrific read! This a fascinating study of a central figure in American life. Meticulously researched and perfectly timed, Tyson does more than any previous work to put Mike Tyson′s story in its proper sprawling context.”

Grant Wahl, Sports Illustrated

“Ellis Cashmore has gone beneath the persona of Tyson with intelligent sensitivity. He has pointed us towards the motives in the psyche of an extraordinary figure in the history of sport and analysed why Tyson remains such a figure of fascination to so many people.”

John Goodbody, The Times

“Ellis Cashmore’s book will fascinate and frustrate an unusually wide range of readers. He juxtaposes the biography of Mike Tyson against mini–narratives of other prominent athletes and celebrities, African American leaders, and contemporaneous incidents, allowing biographical narrative to unfold almost seamlessly into analysis and cultural history. In situating Tyson in his times, Cashmore offers an uncompromising critique of late twentieth–century US race relations, as well as presenting a compelling account of an intriguing career and life story.”

Douglas Hartmann, University of Minnesota

"His account is a well–written and fascinating attempt to help us understand this. It will undoubtedly appeal to a large readership. It is not a purely academic read, but neither is it a trashy hagiography. As such it deserves a broad audience outside of what is traditional for an ′academic′ book."

Guy Osborn, University of Westminster

From the Back Cover
Beast. Monster. Savage. Psycho. The glowering menace of Mike Tyson has spooked us for almost two decades. And still we remain fascinated. Why? Ellis Cashmore′s answer is disturbing: white society has created Tyson as vengeance for the loss of privilege produced by civil rights.

Told as an odyssey–style homeward journey to Tyson′s multi–pathological origins in the racially–explosive ghettos of the 1960s, Tyson′s story is part biography, part tragedy and part exposition. His associations with people like Al Sharpton, Don King and Tupac Shakur shaped his life; and events, such as the O J Simpson trial and the Rodney King riots, formed a turbulent background for the Tyson psychodrama. Over the course of an epic boxing career, Tyson was transformed from the most celebrated athlete on earth to a primal, malevolent hate–figure. Yet, even after being condemned as a brute, Tyson retained a power – a power to captivate. Cashmore reveals that the sources of that power lie as much in us as in Tyson himself.

About the Author
Ellis Cashmore is Professor of Culture, Media and Sport at Staffordshire University

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Customer Reviews

Tyson : The true story
Great book. Well structured,bringing to the monster to life in the form of words. The chilling start to the book and the overall structure of the first chapter draws the reader in and the subsequent chapters take you on a trip of destruction. Cashmore makes an excellent insight into the image of Mike Tyson and how he tries to keep away the stereotype of Tyson being a bad boy. He develops the image of Tyson as a black role model and how the black culture has changed since 1966.

The comparison of Mike Tyson with Sonny Liston is scary but evitable. Lets hope we are wrong.

Excellent read, if you buy one book on Tyson, buy this one

The Tyson parts are OK
If you are interested in Tyson this book has something to offer, however you must be prepared for a completely blinkered view of the US from an Englishman. We are constantly subjected to one side of a story in an attempt to show the times in which Tyson had the greatest part of his career. Listen to this for example, 'There are few images in the popular imagination more terrifying to whites than that of a minatory black male.' Now in case you are wondering, no there are no statistics, research or other evidence to support this flawed and entirely racist remark. Or this, 'When a black man rapes a white woman, it reiterates a centuries-old fear about the propensities of black men and the vulnerability of white women.' Again, absolutely no supporting evidence. Or try this for size, 'Here was the surly black brute, dark, sinister and dangerous, a throwback to days when lynching or emasculation were the prescribed methods of taming bestial black males...'. Noone so far has considered Tyson bestial except for Cashmore. These are just some examples of the breathtaking racism and bias throughout this work. I bought it first time I saw it in a bookshop but I would certainly advise against buying it. Each section about Tyson is followed by a chapter on the US racial condition at the time which is loosely related to Tyson and allows a stage for Cashmore to present his often flawed racial arguments and opinions. The main problem with this book is Cashmore tries to be too clever, if he stuck to a book about Tyson it would have been good, if he had stuck to an analysis of racism in America then that too would have been good, this instead is a mishmash of nonsense wrapped around Tysons career and life. Don't buy this but take a look for a laugh at the nonsense someone who should know better has put together.

tyson review
This book is the best book i've read in ages. It goes into depth, and kept me reading on and on. shows him from many differnet angles.