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The Fight
The Fight | Norman Mailer
4 posts | 4 read | 1 reading | 5 to read
In 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaïre, two African American boxers were paid five million dollars apiece to fight each other. One was Muhammad Ali, the aging but irrepressible “professor of boxing.” The other was George Foreman, who was as taciturn as Ali was voluble. Observing them was Norman Mailer, a commentator of unparalleled energy, acumen, and audacity. Whether he is analyzing the fighters’ moves, interpreting their characters, or weighing their competing claims on the African and American souls, Mailer’s grasp of the titanic battle’s feints and stratagems—and his sensitivity to their deeper symbolism—makes this book a masterpiece of the literature of sport. Praise for The Fight “Exquisitely refined and attenuated . . . [a] sensitive portrait of an extraordinary athlete and man, and a pugilistic drama fully as exciting as the reality on which it is based.”—The New York Times “One of the defining texts of sports journalism. Not only does Mailer recall the violent combat with a scholar’s eye . . . he also makes the whole act of reporting seem as exciting as what’s occurring in the ring.”—GQ “Stylistically, Mailer was the greatest boxing writer of all time.”—Chuck Klosterman, Esquire “One of Mailer’s finest books.”—Louis Menand, The New Yorker Praise for Norman Mailer “[Norman Mailer] loomed over American letters longer and larger than any other writer of his generation.”—The New York Times “A writer of the greatest and most reckless talent.”—The New Yorker “Mailer is indispensable, an American treasure.”—The Washington Post “A devastatingly alive and original creative mind.”—Life “Mailer is fierce, courageous, and reckless and nearly everything he writes has sections of headlong brilliance.”—The New York Review of Books “The largest mind and imagination [in modern] American literature . . . Unlike just about every American writer since Henry James, Mailer has managed to grow and become richer in wisdom with each new book.”—Chicago Tribune “Mailer is a master of his craft. His language carries you through the story like a leaf on a stream.”—The Cincinnati Post
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The_Book_Ninja
The Fight | Norman Mailer
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Mehso-so

No, not the story of Mailer‘s fight with Rip Torn (It‘s on YouTube-and it‘s the most bizarre thing you‘ll ever see), but Norman‘s inside report from the boxers‘ camp in Zaire during the Foreman/Ali fight. There‘s no ambiguity here: Mailer‘s ego is much bigger than Ali‘s- how dare this pugilist get as much money for fighting as I get for writing intellectual masterpieces? Tropes, stereotypes, casual and explicit racism abound from pompous Mailer.

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RedFezChris
The Fight | Norman Mailer
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Really digging Mailer's style so far but find it funny how many times he's started a metaphor/simile with "all the". In the first 15 pages it was like 3-4 times. He's using a lot of little things I've never really encountered before. I guess that's why he's Norman Mailer.

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Kimbow
The Fight | Norman Mailer
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RIP Muhammad Ali 😞

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outofprint
The Fight | Norman Mailer
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RIP, Muhammad Ali

Donna_sBookMinute RIP Champ. GOAT. 8y
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