The Harder They Fall: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Vintage boxing expose
Review: Budd Schulberg's 1947 classic isn't nearly as dated as you might think. The Harder They Fall is a fictitious expose of the seamier underbelly of the boxing rackets as they existed in the 40's. It provided the framework for an excellent 1956 movie of the same name which was Bogart's final flick.

Through the eyes of Eddie Lewis, an Ivy League educated sometimes sportswriter who is on the payroll of mobster Nick Latka, we see the deceipt and unscrupulousness of the boxing business. Latka has elevated himself from a small time juvenile delinquent to one of the heads of the boxing racket. He pulls the strings of corruption from his palatial estate. For a weekly stipend, Lewis is the press agent for Latka's boxing patsies.

Latka's latest crony is one Toro Molina, a gargantuan peasant boy and wine barrel maker from Argentina. Brought to the U.S. by the owner of a circus in which he performed as a strong man, Molina's contract is bought by Latka. Unfortunately Molina is slow, lumbering, unschooled in self defense, and has powder puff punching power.

Regardless, Latka plans to glorify Molina and through a series of fixed fights designed to elevate him to championship contending status. What follows is the inevitable rise to the penthouse followed by the fall to the cellar and the endless depravity to make a dishonest dollar.

Rating:
Summary: Vintage boxing expose
Review: Budd Schulberg's 1947 classic isn't nearly as dated as you might think. The Harder They Fall is a fictitious expose of the seamier underbelly of the boxing rackets as they existed in the 40's. It provided the framework for an excellent 1956 movie of the same name which was Bogart's final flick.

Through the eyes of Eddie Lewis, an Ivy League educated sometimes sportswriter who is on the payroll of mobster Nick Latka, we see the deceipt and unscrupulousness of the boxing business. Latka has elevated himself from a small time juvenile delinquent to one of the heads of the boxing racket. He pulls the strings of corruption from his palatial estate. For a weekly stipend, Lewis is the press agent for Latka's boxing patsies.

Latka's latest crony is one Toro Molina, a gargantuan peasant boy and wine barrel maker from Argentina. Brought to the U.S. by the owner of a circus in which he performed as a strong man, Molina's contract is bought by Latka. Unfortunately Molina is slow, lumbering, unschooled in self defense, and has powder puff punching power.

Regardless, Latka plans to glorify Molina and through a series of fixed fights designed to elevate him to championship contending status. What follows is the inevitable rise to the penthouse followed by the fall to the cellar and the endless depravity to make a dishonest dollar.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Read!
Review: I was a big fan of What Makes Sammy Run and I thought this novel was on par. The action moves quickly, but unpredictably. I didn't know or care much about boxing, but this book showed both the sadness and the beauty of the sport.

Rating:
Summary: A disturbing, unforgetable work
Review: If you are interested in boxing and like your tales full of insight into the darker nature of man, then go for this book. The characters are not complex, they might even be called cartoonish, but its a classic tale of how a man, a PR flack, loses his moral compass. Its written in the same style of a Hammett novel but the author's not quite as a much a master of the style. Nonetheless, a good period piece and boxing novel.

Rating:
Summary: Well written but dated
Review: The novel is an interesting tale of the classic American boxing age, but Schulberg's attempt to bring it current with slams on Don King is a stretch. Read it for what it is: the story of a bygone age, not an-up-to date review of the ring.

Rating:
Summary: Well written but dated
Review: The novel is an interesting tale of the classic American boxing age, but Schulberg's attempt to bring it current with slams on Don King is a stretch. Read it for what it is: the story of a bygone age, not an-up-to date review of the ring.

Rating:
Summary: Schulberg should be more famous
Review: WMSR is enjoying a nice revival at the moment, and it's time for this superior work to come into the sun as well.
What's most arresting about Schulberg is his ability to infuse formulaic subject matter with pathos and humanity. He wears his politics on his sleave, but his characters don't suffer much because of it. In an era when partisan opinion is treated as graceless error, it's exciting to read someone who gives a damn about the sorry state of the world.
Schulberg handles American vernacular speach well, but falters with his Argentine characters. Still, a rapid, crisp and entertaining book