| ||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £2.40
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Bad Intentions: The Mike Tyson Story for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £2.40, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Mike Tyson is boxing's most beloved bad boy. With a history of street-gang violence, juvenile prison, sexual scandal, marital strife, courtroom battles, and imprisonment for rape, he has become one of the most publicized athletes in history. At age 23 he was already considered among the greatest prizefighters of all time, and, his career is far from over. Relying on in-depth research and interviews with those who have known Tyson at every stage of his life, Bad Intentions portrays the shy child who became a vicious street thug, discovered boxing in juvenile prison, and was brought to the attention of the legendary Cus D'Amato to be shaped to be one thing onlyheavyweight champion of the world. Here is Tyson's fight-by-fight path to that goal, the millions of dollars made and fought over, the sex and violence of his personal life, and his eventual defeats both in the ring and in court. Bad Intentions is an essential read for all who would understand the ins and outs of the most controversial sport in America.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Monday, June 27, 1988. Convention Hall. Atlantic City, New Jersey. The job of a good boxing manager is to serve his fighter to the best of his ability; to gain every physical, psychological and financial edge he possibly can for his warrior. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Monday, June 27, 1988. Convention Hall. Atlantic City, New Jersey. The job of a good boxing manager is to serve his fighter to the best of his ability; to gain every physical, psychological and financial edge he possibly can for his warrior. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Good insight and well researched book about the early years of Mike Tyson life, i.e. his training with Cus at Catskills and fights before prison.
6 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Peter Heller digs into the crats to get the truth of Iron Mike. The book is a excellent step by step guideline to Tyson's rollercoaster life.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
9 reviews
19 of 23 people found the following review helpful
A Heavyweight Account
11 Nov 2003
Format:Paperback
'Bad Intentions: The Mike Tyson Story' is an enthralling account of the boxer's rise and fall. Peter Niels Heller's assiduous scholarship and precise analyses combine to create a portrait that is both compelling and frightening. Drawn into professional boxing at the age of 19, Tyson quickly established himself as the boxer to beat. No-one could. Ultimately, he defeated himself, being sentenced to six years in prison in 1992. However, rather than surrender to the nihilism of incarceration, Tyson fought back. As Heller says on page 126, 'He was on his personal canvas, the Celestial Referee was about to count 9, and then it happened; Tyson stood up, bowed but unbeaten. With renewed energy, he determined that he would change; become a better person. The miracle had begun, and within a month he was working on a lathe in the carpentry shop, turning himself into a model prisoner first, a fruit bowl second and finally an elaborate rocking horse. So impressed were the authorities that they gave the boxer early release and a free white ant inspection.'
These days, Tyson continues to be an ornament, proudly positioned on Don King's mantlepiece.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
You Must Throw Every Punch With Bad Intentions
12 July 2004
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
You Must Throw Every Punch With Bad Intentions
4.75 Stars
Bad Intentions - more than just a title - it's a D'Amato philosophy.
A great quote from Cus D'Amato that stuck with throughout the book and after:
"No matter what anyone says, no matter the excuse or explanation, whatever a person does in the end is what he intended to do all along."
Really a fantastic book from the beginning - Tyson as a kid - Cus & The Kid all the way to where it ends - the rape trial and conviction. This is a great read and an attention-grabbing perspective on Tyson and those around him.
You get a deeper look at and much needed tour of D'Amato, Jacobs, Cayton, Rooney and the entire original Team Tyson line up - I can't help but wish that Mike stayed with them. These people really seemed to have his best interest in mind and truly loved him.
My one complaint is Heller's take on the rape trial - I felt he did a horrible job with the review of details and happenings - to say that Tyson's lawyer was of the same caliber of Clarence Darrow - PLEASE - the guy was Don Kings TAX attorney - he had no business defending Tyson - there were witnesses not allowed to testify, his strategy was ridiculous and there are other issues that I just wont include in this review...
I recommend this book and once I finished I wish there was more. I found it complete (for the time it covered), thorough and mostly accurate (except the trial/conviction) - it's one of those books where you feel part of the story.
Both the Tyson fan and non-fan can enjoy this book.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
world is complicated, unfair, painful
24 Dec 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Mike Tyson is so fundamentally interesting that any book about him that even states the facts is going to be fascinating. The book does a good job of describing the boxing scene at the time of and the complexity of the figures surrounding Tyson's early life. Tyson is a paradox. He was sensitive and loved his pigeons, bullied as a child for his lisp, but then grew to be a violent criminal by age 10. He is at times intelligent, articulate, victimized, but acts crazily, ruled by his emotions, and often doesn't hesitate to abuse others. D'Amato is both Tyson's rescuer and exploiter, a paradox of a person himself, both idealistic and seemingly selfless but also with tunnel vision in regard to his priorities. This book recounts what happens to a person who becomes totally unbalanced: #1 in the world at such a young age (few can understand what it's like to be #1 in the world at anything, not to mention such a public and violent sport as boxing) but immature and unstable in so many other aspects of his personality and ability. Tyson's mentors emphasized his strengths but his weaknesses were ignored so that they ultimately destroyed him. His relationships with women, especially his wife Givens, depicts a man who starved for love but who doesn't know how to show it or recognize it- he gives Givens everything and allows her to control his life and money but cannot stop cheating on her and can't see that she's using him. Maybe all his relationships had been exploitive for so long he viewed use as part of love. A few good people around him try to guide him but they can't rescue or control someone so imbalanced. The portrayals of the people surrounding Tyson are thorough and fascinating and I end up feeling sorry for everyone in this whole book. It's weird to feel pity for someone who rapes various people at the age of 14 (Tyson) or a power hungry woman with a dominating mother (Givens) but learning about their lives makes me feel so lucky I'm not in that arena. Many injustices occur and it seems like the truly good or bad people never get what they deserve. This book increased my understanding of boxing, contained complex portrayals and histories of the key people, and left me in awe of Tyson's skills, especially in contrast to the extent of his terrible, pathetic weaknesses and flaws. The book ends before the 2nd half of Tyson's life starts, before he becomes a vegan etc. Tyson's story is still not over. His life seems filled with endless pain, tragic because he's extremely lucky compared to people born in his position without his talents. Thus despite all the horrible things he's done, I hope that he can become a good, happy person.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
