Shadow Box

An Amateur in the Ring

By: George Plimpton, Mike Lupica - introduction

Narrated by: Jeff Bottoms

George Plimpton makes his riskiest foray into participatory journalism -- stepping into the ring against a champion boxer -- in Shadow Box, repackaged and including never-before-seen content from the Plimpton archives.

Stepping into the ring against light-heavyweight champion Archie Moore, George Plimpton pauses to wonder what ever induced him to become a participatory journalist. Bloodied but unbowed, he holds his own in the bout -- and lives to tell, in this timeless book on boxing and its devotees, among them Ali, Joe Frazier, Ernest Hemingway, and Norman Mailer.

Shadow Box is one of Plimpton's most engaging studies of professional sport, told through the eyes of an inquisitive and astute amateur. From the gym, the locker room, ringside, and even in the harsh glare of the ring itself, Plimpton documents what it is like to be a boxer, an artist of mayhem.

Critic reviews

"Excellent sports reporting. The chapters on Muhammad Ali are delightful, and Ali is not easy to write about."—Time

"A delight--more entertaining, if possible, than I remembered... the reader leaves George Plimpton's wide world of sports with deep reluctance.... His prose is as elegant and seemingly effortless as Ted Williams's swing or an Arnold Palmer iron shot.... His teammates recede--like the old baseball players vanishing into the cornfield in Field of Dreams, taking their magical world with them but living on in fond memory."—Edward Kosner, Wall Street Journal

"Sports memoirs, like humor collections, rarely outlive their authors, but Plimpton's books have aged gracefully and even matured. Today they have the additional (and unintended) appeal of vivid history, bearing witness to a mythical era."—Nathaniel Rich, New York Review of Books

Beautiful

Boxing is beautiful. George Plimton brings boxing to life with stories in and out of the the ring.

A great view into why boxing matters

With a writing style sadly absent in today’s literature, this book is about boxing as much as it is an insight into a lost slice of Americana. Narration was perfect with echoes of the author’s tone. A fun journey.

Mid-Century American Machismo from a More Nuanced Perspective

The book is a witty adventure into boxing that becomes a who’s who of mid-century athletes and writers. A super fun listen for fans of Muhammad Ali, Norman Mailer, Hemingway, and Hunter S. Thompson – all from the perspective of the “straight man” watching all of these characters whirl around the fray. Well narrated as well.