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A Flame of Pure Fire

Jack Dempsey and the Roaring '20s

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A Flame of Pure Fire

By: Roger Kahn
Narrated by: Kevin Yon
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About this listen

Through most of the Roaring '20s, Jack Dempsey was the heavyweight champion of the world. With his fierce good looks and matchless dedication to the kill, he was a fighter perfectly suited to his time.

In A Flame of Pure Fire, renowned sports writer Roger Kahn not only chronicles the thrilling, brutal bouts of the Manassa Mauler, but also illustrates how the tumultuous 1920s shaped Dempsey - and how the champ, in turn, left an indelible mark on sports and American history.

©2000 Roger Kahn (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Americas Boxing Combat Sports & Self-Defense Historical Sports Sports History United States

Critic reviews

"One doesn't have to be a fan of boxing to be enthralled by this story of a nice guy who didn't finish last." ( The New Yorker)
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I love this book and this is my second read as I also own the paper version of it and enjoyed it a few years back. Jack Dempsey with Tyson and Ali are my favourite boxing characters in history and the key thing that I enjoyed about this book is that we are provided with all of the intricacies pertaining to the time period which makes this story even more enjoyable.

And we think life is hard now!!

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Great narrator, excellent biography,
Factually sound for the most part, and I can be as pedantic as the worst of them.
I could only find 2 errors .. and they were minor.
I was delighted with this book

Flawless

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Very interesting insight into the legend of the Jack Dempsey against the backdrop of his day.

Champ

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What a listen.

This is up there with the life and times of the amazing John L.
This is brilliant story telling brought to life. I love the closing remarks, that when the Superb JD passed away, so did the title "Champ"
This story really brings Jack (William) to life. His early struggles,his need to move in order to survive, but I think most of all, his compassion whilst outside of the ring. His love for fellow human beings.
what a man!!!

The passion, the wonderment and the Greatness

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Downloaded this as i was interested in learning something about the first black heavyweight champion. So you can imagine my initial disappointment...which lasted about ten minutes. Fabulous read/listen. Great social commentary and history of this exciting period & boxer. Couldn't put it down (turn it off anyway). One of those stories you want to start again as soon as it finishes. Give it a go, simply excellent.

Loved it

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