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Cinderella Man
- James J. Braddock, Max Baer and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
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Cinderella Man
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Summary
With one good hand, Braddock was forced to labor on the docks of Hoboken. Only his manager, Joe Gould, still believed in him, finding fights for Braddock to help feed his wife and children. The diminutive, loquacious Jew and the burly, quiet Irishman made one of boxing's oddest couples, but together they staged the greatest comeback in fighting history. In 12 months Braddock went from the relief rolls to face heavyweight champion Max Baer, the Livermore Butcher Boy, renowned for having allegedly killed two men in the ring.
A charismatic, natural talent and in every way Braddock's foil, Baer was a towering opponent, a Jew from the West Coast who was famously brash and made great copy both in and out of the ring. A 10-to-1 underdog, Braddock carried the hopes and dreams of the working class on his shoulders. And when boxing was the biggest sport in the world, when the heavyweight champion was the biggest star in the world, his unlikely upset made Braddock the most popular champion boxing had ever seen.
Against the gritty backdrop of the Depression, Cinderella Man brings this dramatic all-American story to life, evoking a time when the sport of boxing resonated with a country trying desperately to get back on its feet. Schaap paints a vivid picture of the fight world in its golden age, populated by men of every class and ethnic background and covered voluminously by writers who elevated sports writing to art. Rich in anecdote and color, steeped in history, and full of human interest, Cinderella Man is a classic David and Goliath tale that transcends the sport.
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What listeners say about Cinderella Man
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dazler
- 08-07-15
A Knockout1
Any additional comments?
I knew the story of Jim Braddock from my childhood (my grandfather told me all about him) and some years ago really enjoyed the excellent film, so have been meaning to listen to this audio-book for ages now. I thought it would be good but it was so much better than I imagined. A great story that is well read. Not only the story of Jim Braddock but also the Charismatic Max Baer too.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Paul
- 30-12-14
Its the Heavyweights!
I enjoyed this book, not necessarily because of the main story but the surrounding stories that link into James Braddock's life. Max Baer, Jack Dempsey, Primo Carnera, Joe Louis are all present here and we hear lots of snippets and back stories which ensure that the overall presentation of the Cinderella Man is enjoyable. I love this period in time and the stories and characters that have presented themselves so I'm a little biased, but of you like boxing and this time period, then this is a must listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ABC
- 08-08-18
Fantastic Story, Fantastic Narration
Fantastic amount of detail is found throughout this book. It gave a wonderful insight into the game at the time and has some brilliant stories about the fighters from the era.
This is the second title I’ve listened to by Grover Gardner and he was fantastic again.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- STEPHEN LAMBERT
- 06-12-20
A great read
The real Rocky. Jimmy Braddock is worthy of his high perch amongst the greats of heavyweight boxing champs. There's much more to being a great fighter than having great technical ability. Has there ever been a been a more worthy Champ? I doubt it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stephen BigBear Dodd
- 29-08-20
brilliant
brilliant listen, captured the era perfectly, such a fantastic story, well worth the purchase, a must listen
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Master J. A. Ware
- 21-01-17
Fantastic underdog story
the story of Braddock has been told many times in boxing films and novels, a 'washed up' fighter down on his luck makes a comeback and lifts himself out of poverty.
what makes this book interesting is the descriptions of life outside the ring during the 30's and the state of boxing in general after it's huge popularity throughout the roaring 20's with stars such as jack Dempsey.
Fantastic listen/read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 04-10-22
Best Boxing Book On Audible
I read this book blind having not seen the film and I was blown away.
The author does an excellent job of painting pictures of all the relevant people: James J Braddock, his family, his manager Joe Gould and the fighters who were around at that time, giving the story context rather than just telling it chronologically. He also does a great job of describing America and New York as it was in that time too and where Braddock's story fits in.
The narrator gives it a very old school sound too with his tone but still has excellent sound quality too, it sounds like it was recorded in both 1920 and 2020 😄
a must listen for all boxing fans, 10/10!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rory Scanlon
- 04-04-21
This goes on my favourites shelf!
This has been my favourite book of the last while. The narrator is fantastic. I dunno if he did this on purpose but his delivery seems almost to match the radio commentators of the era. It really sets the scene for the story.
The book is very well written and easy to follow. The overarching story centers around Braddock but the book goes into detail on a few other fighters of the time as well. My biggest surprise was the difference in how Max Baer was portrayed in the movie to how he was in real life. This book gave an extremely entertaining and enlightening account of Baer's life and character which I enjoyed.
This is a must read for any boxing fan, for anyone interested in that era, and for anyone looking for an amazing story of an amazing man.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- ryan
- 17-10-19
Brilliant stuff
Loved every bit of it. Really enjoyable story. Better than the film. And it was a good film
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