Joe Botti's Biography Of Joe Jeannette?

[Ivich]

Who has read it ?
What was your opinion of it?

[Marchegiano]

Have not, but if that's the case for the forum and no one else is going to buy, I'll buy it and tell y'all about it.

[Ivich]

Have not, but if that's the case for the forum and no one else is going to buy, I'll buy it and tell y'all about it.

The reviews were mixed.I must confess to some history with Mr Botti,he recently invited me to join one of his boxing forums eventually with some misgiving I did .My first post didn't meet with his approval and that was that.I gather he has an excellent record in the boxing business so good luck to him but he hero worships Jeannette and brooks no opinion that is even mildly disputatious from his own.
Reviews of his book can be found on Amazon,he writes it," in the first person," which several reviewers have criticized,
I haven't read the book so have no opinion on it.

[kara]

The reviews were mixed.I must confess to some history with Mr Botti,he recently invited me to join one of his boxing forums eventually with some misgiving I did .My first post didn't meet with his approval and that was that.I gather he has an excellent record in the boxing business so good luck to him but he hero worships Jeannette and brooks no opinion that is even mildly disputatious from his own.
Reviews of his book can be found on Amazon,he writes it," in the first person," which several reviewers have criticized,
I haven't read the book so have no opinion on it.

In your opinion, is it mostly accurate? I hate reading books and then finding out later some of the stuff is false.

[Ivich]

In your opinion, is it mostly accurate? I hate reading books and then finding out later some of the stuff is false.

I haven't read it but I do know Botti states Jeannette never weighed over 167lbs for his Jack Johnson fights so you can draw your own conclusions as to the accuracy of his book.
I'd like to state Botti is well thought of in boxing circles and has an established practical pedigree in the sport, but from our conversations, I just don't find him to be at all objective on Jeannette.
Some reviews of the book.
"One of the great, but slightly depressing things about reading a book like this is the stark realization of how little you actually know about the subject matter. Having read a decent chunk about Jack Johnson and Sam Langford I thought I had a decent grip on the career and abilities of Joe Jennette. On the back of reading Joe Botti’s excellent biography on the man I have to admit I was wrong. Jennette emerges as a much better fighter than I ever imagined and a truly immense figure outside of the ring.

Botti makes the unusual decision to write the book from Joe’s perspective and as if Joe is writing the book, which for a non ghost written book of a long dead fighter does take some getting used to. Early in the piece I frequently found myself asking how the author could have known what Jennette was thinking in a given situation. However you quick come to realise the sheer wealth of research Botti has done and that based on countless interviews with Joe’s surviving relatives it is not that great a leap to assume to know Joe’s opinions on his career."

"Shame that the first book on such a richly deserved subject should be written in such an idiosyncratic way. Writing as if its Jeanette talking just doesnt work and reads like a lot of half remembered facts about the times he lived in interspersed with newspaper clippings of his fights. Really difficult to read. Clay Moyle's book on Sam Langford gets the feel just right. Could have been much better. Shame."

"I have to say when I first picked up this book I was pissed. Here I was, extremely excited to read a bio of this legendary fighter that looked well researched and deep ... to say I was shocked was to put it mildly .. the author chose a most unusual style ... he wrote this book as an autobiography except he is not Joe Jennette so in essence in some ways this is a work of fiction. One cannot simply play Joe Jennette and offer personal insight after personal insight and claim it to be factual . It sat on my shelf for a month. Finally I picked it up again and started to read and read and read... I then was able to appreciate the tremendous amount of quality research the author did and enjoyed many a golden nugget from the direct articles posted in the book Pollack style ... here's my bottom line ... if you want a bio it's not really a bio ... it's kind of a hybrid and at the end of the day I do respect his effort, labor of love and his talent as a writer and it has grown on me big time over time. On the research alone I give it five stars ... without question a must read for historians ..."


"I was so excited to get this book, I have wanted to read the exploits of a boxing immortal like Joe Jennette for years.

This man did virtually everything in the ring and was one of the best heavyweights of the day, quite possibly the equal of better of the great Jack Johnson.

Imagine my surprise to find that this book was written in the first person as if Jennette had written it himself. I am sorry but this was not the way to have written the book. Jennette has been dead for over half a century so it is not as if it could be written as an As Told By...

Now I don't wish to denigrate the writing ability of the author, he is very clever and the book did read well, but I simply couldn't take to a book that was fiction disguised as fact.

Still waiting for a real biography of Joe Jennette."

[Marchegiano]

The first person deal is baffling. Why on earth would one do that?

[Ivich]

The first person deal is baffling. Why on earth would one do that?

Quien Sabe?

[Willie Pep 229]

I haven't read it but I do know Botti states Jeannette never weighed over 167lbs for his Jack Johnson fights so you can draw your own conclusions as to the accuracy of his book.
I'd like to state Botti is well thought of in boxing circles and has an established practical pedigree in the sport, but from our conversations, I just don't find him to be at all objective on Jeannette.
Some reviews of the book.
"One of the great, but slightly depressing things about reading a book like this is the stark realization of how little you actually know about the subject matter. Having read a decent chunk about Jack Johnson and Sam Langford I thought I had a decent grip on the career and abilities of Joe Jennette. On the back of reading Joe Botti’s excellent biography on the man I have to admit I was wrong. Jennette emerges as a much better fighter than I ever imagined and a truly immense figure outside of the ring.

Botti makes the unusual decision to write the book from Joe’s perspective and as if Joe is writing the book, which for a non ghost written book of a long dead fighter does take some getting used to. Early in the piece I frequently found myself asking how the author could have known what Jennette was thinking in a given situation. However you quick come to realise the sheer wealth of research Botti has done and that based on countless interviews with Joe’s surviving relatives it is not that great a leap to assume to know Joe’s opinions on his career."

"Shame that the first book on such a richly deserved subject should be written in such an idiosyncratic way. Writing as if its Jeanette talking just doesnt work and reads like a lot of half remembered facts about the times he lived in interspersed with newspaper clippings of his fights. Really difficult to read. Clay Moyle's book on Sam Langford gets the feel just right. Could have been much better. Shame."

"I have to say when I first picked up this book I was pissed. Here I was, extremely excited to read a bio of this legendary fighter that looked well researched and deep ... to say I was shocked was to put it mildly .. the author chose a most unusual style ... he wrote this book as an autobiography except he is not Joe Jennette so in essence in some ways this is a work of fiction. One cannot simply play Joe Jennette and offer personal insight after personal insight and claim it to be factual . It sat on my shelf for a month. Finally I picked it up again and started to read and read and read... I then was able to appreciate the tremendous amount of quality research the author did and enjoyed many a golden nugget from the direct articles posted in the book Pollack style ... here's my bottom line ... if you want a bio it's not really a bio ... it's kind of a hybrid and at the end of the day I do respect his effort, labor of love and his talent as a writer and it has grown on me big time over time. On the research alone I give it five stars ... without question a must read for historians ..."


"I was so excited to get this book, I have wanted to read the exploits of a boxing immortal like Joe Jennette for years.

This man did virtually everything in the ring and was one of the best heavyweights of the day, quite possibly the equal of better of the great Jack Johnson.

Imagine my surprise to find that this book was written in the first person as if Jennette had written it himself. I am sorry but this was not the way to have written the book. Jennette has been dead for over half a century so it is not as if it could be written as an As Told By...

Now I don't wish to denigrate the writing ability of the author, he is very clever and the book did read well, but I simply couldn't take to a book that was fiction disguised as fact.

Still waiting for a real biography of Joe Jennette."

That style could make for a great historically based fiction, e.g. I Claudius.

But as a biography it is not going to work. In a biography the auther needs to be omnipotent, or how else can he bring all his 20-20 hindsight to the evaluation.

I could see such a structure as a way to examine a historical boxing period, but not a bio.

Writing within the limits of the protagonist's knowledge opens the door for exciting fiction but not good history.

[Ivich]

That style could make for a great historically based fiction, e.g. I Claudius.

But as a biography it is not going to work. In a biography the auther needs to be omnipotent, or how else can he bring all his 20-20 hindsight to the evaluation.

I could see such a structure as a way to examine a historical boxing period, but not a bio.

Writing within the limits of the protagonist's knowledge opens the door for exciting fiction but not good history.

I must again reiterate Mr Botti has a good rep in boxing circles,and I haven't read his book myself.

He and I just don't jel on a personal level.

[kara]

That style could make for a great historically based fiction, e.g. I Claudius.

But as a biography it is not going to work. In a biography the auther needs to be omnipotent, or how else can he bring all his 20-20 hindsight to the evaluation.

I could see such a structure as a way to examine a historical boxing period, but not a bio.

Writing within the limits of the protagonist's knowledge opens the door for exciting fiction but not good history.

Good points, Pep.