This book doesn’t shy away from discussing Tyson’s violent and abhorrent behavior, especially towards women, but it also shows how he was affected and altered by a traumatic childhood ... Love him or hate him, Tyson’s story is interesting, and Kriegel highlights the man behind his public persona. An obvious choice for Tyson fans and readers interested in boxing, who will appreciate Kriegel’s focus on the sport’s history and the fighters who influenced it.
Grippingly told ... Accepting the book on its terms, this is a first-rate effort, brisk, irreverent, and astute about its mercurial protagonist and his opportunistic advisers ... It’s difficult, in an on-demand era, to evoke the mystique that accompanied Tyson’s ascent, but this book does an exemplary job.
Sinewy ... Kriegel’s nuanced portrait notes the many hardships Tyson faced growing up ... It’s an unflinching glimpse into the formative years of a troubled boxing great.