Undisputed Truth
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tedadamson
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- Joined: 28 Nov 2013, 15:47
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Undisputed Truth
I just finished Mike Tyson’s memoir “Undisputed Truth”. I am glad I read it and I do recommend it. It is 552 pages long not including the Epilogue. It is an easy read but takes several days because it is so long. It could and should have been shorter. The language of the book is the language of the street and the reader should expect a lot of profanity.
That being said, let me tell you some of the highlights and my impressions. It is an honest book I think and he tells the kind of life he lived without sugar coating. For the boxing aficionado, he goes into a lot of detail about his relationship with Cus D’Amato and the art of boxing. That part was good reading.
He tells about his early life of being in an alcoholic home without a father and being traumatized by beatings, something that no doubt lead to his later alcoholism and drug addiction. He is honest about his juvenile delinquency and sums it up pretty good on page 36 saying, “I did a lot of bad sh**”.
He goes into detail about his highly publicized relationship with Robin Givens and her mother. He sums it by saying “I was traumatized by the relationship. Those were cold broads.”
He goes into tremendous detail about his rape conviction involving Desiree Washington. He would have us believe that he was an innocent victim. Maybe. In my opinion, he doesn’t quit pull it off, although he did succeed in planting some doubt in my mind that he was guilty. He also portrays himself as a victim of racism:
“I knew I was supposed to be convicted, that was just how the system worked. I’m a descendant of slaves. That people can respect me as a human being, to this day, is something that I have doubts about. I was the ***** and that cowboy prosecutor was going to put his spurred cowboy boots in my face.”
That doesn’t quite succeed either as he seemed to me more a victim of his own foolishness.
Much of the rest of the book is spent detailing a life of debauchery, cocaine addiction, and occasional acts of violence. Incredible wealth and fame seemed to open wide the doors of sin for him and he entered into it with abandon. There is a good expose of Don King the fight promoter as well as a good look at how opportunists take advantage of the legal system to try and fleece celebrities. At times the constant descriptions of partying and excess wear a little thin and it could all have been said in a shorter amount of time. But his journey is the familiar journey of all addicts sinking lower and lower. Along the way he introduces us to some individuals who begin to help and steer him into a better path.
The book is at its best when he talks about the pain and heartache of losing his 4 year daughter. We begin to see the human side of him and not just a lecher. We hear about his involvement with AA and a slow process of maturity. Towards the end he gets married and paints himself as a committed family man. There are signs of real spiritual growth:
“People often ask me what I regret in my life. I regret sleeping with all those women. I used to brag about that but now I’m so embarrassed by my conquests”
In the end of the book in the postscript Mike admits he slipped in August of 2013. At this writing he has been clean about 90 days or so, and is still struggling. Remember him in your prayers.
Ted Adamson
Author of “Up from Down- a True Story of recovery from Addiction”
That being said, let me tell you some of the highlights and my impressions. It is an honest book I think and he tells the kind of life he lived without sugar coating. For the boxing aficionado, he goes into a lot of detail about his relationship with Cus D’Amato and the art of boxing. That part was good reading.
He tells about his early life of being in an alcoholic home without a father and being traumatized by beatings, something that no doubt lead to his later alcoholism and drug addiction. He is honest about his juvenile delinquency and sums it up pretty good on page 36 saying, “I did a lot of bad sh**”.
He goes into detail about his highly publicized relationship with Robin Givens and her mother. He sums it by saying “I was traumatized by the relationship. Those were cold broads.”
He goes into tremendous detail about his rape conviction involving Desiree Washington. He would have us believe that he was an innocent victim. Maybe. In my opinion, he doesn’t quit pull it off, although he did succeed in planting some doubt in my mind that he was guilty. He also portrays himself as a victim of racism:
“I knew I was supposed to be convicted, that was just how the system worked. I’m a descendant of slaves. That people can respect me as a human being, to this day, is something that I have doubts about. I was the ***** and that cowboy prosecutor was going to put his spurred cowboy boots in my face.”
That doesn’t quite succeed either as he seemed to me more a victim of his own foolishness.
Much of the rest of the book is spent detailing a life of debauchery, cocaine addiction, and occasional acts of violence. Incredible wealth and fame seemed to open wide the doors of sin for him and he entered into it with abandon. There is a good expose of Don King the fight promoter as well as a good look at how opportunists take advantage of the legal system to try and fleece celebrities. At times the constant descriptions of partying and excess wear a little thin and it could all have been said in a shorter amount of time. But his journey is the familiar journey of all addicts sinking lower and lower. Along the way he introduces us to some individuals who begin to help and steer him into a better path.
The book is at its best when he talks about the pain and heartache of losing his 4 year daughter. We begin to see the human side of him and not just a lecher. We hear about his involvement with AA and a slow process of maturity. Towards the end he gets married and paints himself as a committed family man. There are signs of real spiritual growth:
“People often ask me what I regret in my life. I regret sleeping with all those women. I used to brag about that but now I’m so embarrassed by my conquests”
In the end of the book in the postscript Mike admits he slipped in August of 2013. At this writing he has been clean about 90 days or so, and is still struggling. Remember him in your prayers.
Ted Adamson
Author of “Up from Down- a True Story of recovery from Addiction”
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Artemisia
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- Joined: 08 Dec 2013, 05:55
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- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-artemisia.html
Thanks for the review. Although you say it is long-winded, it does sound like an interesting read.
“If you don't turn your life into a story, you just become a part of someone else's story.”
― Terry Pratchett
― Terry Pratchett
