The Murder of Sonny Liston
A Story of Fame, Heroin, Boxing & Las Vegas
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- 5,99 €
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- 5,99 €
Description de l’éditeur
Sonny Liston was a legend, described by Mike Tyson as "the baddest man boxing ever produced". From veteran sports reporter Shaun Assael, The Murder of Sonny Liston is a gripping, intense examination of the former Heavyweight Champion's death in mob-ruled 1970s Las Vegas.
'The Murder of Sonny Liston is a classic of the genre' – Daily Mail
On January 5th 1971, former heavyweight champion Sonny Liston was found dead at his Las Vegas home.
Liston’s death, labelled an overdose, has long hung over Las Vegas and the boxing world, leaving unanswered questions about his ties to mob kingpins, drug lords, billionaire hoteliers and powerful promoters.
Against the backdrop of the pivotal era in the history of Las Vegas when the mob turned a sleep desert oasis into a gambling paradise, Shaun Assael's The Murder of Sonny Liston is both a riveting murder hunt and a stunning portrait of a city that was home to the Rat Pack, race riots and glittering high-rises along the strip.
'Shaun Assael has delved deeper into Liston's mysterious death than anybody and come up with sensational results' – Nigel Collins, former editor-in-chief of The Ring
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Writing with the flair of a mystery writer and the attention to detail of an investigative journalist, longtime ESPN staffer Assael (Steroid Nation) dissects the suspicious death of former heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston, whose body was found in his home on Jan. 5, 1971, having been dead for several days. Liston, who according to the coroner's report died from natural causes, was no stranger to criminal activity in gritty and volatile Las Vegas in the 1960s, and many theories emerged over the years that he was murdered. The engrossing depiction of Sin City's corrupt cops, malevolent mobsters, and drug dens follows in the footsteps of Nick Tosches's The Devil and Sonny Liston and features fresh interviews with investigators, politicians, and criminals who ran the city at the time, including a key suspect who reveals his own theory about Liston's death. Assael reports diligently on Liston's life and inner demons as well as the Las Vegas scene and uses his investigation to frame the narrative, writing in the first person without overtly inserting himself. Though the inconclusive ending may disappoint readers, Assael's journey into the seedy underworld of the Las Vegas's past is worth the ride.
