Books by Ray Robinson
Pound for Pound: A Biography of Sugar Ray Robinson
Hailed by Muhammad Ali as "the king, the master, my idol," Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest boxer America had seen since Joe Louis and is considered by many today to be, pound for pound, the best boxer the sport has ever known. A world welterweight and five-time middleweight champion, he had a career that spanned three decades. With his graceful yet powerful style and Hollywood looks -- which he would use to his advantage upon his final retirement from boxing -- he embodied the very essence of the "sweet science." Before he finally hung up his boxing gloves in 1965, at the age of forty-four, Sugar Ray Robinson won 125 consecutive fights, including victories over Henry Armstrong, Kid Gavilan, Carmen Basilio, Jake LaMotta, Rocky Graziano, Gene Fullmer, and Randy Turpin. His successes were not his alone, however. They belonged to his family as well, though those relationships would be marked by neglect and abuse.
At a time still characterized by discrimination, his victories, like those of Jackie Robinson, represented victories for all black America. And they were all the more symbolic because of the place he chose to call home -- Harlem. Co-written with Robinson's son, Ray Robinson II, and thoroughly researched by Amsterdam News reporter Herb Boyd, Pound for Pound is not only a definitive portrait of an emotionally complex man and his family, it is also a portrait of Harlem at the apex of its creativity, a time when Miles Davis was playing at Minton's, Langston Hughes was writing his divine poetry, and a boy from Georgia originally named Walker Smith Jr. would take on the moniker "Sugar."
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Famous Last Words, Fond Farewells, Deathbed Diatribes, and Exclamations Upon Expiration
by Ray Robinson
“Don’t let it end like this. Tell them I said something.”—Pancho Villa
“Drink to me!”—Pablo Picasso
A collection of notable last recorded words of the dying, Famous Last Words is bursting with life, hope, wisdom, and often laughter. Here are writers, philosophers, athletes, kings and queens, movie stars, politicians, and more, in all sorts of moods and states of preparedness. Some merely want to say goodbye to loved ones, others want to create a legacy.
Ultimately, every one of these parting statements is a reflection of the person behind it. Each is accompanied by a mini-biography of the speaker, including the context of death, from the golf course (“That was a great game of golf, fellers.”—Bing Crosby) to a favorite armchair (“Go on, get out. Last words are for fools who haven't said enough.”—Karl Marx).
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Iron Horse: Lou Gehrig in His Time
by Ray Robinson
"All these many years down the road, Lou Gehrig's reputation still holds up as does Ray Robinson's elegant biography." –Bob Costas
Lou Gehrig will go down in history as one of the best ballplayers of all time; he was elected to the Hall of Fame and played in a record-setting 2,130 consecutive games. ALS known today as "Lou Gehrig's Disease" robbed him of his physical skills at a relatively young age, and he died in 1941. Ray Robinson re-creates the life of this legendary ballplayer and also provides an insightful look at baseball, including all the great players of that era: Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and more.
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