Cinderella Man

James J. Braddock, Max Baer and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History

By: Jeremy Schaap

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Lost in the annals of boxing is the sport's true Cinderella story. James J. Braddock, dubbed "Cinderella Man" by Damon Runyon, was a once promising light heavyweight for whom a string of losses in the ring and a broken right hand happened to coincide with the Great Crash of 1929.

With one good hand, Braddock was forced to labor on the docks of Hoboken. Only his manager, Joe Gould, still believed in him, finding fights for Braddock to help feed his wife and children. The diminutive, loquacious Jew and the burly, quiet Irishman made one of boxing's oddest couples, but together they staged the greatest comeback in fighting history. In 12 months Braddock went from the relief rolls to face heavyweight champion Max Baer, the Livermore Butcher Boy, renowned for having allegedly killed two men in the ring.

A charismatic, natural talent and in every way Braddock's foil, Baer was a towering opponent, a Jew from the West Coast who was famously brash and made great copy both in and out of the ring. A 10-to-1 underdog, Braddock carried the hopes and dreams of the working class on his shoulders. And when boxing was the biggest sport in the world, when the heavyweight champion was the biggest star in the world, his unlikely upset made Braddock the most popular champion boxing had ever seen.

Against the gritty backdrop of the Depression, Cinderella Man brings this dramatic all-American story to life, evoking a time when the sport of boxing resonated with a country trying desperately to get back on its feet. Schaap paints a vivid picture of the fight world in its golden age, populated by men of every class and ethnic background and covered voluminously by writers who elevated sports writing to art. Rich in anecdote and color, steeped in history, and full of human interest, Cinderella Man is a classic David and Goliath tale that transcends the sport.

©2005 Jeremy Schaap (P)2005 Books on Tape, Inc.

Cinderella Man is right

Great book, probably could have downloaded the abridged and left some of the fighter boxing history out of the book, but absolutely the kind of story you wish you would here more in todays society. Great story about determination and human kindness. Want to see the movie now.

no relation to the movie? (in a good sense)

Thank goodness I was "exposed" to the namesake movie only after listening to this book! (Neither the movie credits on IMDb nor the special features on the DVD version list Jeremy Schaap, which leads me to suspect that the only things that the two have in common are the story and the title.) There are so many things I loved about the book that unfortunately didn't make it into the Ron Howard movie--the ambience of the boxing world (and the world beyond sports) in those days, the highly disciplined (and quite possibly extremist) training that Jim Braddock put himself through in preparation for his fight against Baer, the much more sympathetic depiction of "characters" (including Baer, who became a sacrificial scarecrow in the movie) other than Braddock and his immediate entourage...(the list goes on)

Cindirella man

Any additional comments?

As an avid boxing fan, I really enjoyed listening to old stories. The book was quite factual but I liked it, as well as both main characters Max Bear and Jim Braddock, who was greatly portrayed in the movie by Russel Crowe.

Fantastic Listen

Occasionally, truth is more compelling than fiction. Damon Runyon's quote, “In all the history of the boxing game, you'll find no human interest story to compare with the life narrative of James J. Braddock,” is a very good summary of this book. I'm not a boxing fan, but I found this book to be completely absorbing. Jeremy Schaap (author) and Grover Gardner (narrator) bring the characters to life in this entertaining history of boxing during the depression era. If you have seen the movie, then I urge you to listen to this book for a more complete picture of the circumstances surrounding the match between Jim Braddock and Max Baer. If not, then prepare yourself for a thoroughly enjoyable journey back into boxing's illustrious history.

Pretty good for what it is

This book is a documentary and reads as such, which is to say that it doesn't read like a novel. It's not a "page-turner," but it is an interesting portrayal of a tenacious boxer during the depression.

Amazing Story . . .

If you're a boxing fan, you will love this book. Even if you aren't a boxing fan, it's still a great story of perseverance and overcoming hardship. How sometimes the hardest stretch of your life unwittingly prepares you to capture the best part of your life.

My favorite boxing book

This was my favorite boxing book by far. the narrator is also the best audiobook narrator I've heard, again by far. He also narrated A.J Liebling's very fine The Sweet Science. This book was superbly written. It takes you places. James J Braddock's story is iconic and legendary, and this tells it more richly than even the wonderful film on Braddock.

This is a great listen. Best of all. It's true!

Even if your not a fan of boxing, this is a worthwhile listen. This the true story of a real "Rocky". From a time in America that is similar to what many are living with today.
The Great Depression .

James Braddock

I found this in excellent book of James Braddock and a very good tie-in to the Ron Howard movie.
The movie is great and so is this narrated book.

A page-turner to the very end

James J Braddock - a man’s man… This book does him honor. I was not ready for it to end. Highly recommend!