Bad Intentions: The Mike Tyson Story » (REV)

Peter Heller is an award-winning adventure writer and long-time contributor to NPR. He is a contributing editor at "Outside" magazine and "National Geographic Adventure" and the author of "Hell or High Water: Surviving Tibet's Tsangpo River". he lives in Denver, Colorado. He can be reached at www.peterheller.net.

"Mike Tyson is boxing's most beloved bad boy. With a history of street-gang violence, juvenile prison, sexual scandal, marital strife, courtroom battles, and imprisonment for rape, he has become one of"

Publishers Weekly

Born and raised in a Brooklyn ghetto, then sent to a reform school where he learned the rudiments of boxing, Tyson at age 14 became the protege of legendary manager Cus D'Amato, who offered training in fisticuffs and social behavior. The former training succeeded, as D'Amato predicted, in Tyson's becoming the world heavyweight champion; the latter, according to ABC sports producer Heller ( In This Corner ), has proven less satisfactory. Heller traces the champion's meteoric rise to the top, examining the role various boxing associations have played in Tyson's life. Also discussed are individuals important in Tyson's history, including Don King, his current mentor, and ex-wife Robin Givens and her mother, whose alleged venality Heller tends to soft-pedal. The result is a thorough, rather bland book. Photos not seen by PW. (Sept.)