The Devil and Sonny Liston (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Nick Tosches
- First Published: 2000
- Type of Work: Biography
- Time of Work: 1932-1970
- Setting: United States
- Principal Characters: Charles L. “Sonny” Liston, Geraldine Liston, Frank “The Gray” Carbo, Frank “Blinky” Palermo, Chuck Wepner
- Genres: Nonfiction, Biography
- Subjects: 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s, United States or Americans, Twentieth century, 1940’s, 1930’s, Boxing, Organized crime
- Locales: United States
Just as the title The Devil and Sonny Liston suggests the inevitable high price paid for bargaining with evil forces, so does the cautionary quotation that introduces the text. Over twenty-four hundred years ago Æschylus, the Greek writer of tragedies, warned:
This is a song
for the one who is doomed,
a blow to the heart that breaks the mind.
Tosches addresses three mysteries that have besmirched the legacy of Sonny Liston. First, did the mob maneuver his professional career for its own nefarious ends? Yes, Tosches concludes, probably as...
[The entire page is 2042 words long]
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