{"product_id":"the-duke-the-life-and-lies-of-tommy-morrison-9781949590524","title":"The Duke: The Life and Lies of Tommy Morrison","description":"\"The Duke is a harrowing tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, and a gripping read. Don't miss it.\"\u003cb\u003e--T. J. English, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eHavana Nocturne\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn American Gothic... \u003c\/b\u003eIn the early 1990s, Tommy Morrison, a young roughneck from Jay, Oklahoma, burst onto the boxing scene to become one of the most controversial fighters of his era. Handsome, eloquent, and dynamic, Morrison parlayed destructive knockout power and a homespun personality into celebrity status throughout middle America, where boxing rarely prospered. But it was his starring role in Rocky V alongside Sylvester Stallone that propelled him to stardom-and ultimately led to his tragic downfall. His brush with Hollywood fame triggered a limitless appetite for parties, liquor, and sex. When Morrison was shockingly diagnosed with HIV in 1996, his life imploded, and his subsequent descent into drugs, prison, bigamy, and conspiracy theories made Morrison notorious long after his glory days had ended.In The Duke, Carlos Acevedo chronicles Morrison's tumultuous life from his days as a teenaged Toughman contestant, to his victory over George Foreman, to his struggles with HIV and depression, to his death at forty-four, when his delusions finally overtook him.Morrison himself was a divisive figure but critics and readers are unanimous about Acevedo's The Duke.\"This is a big American saga writ large, just the sort of tortured tale Carlos Acevedo tells so well.\"\u003cb\u003e--Don Stradley, author of \u003ci\u003eThe War: Hagler-Hearns and Three Rounds for the Ages\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"I love how Carlos Acevedo writes. He's detached and immersive, observant and detailed, unsparing and fair. He brings to life what I love--and what I don't love--about boxing. That's clear in The Duke, which examines not just Tommy Morrison, but Morrison's place in boxing, celebrity culture, and the greater sports consciousness. It's the perfect marriage of writer and subject, written sharply, broadly and expertly--and hard to put down.\"\u003cb\u003e--Greg Bishop senior writer, \u003ci\u003eSports Illustrated\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAcevedo, Carlos:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eCarlos Acevedo\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eSporting Blood: Tales From the Dark Side of Boxing\u003c\/i\u003e (Hamilcar Publications (2020) and \u003ci\u003eThe Duke: The Life and Lies of Tommy Morrison\u003c\/i\u003e (Hamilcar Publications 2022), was the founder of \u003ci\u003eThe Cruelest Sport\u003c\/i\u003e and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. His work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eInside HBO Boxing\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBoxing News\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRemezcla\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBoxing Digest\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eHannibal Boxing\u003c\/i\u003e. His stories \u003ci\u003eA Darkness Made to Order\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Ghost Orbiting Forever\u003c\/i\u003e both won first place awards from the BWAA. Acevedo is also a member of the International Boxing Research Organization.","brand":"Hamilcar Publications","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50496512065810,"sku":"9781949590524","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_024fc9d0-b267-48f2-b66d-c42007fdf6ab.jpg?v=1730695413","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-duke-the-life-and-lies-of-tommy-morrison-9781949590524","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}