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The Onion Picker: Carmen Basilio and Boxing in the 1950s | 
 enlarge | Author: Gary Youmans
Publisher: Campbell Road Press North
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $16.41
You Save: $8.54 (34%)
New (16) Used (4) from $16.41
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 508775
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 214
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.2 x 1
ISBN: 0815681755
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.83092
EAN: 9780815681755
ASIN: 0815681755
Publication Date: August 30, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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Product Description
On September 23, 1957, Carmen Basilio moved up in weight class to challenge Sugar Ray Robinson, pound for pound the greatest boxer, for the middleweight championship of the world. Basilio, the ultimate warrior, set the stage for a classic matchup between great fighters. Leading up to the fight, Robinson had angered his opponent with his arrogance and one-sided demands. Basilio entered the ring with one goal in mind: the destruction of Sugar Ray Robinson. This matchup was much more than a battle for a world championship. This fight was "personal."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Simple errors not caught June 2, 2008
John L. Barbella
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book contained many quotes and passages by deceased people from earlier carmen basilio articles from boxing magazines. It also contained some glaring errors that should have been caught easily if the book had simply been proof read. The errors listed in the book have Joey Maxim as a lightweight champion when he was the light-heavyweight champion. The author also misspelled emmanuel steward as "stuart", and he had "Sugar" Ray Robinson knocking out Gene Fullmer in round one, when the actual round was five. This book gave little insight into carmen basilio, the man, as it makes no mention of what happened to his first wife, or insight into his more noteable fights.
Very disappointing April 9, 2008
D. G. Myers (Texas A&M University)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
A very disappointing effort. Although a book on the remarkable Carmen Basilio has been needed for some time, this is not it. Gary B. Youmans hasn't really written a biography of Basilio; he has merely compiled the raw materials for one. A few short passages of narrative are consistently followed by a long series of quoted remarks in the style of oral history. After his 600-word account of the second fight with Tony DeMarco, for example, Youmans shifts to this:
"CARMEN BASILIO: 'After the seventh round, when he hurt me I could see that he was getting tired and it was a question of time until he ran out of gas.'
"DONALD HAMILTON (Boxing Historian): 'When Carmen fought Tony DeMarco in Boston, the place was packed. . . .'"
From the eighth round we are jerked back to the pre-fight attendance? This is typical of the book's method. Hamilton's comment follows upon Basilio's only in the author's notes. Youmans does not even try to put his interviews in any kind of order. Nor is any attempt made to knit these free-standing quotations, which constitute about 70% of the book, into a coherent account. The result is less a narrative than a scrapbook. Basilio's story must be pieced together by the reader, because the book does little of the work.
And who knows? Perhaps that is for the best. Youmans is a superficial writer when left to his own devices. "These two great fighters had fought an epic battle of determination and grit," he says of Basilio and DeMarco. If there is a cliche or unreflective phrase in the vicinity of his desk, Youmans snatches it before it can flit away.
Written with Carmen Basilio's help and cooperation, the book is a testament to Youmans's affection for the great champion. Most readers will share that affection--before and after reading this book. "The Onion Picker" might have been improved, though, and Youmans's personal relationship with Basilio might even have survived, a slightly more critical account of a unique and sometimes difficult man.
For diehard boxing fans, especially those fascinated by Basilio's story, in and out of the ring, this book is worth the new information and photographs it provides. Perhaps it will provoke a better writer into tackling the onion farmer's biography.
 Great read March 11, 2008
V. Landolina (Modesto, CA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was a teenager durning the 50s. Part of my spare time was spent in a gymnasium for amature and pro boxers. I gained my enthusiasm and love of the sport from my dad which I still carry to this day. This book was a throw back to a simpler time and what a treat to read of the men that made the sport what it was. Sure, there were shady characters around the game just like today. But when all of that is said and done two guys get into the ring and make it right. Starting in about 1952 I saw every fight ( on TV) described in the book. To read about them and what went on behind the scene was pure enjoyment. I'v read lots of boxing books but this one is special. To me the names are magical. Louis, Marciano, Walcott, Charles, Basilio, DeMarco, Robinson, Moore & Olson just to name a few. This book is money well spent.
The onion picker March 11, 2008
Teresa E. Young (summerfield fl usa)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I ordered this book for my husband and he loved it. He will read it more than once. He has already shared it with two other fellas his age,who remember the boxers and they loved the book also.
great item on a worthy subject ! February 22, 2008
Dr. Kelly Nicholson
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Boxing has long needed a careful and literate treatment of Carmen Basilio. I was delighted to fine this one. Dr. Kelly Nicholson
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