Smokin' Joe

Much of the criticism and praise for this book seem well-placed. Caught in Ali's shadow? Absolutely. Worthy of his own recognition and a place among boxing legend? Not a doubt. My issue was the writing/editing. Who decided we needed to know that Joe rode a 1500cc motorcycle from Beufort to Charleston to hop a plane? This level of immaterial detail clouded the entire narrative and was distracting. It caused me to wonder whether Joe wrote it himself (his name on the by line), at which point I forgive him for not being a writer, or it was a ghostwriter (plausible, of course) who is barely passible, or the editing was amateurish. Either way, as much of this delivery was awful as were the interesting stories and details that made Joe's life worthy of a book.