Oh - how to rate this book?

It's a METICULOUSLY and thoroughly researched account of the history of professional boxing and also of moving pictures.

I'm not sure what I expected from this but what I got was too much detail for my level of interest. If you're deeply interested in either of those subjects (I particularly found the boxing bits engrossing), or writing a paper on one of those topics, this is the book for you. All of your research is in one place in these pages - and very well compiled and told.

It's not that I didn't enjoy reading this book - I did, but it was just too long for my interest level. ( )

This was a great book on the beginning of the motion picture era at the end of the 1800's. Very detailed, but very well written and easy to read. History can be dry to read, but this was almost like a novel. If you like boxing, it also was nicely detailed on the history of boxing at the start of the Queensberry rules era. ( )

I found this book too heavy on explanations and not enough on the story. I was really bogged down trying to understand some of the terminology. I found I had to reread certain parts to even understand. For example: "The product was made by “flowing” the liquid material onto a long glass table and letting it dry into a transparent film that could be cut into strips." Then it continues: "He began with three-quarter-inch-wide strips, punching holes along the top edge to advance them past the lens by means of a toothed gear. The holes were soon moved to the bottom edge to prevent slippage and misalignment, then were placed on both sides, necessitating an increase in film width to a full inch." The story might have been a good story, but I was so bogged down trying to understand all this, that by the time I was at the end of these pages, I just wanted to go to sleep. ( )

I really appreciated this book because I have a deep interest in the history of technology. The premise or frame for this book is the fact that the heavyweight championship boxing match between Jim Corbett and Bob Fitzsimmons, that took place in Cason City, Nevada on March 17, 1897 was filmed using very early motion picture technology. The author alternates the story of how Corbett and Fitzsimmons got to that point, with the development of photography and motion picture technology. This mixture of themes will interest readers with a wide range of interests. ( )

I enjoyed the story of the early days of both professional fighting and film making. It was interesting to see how they both developed over the past 100+ years. ( )