Review of “The Good Son”

To finish my reading and listening of books in September, I went back to one of my favorite authors, Mark Kriegel. He writes excellent sports biographies and this on on Ray Mancini did not disappoint. Here is a review of “The Good Son.”

Title/Author: “The Good Son: The Life of Ray ‘Boom Boom’ Mancini by Mark Kriegel, narrated by Holt McAllany

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: Boxing in the 1980’s saw a rise in the popularity of lighter weights and one of those popular boxers was Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini. His life both in and out of the ring is told well in this book by Mark Kriegel, an accomplished sports biographer.

Mancini came from a boxing family. His father Lenny, also nicknamed “Boom Boom” was a promising fighter until he was injured serving in WWII and was not the same. Ray always wanted to please his father, and the ties between them as well as those Ray had with his mother and siblings are captured well by Kriegel.

Of course, there is plenty of text about Ray inside the ring and in training. While he did earn the lightweight title, sadly he is most remembered for a fight in which his opponent, DunKu Kim from South Korea, died in a hospital several hours after Mancini knocked him out in the 14th round. That affected him deeply in both his professional and personal life. That is told superbly both in Kriegel's writing and McAllany’s narration. What gives it an even better touch is that Kim’s family is included in the book - what they did in the wake of his death is both sad and inspiring.

This also affected the Mancini family hard as well. Like his father’s career after returning from the war, Ray’s career wasn’t the same as it was after the Kim fight. It was clear that he didn’t have the same desire in both training and the bouts. While he put up a great effort to regain his title, he knew it was time to retire. The book tells about this and his subsequent failed marriage. Through it all, the book has even-mannered, informative and engrossing stories that will keep the reader engaged, where using the print or audio version. 

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Son-Life-Boom-Mancini/dp/0743286359/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0