Also by this author: 1 Step Away, The Best of Evil, A Shred of Truth, Expiration Date, Dark to Mortal Eyes, American Leftovers, What Are You Going to Do?: The Inspiring Story of Everett Swanson and the Founding of Compassion International, What Are You Going to Do?: How One Simple Question Transformed Lives Around the World: The Inspiring Story of Everett Swanson and the Founding of Compassion International, What Are You Going to Do?: How One Simple Question Transformed Lives Around the World: The Inspiring Story of Everett Swanson and the Founding of Compassion International, Confessions of a Former Prosecutor: Abandoning Vengeance and Embracing True Justice
on September 1, 2014
Genres: Non-Fiction, Biography, Memoir
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Mike Tyson is a cultural phenomenon: heavyweight boxing champion, author, movie and television actor, Broadway star, tiger owner, felon, tabloid gossip mainstay. His memoir, "Undisputed Truth," was a New York Times bestseller. While no one is disputing the truth he tells in his book, it is clear that he has not told the entire story. That task goes to his one-time best friend, entourage wrangler, and manager - Rory Holloway, in "Taming the Beast: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson" (written with Eric Wilson), Holloway's memoir of his 15 years with Tyson. The Beast is, no surprise, Tyson himself. When it came to getting the Champ ready for the ring, from his training to deal-making to extricating him from problems and relationships with people like Robin Givens and her gold-digging mother, Don King, and everyone else under the sun, that job fell to Rory Holloway. In "Taming the Beast," Holloway comes clean on all things Tyson, from Mike's sex addiction, to his comically horrible driving, to his wildman approach to life. He breaks down the entourage - who was good for the Champ, who wasn't - and deals with the criticism he faced as Tyson spun more and more out of control. When Tyson spit out Evander Holyfield's ear in 1997, he also spit out his 15-year friendship with Holloway. Compassionate, at times hilarious and terribly sad, "Taming the Beast" is the story of a man so out of touch with reality that he ultimately distanced himself from the only people who had his best interests at heart, severing the brotherhood that once existed, in favor of "yes men" who could supply him with the best drugs and the most hookers. It is a devastating story of watching, helpless, from a ringside seat as your best friend self-destructs and you can't do a thing about it. Painfully frank, street-wise and cathartic, "Taming the Beast" pulls no punches with its question-and-answer style. It is the book every Tyson fan needs on their nightstand for the undisputed whole truth.
Eric Wilson has had a roller coaster of a writing career. His debut novel came 20 years ago with Dark to Mortal Eyes and he proceeded to publish a novel a year for seven years. In 2007-08, he wrote a trilogy of novelizations based on Kendrick Brothers movies, the last of which, Fireproof, would hit the NYT bestseller’s list. But after 2010, Wilson’s career faltered. He published two books in a trilogy only to see the third get cancelled. He self-published a couple of shorter novels that were way different in genre than his earlier works. And then, for almost ten years that was basically it. There were some cancelled projects, a novelization in 2018. But until 2021 when his career saw a resurgence within the memoir/biography sphere, there was nothing. Except this: Taming the Beast: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson.
Billed as a no-holds-barred, R-rated memoir of Tyson’s former handler, Rory Holloway, Taming the Beast is the untold story of one of the people behind the scenes of Tyson’s meteoric rise and fall. I don’t really know how to categorize this book. According to the introduction, Wilson provided co-authorship and research, but its unclear how much say he actually had in the book’s final product.
Holloway obviously has an agenda. In a one-page introduction titled “The Leech,” Holloway writes that sportswriters described him as “the ‘leech,’ the ‘idiot manager,’ the ‘thug who stole Mike’s riches.’” Taming the Beast is a story of vindication and a story of a man who desperately wants the spotlight and the wealth he used to have. It’s a hagiography told mostly in the form of informal interviews that show very little evidence of editing. It’s a verbal mess that fails to tell a coherent narrative. Wilson’s transitions read like a stoic voiceover narrator trying to set the scene before Holloway comes in completely derails the whole thing.
What the book feels like is that Wilson did a series of interviews with Holloway and then just published those verbatim. This might have worked if Holloway was able to tell a consistent and engaging narrative, but he doesn’t. This is just a mess of a manuscript never pulled together in any coherent or cohesive fashion. It’s nearly impossible to read.
I know Eric’s skill. It’s evident in his other books that have followed this style—particularly What Are You Going to Do? (a memoir of Compassion International’s Everett Swanson) and Confession of a Former Prosecutor (a memoir of Preston Shipp). But this one is just not good. I get the feeling that Eric was really limited in how his voice could come through. And the result is. Well. This. I’m keeping the book, but that’s only so I can say that I have every Eric Wilson book published.