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FIGHTERS looks at the British boxing community at large and at Freddie Mills and Randolph Turpin specifically. The boxing community had (and has) its supporters and detractors. Both Mills and Turpin were very successful boxers who meet strange and untimely deaths. Morton looks at their lives and careers to see if there is a connection between their deaths and their career choices. Freddie Mills was a light heavyweight champion and was found shot dead. Was his death murder or suicide? Why would a supposedly happy man kill himself? Why would someone want to kill him? Randolph Turpin was found shot dead in a café. What was the reason for his death? Why was he found there? Was it due to money problems or his interest in illegal things? FIGHTERS attempts to answer these questions and more. FIGHTERS: THE LIVES AND SAD DEATHS OF FREDDIE MILLS AND RANDOLPH TURPIN is a book that will only appeal to a select audience. Boxing is not a topic everyone finds interesting. While some of Morton's ideas regarding the underworld's connection to boxing were interesting, I did not find the book enjoyable. In addition, the author is forced to do a lot of guesswork, as neither death was clear-cut. While this is a frequent occurrence in true crime books, it is not something that I like reading. A lot of my dislike of the book stems from Morton's writing style. He is attempting to have a breezy easy going style - or at least this seemed to be his ultimate goal. However, the writing style frequently becomes bogged down in detail. It feels as though Morton could not determine the best way to make his book both approachable and factual. Writing non-fiction/ true crime that will appeal to the general masses, is not easy to accomplish and Morton is facing this dilemma. If the reader is a fan of boxing or the true crime genre at large then he or she would be able to ignore the flaws I found in this book. James Morton is the author of the Gangland series which looks at famous or rather infamous criminals in British history.
Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, October 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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