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Book: By George: The Autobiography of George Foreman :: Zig Ziglar|Books :: Book
Date: Wednesday, 07 January, 2009 :: 14:14
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By George: The Autobiography of George Foreman
List Price: USD $14.00
from USD $3.97
Product Group: book
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Studio: Simon & Schuster
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Editorial Review: Product Description
THE CANDID AND INSPIRING STORY OF THE RISE OF A GREAT SPORTS LEGEND, FROM HIS THRILLING CONFRONTATIONS IN THE RING TO HIS PRIVATE STRUGGLES TO ACHIEVE SPIRITUAL WHOLENESS
No athlete has captured America's dreams and imagination like George Foreman. In 1968, when he was barely out of his teens, he startled the world by winning an Olympic gold medal in Mexico City. In his early twenties, he destroyed the seemingly invincible Joe Frazier to capture boxing's heavyweight championship. In Zaire, not long after, he was on the opposite end of a startling upset, losing his crown to Muhammad Ali. By 1977, Foreman had quit fighting, undergone a religious conversion, and begun preaching on Texas street corners. Which is where George Foreman's story doesn't end, but begins. A decade later, to raise money for his beloved Houston youth center, he shocked the sports world by returning to the ring. They laughed at this middle-aged man, but George Foreman turned their snickers into awe-struck cheers. In November 1994, at the age of forty-five and against all odds, he recaptured boxing's crown. In By George, Foreman tells the incredible story of his triumphs, defeats, and comeback. He writes openly of his troubled childhood, the rage that fueled his early athletic triumphs, his marriages, and his faith. How George Foreman not only survived but prevailed is one of the most unforgettable sagas of our time. Including sixteen pages of personal photographs, and with a new introduction by George himself, By George sheds new light on an extraordinary man who has captured the hearts of millions.
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Reviews:
Average Customer Review: 
Summary: A much more honest George than I expected
Date: 2007-01-30 - 
Comment: I thought this was going to be a very hokey book. I expected a lot of George was mean and angry his whole life then he meets Jesus then everything is shiny and happy, jokes about George eating too much, George has a dream to heavyweight champion again, George makes the dream come true, and more George and Jesus stuff but this book was surprisingly candid and interesting.
He talks about his anti-social childhood in the crime infested 5th ward in Houston. Going into the job corps where he started boxing and his meteoric rise to the top of the amateur boxing world where he ended up winning an olympic gold medal after having only been boxing for a VERY short time. His "first" pro career including his fights with Frazier, Norton, Ali and others, his nervous breakdown/religious experience after the Jimmy Young fight and his retirement, his ten year layoff, and the comeback which culminated in him recapturing the heavyweight championship of the world.
George is a bit of a shady individual and from a few first hand accounts I have heard he is just as mean as he ever was. That smile instantly disappears from his face and the nice guy act flies out the window the second those HBO or "grilling machine" infomercial cameras turn off. George really sold himself off as I used to be mean but I found Jesus and now I'm Mr. Niceguy to the public and got rich as a result so what really surprised me is how candid he was about problems he has had over the years with women, his kids and his own flaws in his personal life.
Summary: Great book to read on a plane
Date: 2006-04-29 -
Comment: This is the fifth autobiography I've read of a great heavyweight boxer. By George takes us into the mind of the former Heavyweight Champion of the World who destroyed "Smokin' Joe Frazier" in the 70s and was thought at one point in time to be unstoppable.
Foreman takes us on the journey from his childhood in poverty, being one of 9 children (the only from a different father) to his troubled adolescence to his miraculous thrust into greatness as an unexpected heavyweight champion of the world to his fall from boxing, to his born again discovery of God, to his amazing run at becoming the oldest heavyweight boxing champion in history.
We get amazing insight on the women of his life and how they affected him. We get an amazing recollection of his memory of circumstances prior to important fights such as how he was not allowed to leave Venezuela without paying taxes to the government after defeating Ken Norton.
Throughout the book, you will get a feel of the soft side of this man once perceived by the public as an angry bully. Behind that tough tiger is a very sensitive lion with a thorn in his side.
I was impressed by his stories of Sonny Liston and his impression of various boxer's during his time. I found the complex relationship he had with his biological father to be powerful. Although sensationalistic at times, even his various prophecy like passages that he contributes to his realization of his belief in God, to be deep.
All in all, reading his story was one that should have a profound affect on providing people information about someone who grew up with nothing in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in all of the US and came out of the other side, a great man who has suceeded.
I still am amazed at how far he went given his limited boxing skills. After reading this book, I am convinced that had been better trained, he would have been the greatest boxer of all time.
Summary: The Greatest Heavyweight(Including You Know Who)
Date: 2005-10-28 - 
Comment: I'm basically a one-dimensional boxing fan whose least favorite division is heavyweight;I couldn't have cared less what the Louisville Loudmouth did inside the ring and I didn't pay any attention to his trash talk outside of it("I ain't got
nuthin' against them Viet Cong...").All boxers lose-and for a better take on the
'Rumble in The Jungle'(than the fight itself) between Loudmouth and George Foreman,check the award-winning documentary,'When We Were Kings'
or Foreman's excellent-and honest-autobiography,'By George' about the thug from Houston who engineered,possibly the comeback
of the twentieth century.And "comebacks" are at the heart of what boxing is about.After losing to the recently deceased Jimmy Young in 1977(my favorite heavyweight of that era-who was robbed in his fight with Ali),Foreman underwent a religious transformation,took off 10 years and in 1994,at 45,became the oldest man to ever win the heavyweight title,by stopping Michael Moorer-no bum-in the tenth round.Actually, the public should've expected this from Foreman,who made his first public impact by waving the American flag after winning the heavyweight title in the '68 games-unfortunately probably best remembered for the black power salutes of John Carlos and Tommie Smith.But maybe the most important reason to buy this autobiography is because of its Introduction:"...I never make references to a human being's color.As I did with bad language,I've eliminated from my vocabulary words that distinguish between people.They're irrelevent to me,and their use only divides us from each other.I know from my own life that the issue of prejudice is much broader than the frame into which people usually try to squeeze it.What separates us is not color but behavior.I once came across some words by Victor Frankl,a man who'd survived terrible atrocities in a Nazi concentration camp at the hands of men,who after all,were the same color as he:"There are only two races of people in the world,the decent and the indecent."So when reading this book,if you find yourself guessing or wondering about one person or another's color,please ask yourself why you need to know."Amen.
Summary: You Gotta Love Him
Date: 2005-09-04 -
Comment: Love biographies of real people in the world today that are honest and this one really is - George takes us into his whacky and fun world and where he's been and why ... you may not agree with him but you gotta love him. We'd all benefit by being more like George
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Summary: My undisputed favorite biography.
Date: 2004-06-06 -
Comment: Whether it's for his knockouts in the ring, or his grills that knockout the fat, just about everyone in the civilized world knows the name George Foreman. While most sports fans know that Foreman wasn't always the oversized teddy bear that he is now, the stories relayed in the first half of his autobiography, BY GEORGE, will amaze you.
Throughout the book, Foreman not only outlines the rise of his boxing career from the Olympics to the professional ranks and the heavyweight championship (twice), but he also delves into his personal life in a detailed manner that provides the reader with an in-depth look into the George Foreman that many never knew existed.
The somewhat underlying story in this book is his relationship with God. In the first half of the book, Foreman tells of how, when he was young, he thought that religion was for the weak and it wasn't something he needed in his life. More amazing is that Foreman, now a Baptist minister, nearly became a Muslim before his legendary fight with Muhammad Ali in 1974. Following his bout with Jimmy Young in 1977, his final fight before his 10 year layoff, Foreman had a 'religious experience' in his locker room, found the Lord, and started to become the George Foreman that the world knows and loves today. In the second half of the book, the reader truly begins to see Foreman's love for God, and how God influences every aspect of his life.
While many know the ups and downs of his boxing career, it's very interesting to relive those moments through the eyes of the man who was there. His mentality change between his first and second boxing careers is astonishing. As a Christian, this book has added meaning for me due to the issues mentioned above. Simply put, this is a book that is an inspiration to one and all.
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Going the Extra Smile: Discovering the Life-Changing Power of a Positive Outlook
Going the Distance : The Ken Norton Story
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