About this item
It was 1976 when Leon and Michael Spinks first punched their way into America’s living rooms. That year, they became the first brothers to win Olympic gold in the same Games. Shortly thereafter, they became the first brothers to win the heavyweight title: Leon toppled The Greatest, Muhammad Ali; Michael beat the unbeatable Larry Holmes. With a cast of characters that includes Ali, Holmes, Mike Tyson, Gerry Cooney, Dwight Qawi, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and dozens of friends, relatives, and boxing figures, ONE PUNCH FROM THE PROMISED LAND tells the unlikely story of the Spinks brothers. Their rise from the Pruitt-Igoe housing disaster. Their divergent paths of success. And their relationship with America. The book also uncovers stories never before made public: the big paydays, the high living, the backroom deals.
About the Author
John Florio was raised in Flushing, NY. He credits the streets of Queens as one of his earliest influences, along with black-and-white movies, old superhero comics, Sports Illustrated, Humphrey Bogart, and the Hardy Boys.A fan of pop fiction and creative nonfiction, Florio is the author of the historical crime novels, Sugar Pop Moon and Blind Moon Alley. With Ouisie Shapiro, he wrote the nonfiction books, War in the Ring, One Nation Under Baseball, and One Punch from the Promised Land. Florio and Shapiro are contributors to the New Yorker and the Atlantic; their work has also been seen in the New York Times, the Undefeated, VICE, and Sports Illustrated. Florio holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Southern Maine, an MA from New York University, and an MBA from St. John's University. He currently serves on the faculty of the Stonecoast MFA creative writing program at the University of Southern Maine.Visit John Florio at johnfloriowriter.com.
