Written with an eye towards explaining and depicting the attraction toward and zeal for boxing that both it's participants and audience have, I feel unsure whether Joyce Carol Oates is really able to understand the perspective of a non-fan sufficiently to be able to convert or convince an outsider. Her passion is compelling, but her digs at Whites and Liberals who misjudge or react negatively to the sport -- excuse me, "way of life" -- show her to be both unsympathetic and misapprehensive about those who don't share her enthusiasm, which removes her somewhat from successfully mounting an argument for the sport's finesse. Furthermore, she expects that boxing's jargon, personalities, and seminal moments have trickled down into the public consciousness more than, perhaps, they truly have. I found the work to be spirited, game, and enthusiastic, but her scattered presentation and her disinterest in justifying the grandeur, spectacle, or legend of the personalities or events with any real storytelling ultimately left me somewhat cold. An intriguing and insightful polemic, but one for the already converted.