Scream: The Tyson Tapes

by Jonathan Rendall, Richard Williams (Editor)

In Scream, Jonathan Rendall presents an oral history of Tyson"s life, built around statements from those who knew him intimately from the beginning, including trainers, gym-mates and press agents. This compelling short biography chronicles the meteoric rise and fall of one of the most controversial figures in world sport.

140 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 4, 2014

About the author

Jonathan Rendall was an acclaimed British author and Somerset Maugham Award winner known for his gritty, semi-autobiographical explorations of boxing and gambling. Educated at Oxford, he famously advised world champion Colin McMillan and starred in Channel 4’s The Gambler. His bibliography includes This Bloody Mary and Garden Hopping, a memoir reflecting on his own adoption. Rendall’s work remains a poignant chronicle of risk and personal identity.

Reviews

[Scott McKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five word review: Inventive biography from tragic author

[BookEd25 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jonathan Rendall is an exceptional writer; although I should say 'was' an exceptional writer, as he was found dead a couple of years ago. 'Scream : the Tyson Tapes' was a project he was working on at the time of his death, I believe the original publishers had cancelled the commission as this troubled writer failed to meet certain deadlines. What we are left with is a book cobbled together from notes and rough manuscripts discovered by his estranged wife after his death. Unfortunately, the 'finished' work reads like that; somewhat disjointed, without a coherent narrative and doesn't really add anything to the Tyson story that we didn't already know. That said, there are certain passages that live up to the standard Rendall set himself with earlier releases and the sense I am left with is that this could have been a powerful effort had Rendall had the time and inclination to complete it as originally planned; a troubled writer on a troubled individual could have been THE definitive work on the subject.