Teddy captured the Adirondack Golden Gloves title at 139 pounds in 1976. Forced out of competition because of injury, he turned his talents to training fighters, including Mike Tyson and Barry McGuigan. He has also employed his talents in appearing in films and choreographing fight scenes for a television series. This memoir presents his story.
A Wayward and Perilous Journey to the World Series of Poker
An overeducated underachiever, Peter Alson, grapples with adulthood as he approaches fifty. Ready to settle down, he proposes to his girlfriend and devises a plan to finance their wedding through poker, leading him to the 2005 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Amidst the thrill of the game and the allure of the neon desert, he confronts both his past and future while vying for a staggering $56 million in prize money, blending humor and introspection in a quest for maturity and financial stability.
"A struggling artist who plays poker in order to pay his bills witnesses a murder in one of New York's underground clubs. With the walls closing in around him, he's forced to take the biggest gamble of his life in order to keep his family together."--Provided by publisher
Peter Alson is having an early mid-life crisis: he's a 33-year-old Harvard grad who has suddenly run out of prospects. He can't seem to finish that novel; he and his girlfriend, Anna, have decided to call it quits (again); and worse, he's flat broke. So when he meets Michael, another Ivy Leaguer who's making a killing as a bookie, he does what any enterprising guy would do: he enters a life of crime, joining a bookmaking operation headed up by characters like Monkey and Steak Knife, where his real education begins. If you combined Basketball Diaries and A Fan's Notes with a dash of Damon Runyon, the result would be something like this-hilarious and heartbreaking-a book that has rightfully taken its place among the classics of down-and-out literature.
„Nikdo z lidí kolem mě pro mě nebyl v životě a při mých životních rozhodnutích důležitější než můj otec.“ Tak začíná autobiografie legendárního trenéra boxu a komentátora Teddyho Atlase, který se z rebelského syna lékaře stal mužem ctícím hodnoty svého otce. Atlas vzpomíná na klíčové momenty svého fascinujícího života - od mladistvého delikventa na newyorském Staten Islandu, přes boxerskou kariéru a šampiónství v turnaji Golden Gloves, až po přátelství s mafiánem Sammy „the Bull“ Gravano. Jako trenér vedl šampióny včetně čtrnáctiletého Mike Tysona a Michaela Moorera, kterého dovedl k titulu proti Evanderu Holyfieldovi. Atlas také popisuje, jak trénoval tanečnici Twylu Tharpovou pro její comeback a spolupracoval s hercem Willemem Dafoem na roli boxera ve filmu Vítězství ducha. Dále se podělí o své zkušenosti z Polska, kde vytvářel choreografii pro boxerské scény. Atlas odhaluje svou životní filosofii, která je silně inspirující a ukazuje, že jeho příběh není jen o boxu, ale o překonávání překážek, soucitu, cti a triumfu.
