Atlas: From the Streets to the Ring: A Son's Struggle to Become a Man

My wife and I have been Teddy Atlas fans for years. He presents incredable insight into the game, the fighters and life in general. A very honest man!

There are so many "autobiographies" dumped into the market from the latest icon in pop culture that it is easy to now dismiss the genre as a viable means to really learn about a person. Teddy Atlas doesn't sugarcoat one item from his life in his battle with finding who he really is. Atlas writes about his struggles as a street tough that could had led to an early death or long incarceration. And with many kids from urban settings, Atlas found himself - as it were - through boxing. And, ironically, it is through his work developing fighters as much mentally as physically that propelled Atlas into his popular role as analyst on ESPN's Friday Night Fights. The story is one that should be read in high schools throughout this country, his message is that important. In a time when so much autobiography is seemingly developed through public-relation's firms, Atlas keeps it real. For that alone, it should be a must read, even if you aren't a boxing fan.

I love this book. At it's heart it's about integrity and honor. What has always inspired me about boxing (at it's best), is the fighters' ability to do the unnatural, to overcome instinct, and will themselves to go forward when it would be more natural to give in. To do what is moral and right in life is not always the most "natural" thing to do either. It takes courage, and sacrifice. In this book we see Atlas again and again making difficult but honorable choices. I don't necessarily want my son to grow up to be involved in boxing, but I do want him to make choices he can be proud of, and to act honorably, loyally, and with integrity. Teddy Atlas understands that, just as in boxing, making the difficult, painful choice in the moment, when it is the right thing to do, is easier to live with the rest of your life than making the easier, less painful choice in the moment, when it is the wrong thing to do. It's a good lesson to learn. Inspiring.

In a sport full of crooks, liars and thugs, Teddy Atlas stands out as a beacon of honesty. Much like his performances on ESPN's fight series, Teddy pulls no punches in his book. You might miss Teddy's weekly TV malaprops in the pages of his life story, but the unvarnished truth never sways off target. If there was a national boxing commission, Teddy Atlas would be the perfect commissioner ... impartial, brutally honest and incorruptible. For all of his struggles to validate himself in the eyes of his father, Teddy has certainly validated himself in the eyes of boxing fans everywhere. And I'd bet that his father is proud of the man he ultimately became. Buy the book; in addition to a fascinating read, you might unearth some previously undiscovered secrets of your own journey through life.

Teddy Atlas wrote the ideal book for men struggling to find the truth about fear, loyalty, friendship, honor, commitment and even forgiveness. Being a "stand-up" guy has never been easy and most have gone the easy route by acting tough, instead of honestly confronting and over coming one's fears. Atlas isn't a preachy lightweight, because every chapter smacks the reader in the head with the powerful truth that we all have our fears and look for the easy way out of difficult situations. His advice comes not from some pinhead with a psychology PhD, but from a life full of terrible irony. This book should be required reading for every young guy embarking on life's dangerous journey.