Taming the Beast

Mike Tyson is a cultural phenomenon: heavyweight boxing champion, author, movie and television actor, Broadway star, tiger owner, felon, tabloid gossip mainstay. His memoir, "Undisputed Truth," was a New York Times bestseller. While no one is disputing the truth he tells in his book, it is clear that he has not told the entire story. That task goes to his one-time best friend, entourage wrangler, and manager - Rory Holloway, in "Taming the Beast: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson" (written with Eric Wilson), Holloway's memoir of his 15 years with Tyson.The Beast is, no surprise, Tyson himself. When it came to getting the Champ ready for the ring, from his training to deal-making to extricating him from problems and relationships with people like Robin Givens and her gold-digging mother, Don King, and everyone else under the sun, that job fell to Rory Holloway.In "Taming the Beast," Holloway comes clean on all things Tyson, from Mike's sex addiction, to his comically horrible driving, to his wildman approach to life. He breaks down the entourage - who was good for the Champ, who wasn't - and deals with the criticism he faced as Tyson spun more and more out of control. When Tyson spit out Evander Holyfield's ear in 1997, he also spit out his 15-year friendship with Holloway.Compassionate, at times hilarious and terribly sad, "Taming the Beast" is the story of a man so out of touch with reality that he ultimately distanced himself from the only people who had his best interests at heart, severing the brotherhood that once existed, in favor of "yes men" who could supply him with the best drugs and the most hookers. It is a devastating story of watching, helpless, from a ringside seat as your best friend self-destructs and you can't do a thing about it.Painfully frank, street-wise and cathartic, "Taming the Beast" pulls no punches with its question-and-answer style. It is the book every Tyson fan needs on their nightstand for the undisputed whole truth.