Ken Olin

I have opinions. They are strictly my own.

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Book Recommendations:

KO

Recommended by Ken Olin

Spent deep into last night reading “The Contender”, a new biography about Marlon Brando by @WilliamJMann. For anyone who was inspired by Brando, as I was as a young man, or is even curious about the legend, this is an incredibly well written, entertaining, & insightful book. (from X)

The Contender book cover

Robert Lipsyte(you?)

The breakthrough modern sports novel The Contender shows readers the true meaning of being a hero. This acclaimed novel by celebrated sportswriter Robert Lipsyte, the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in YA fiction, is the story of a young boxer in Harlem who overcomes hardships and finds hope in the ring on his path to becoming a contender. Alfred Brooks is scared. He’s a high-school dropout, and his grocery store job is leading nowhere. His best friend is sinking further and further into drug addiction. Some street kids are after him for something he didn’t even do. So Alfred begins going to Donatelli’s Gym, a boxing club in Harlem that has trained champions. There he learns it’s the effort, not the win, that makes the boxer—that before you can be a champion, you have to be a contender. ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults * ALA Notable Children’s Book * New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age