Book Shelf: Mike Tyson Pulls No Punches In "Raw," "Funny" Autobiography

Former boxer MIKE TYSON's autobiography, "UNDISPUTED TRUTH," is set to be released next Tuesday, and it "might be the most soul-baring book of its genre," according to Tim Dahlberg of the AP. The book, which is "in Tyson's voice" but written by LARRY SLOMAN, "offers a fascinating look into a life that already had been well-chronicled." It is "raw, and so profane that Tyson needs to explain some of the terms he uses for women and blacks in a separate chapter at the end." The book also is "quite funny in parts." Tyson is "brutal on himself" throughout, "despairing of his lack of self-control and feelings of inadequacy." He is "desperate to put his demons to rest, but the book needed an extra epilogue written just before printing to talk about him falling off the sobriety wagon again" (AP, 11/7).

FALLEN IDOL? In Philadelphia, Stan Hochman reviews Basketball HOFer JULIUS ERVING's autobiography "DR. J" and writes, "Slice it and balance the parts, sadness outweighs joy 60-40." Erving "wants the world to know he was a cheating husband, an overmatched, overindulgent father, a naive businessman." Erving notes in the book when daughter ALEXANDRA STEVENSON advanced to the semifinals at Wimbledon in '99, a sportswriter outed him as the girl's dad. Hochman writes readers at that point "will put the book down and take a long shower." Hochman: "When you yank your own knightly image off a pedestal, beware of falling armor and graffiti artists. ... Warts-and-all biographies are plentiful. But this many blemishes in an autobiography by someone we all regarded as noble?" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 11/8). Grantland.com has an excerpt from the book that contains some passages about Stevenson.

BOY WONDER: FS1's JAY ONRAIT's just-released book, "ANCHORBOY: TRUE TALES FROM THE WORLD OF SPORTSCASTING," is a collection of essays that "doubles as an autobiography." In Toronto, Raju Mudhar wrote the book is "quintessentially Onrait, at times funny, surprisingly earnest and so very Canadian." It also is a "good modern look at what it takes to be a successful sportscaster" (TORONTO STAR, 11/7). Onrait said, "I'm a lifelong reader. I'm genuinely somebody who has always loved books. I've always wanted to be a writer, and probably wanted to be a writer long before I wanted to become a broadcaster" (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/8).

CAN'T LOOK AWAY: In Milwaukee, Bob Wolfley noted ESPN's COLIN COWHERD wrote in his book, "YOU HERD ME!: I'LL SAY IT IF NOBODY ELSE WILL," college basketball coaches are "the most difficult and the most brittle" group of coaches in major team sports. Cowherd cites the example of Wisconsin men's basketball coach BO RYAN, who appeared on ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike" in April '12 "defending his initial decision to restrict" former UW player JARROD UTHOFF "from contacting more than two dozen other programs." Cowherd in his book "likened Ryan's performance in that interview to a spectacular car wreck, but 'radio gold for Mike and Mike'" (JSONLINE.com, 11/7).