On January 22, 1973, Howard Cosell, ABC television’s announcer for the heavyweight-title boxing match between champion Joe Frazier and challenger George Foreman, uttered what may be the most famous line in the sport’s history. “Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!” Cosell said after the 214-pound pugilist fell to the canvas in the first round of their bout in Kingston, Jamaica. Read more
Ernest Hemingway’s writing style is always being described as “distinctive” and “muscular.” It’s easy to see why. He avoided adverbs and used strong verbs and short, declarative sentences. How he polished and perfected his style is, as you may imagine, a more difficult question. Read more
For Christmas, my daughters gave me The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry. I was glad they did… Talk about timely and relevant! How better to gain perspective than reading about the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918 to 1919? Read more
