The murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, heroin, and heavyweights
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Publisher:
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Pub. Date:
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Language:
English
Description
"A daring investigation into the mysterious death of Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston, set against the dawn of the 1970s, when the mob was fighting to keep control of the Las Vegas Strip, Richard Nixon was launching America's first war on heroin, and boxing was in its glory days. Las Vegas, 1970: Elvis Presley is playing two shows a night at the International. Howard Hughes is running his empire from the penthouse suite of the Desert Inn. And middle-America is flocking to The Strip, transforming it from an exclusive playground for the mob to a mecca for corporate dollars. But the city is also rotting from within. Heroin is pouring over the border from Mexico and the segregated Westside is on the cusp of a race war. The cops, brutally violent, are barely holding it together. Driving through town with the top of his pink Cadillac down, Sonny Liston is the one celebrity who's unafraid to bridge both worlds. Cashing in on his fading notoriety in the casinos, he is also dealing drugs, working as an enforcer for a crime syndicate, and trying to break into Hollywood as an action star. Along the way, he has a boxer's faith that he can duck any threat, slip any punch. Heroin addiction is the only knockout punch he doesn't see coming. On January 5, 1971, Liston was found dead in his home, with heroin in his blood, from what Las Vegas police speculated was a drug overdose. But Liston's closest friends never believed that he accidentally OD'd. They believed he was murdered. In the decades since, a cottage industry of theories has hung over his death. But none have been substantiated. By digging deep into the life Liston tried hard to hide, investigative journalist Shaun Assael treats Liston's death as a cold case. The result is a page-turning whodunit that evokes a glorious and grimy era of Las Vegas, based on police records and original interviews with cops and politicians who worked in Vegas at the time--including a key suspect who was accused of killing Liston, and who offers up his own theory about who did it. The Murder of Sonny Liston takes a fresh look at the legendary boxer, and the town he called home, getting to the bottom of one of America's most enduring mysteries"--
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Subjects
Subjects
African American boxers
African American boxers -- Biography
Biography & Autobiography
Boxers (Sports)
Boxers (Sports) -- United States -- Biography
Boxing
Heroin
Heroin -- Nevada -- Las Vegas -- History -- 20th century
History
Las Vegas (Nev.) -- History -- 20th century
Liston, Sonny
Liston, Sonny, -- 1932-1970
Nonfiction
Sports & Recreations
True Crime
African American boxers -- Biography
Biography & Autobiography
Boxers (Sports)
Boxers (Sports) -- United States -- Biography
Boxing
Heroin
Heroin -- Nevada -- Las Vegas -- History -- 20th century
History
Las Vegas (Nev.) -- History -- 20th century
Liston, Sonny
Liston, Sonny, -- 1932-1970
Nonfiction
Sports & Recreations
True Crime
More Details
Contributors:
ISBN:
9780399169755
9781681681337
9780698156661
9781681681337
9780698156661
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Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | 01c994a4-7a2e-a898-9196-487db5d9cb22 |
---|---|
Grouping Title | murder of sonny liston las vegas heroin and heavyweights |
Grouping Author | shaun assael |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2023-06-03 17:39:57PM |
Last Indexed | 2023-06-03 17:41:26PM |
Solr Fields
accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
auth_author2
Bray, R. C.
author
Assael, Shaun
author2-role
Bray, R. C
hoopla digital
hoopla digital
author_display
Assael, Shaun
available_at_catalog
Del Paso Heights
Sylvan Oaks
Valley Hi-North Laguna
Sylvan Oaks
Valley Hi-North Laguna
detailed_location_catalog
Central
Del Paso Heights
Sylvan Oaks
Valley Hi-North Laguna
Del Paso Heights
Sylvan Oaks
Valley Hi-North Laguna
display_description
"A daring investigation into the mysterious death of Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston, set against the dawn of the 1970s, when the mob was fighting to keep control of the Las Vegas Strip, Richard Nixon was launching America's first war on heroin, and boxing was in its glory days. Las Vegas, 1970: Elvis Presley is playing two shows a night at the International. Howard Hughes is running his empire from the penthouse suite of the Desert Inn. And middle-America is flocking to The Strip, transforming it from an exclusive playground for the mob to a mecca for corporate dollars. But the city is also rotting from within. Heroin is pouring over the border from Mexico and the segregated Westside is on the cusp of a race war. The cops, brutally violent, are barely holding it together. Driving through town with the top of his pink Cadillac down, Sonny Liston is the one celebrity who's unafraid to bridge both worlds. Cashing in on his fading notoriety in the casinos, he is also dealing drugs, working as an enforcer for a crime syndicate, and trying to break into Hollywood as an action star. Along the way, he has a boxer's faith that he can duck any threat, slip any punch. Heroin addiction is the only knockout punch he doesn't see coming. On January 5, 1971, Liston was found dead in his home, with heroin in his blood, from what Las Vegas police speculated was a drug overdose. But Liston's closest friends never believed that he accidentally OD'd. They believed he was murdered. In the decades since, a cottage industry of theories has hung over his death. But none have been substantiated. By digging deep into the life Liston tried hard to hide, investigative journalist Shaun Assael treats Liston's death as a cold case. The result is a page-turning whodunit that evokes a glorious and grimy era of Las Vegas, based on police records and original interviews with cops and politicians who worked in Vegas at the time--including a key suspect who was accused of killing Liston, and who offers up his own theory about who did it. The Murder of Sonny Liston takes a fresh look at the legendary boxer, and the town he called home, getting to the bottom of one of America's most enduring mysteries"--
format_catalog
Book
eAudiobook
eBook
eAudiobook
eBook
format_category_catalog
Audio Books
Books
eBook
Books
eBook
id
01c994a4-7a2e-a898-9196-487db5d9cb22
isbn
9780399169755
9780698156661
9781681681337
9780698156661
9781681681337
itype_catalog
Adult Book Non-Fiction
last_indexed
2023-06-04T00:41:26.029Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Non Fiction
literary_form_full
Non Fiction
local_callnumber_catalog
796.83092 L773za 2016
owning_library_catalog
Sacramento Public Library
owning_location_catalog
Central
Del Paso Heights
Sylvan Oaks
Valley Hi-North Laguna
Del Paso Heights
Sylvan Oaks
Valley Hi-North Laguna
primary_isbn
9780399169755
publishDate
2016
publisher
Blue Rider Press
HighBridge
Penguin Publishing Group
HighBridge
Penguin Publishing Group
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
African American boxers -- Biography
Boxers (Sports) -- United States -- Biography
Boxing
Heroin -- Nevada -- Las Vegas -- History -- 20th century
Las Vegas (Nev.) -- History -- 20th century
Liston, Sonny, -- 1932-1970
Boxers (Sports) -- United States -- Biography
Boxing
Heroin -- Nevada -- Las Vegas -- History -- 20th century
Las Vegas (Nev.) -- History -- 20th century
Liston, Sonny, -- 1932-1970
title_display
The murder of Sonny Liston : Las Vegas, heroin, and heavyweights
title_full
The Murder of Sonny Liston Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights
The murder of Sonny Liston : Las Vegas, heroin, and heavyweights / Shaun Assael
The murder of Sonny Liston : Las Vegas, heroin, and heavyweights [electronic resource] / Shaun Assael
The murder of Sonny Liston : Las Vegas, heroin, and heavyweights / Shaun Assael
The murder of Sonny Liston : Las Vegas, heroin, and heavyweights [electronic resource] / Shaun Assael
title_short
The murder of Sonny Liston
title_sub
Las Vegas, heroin, and heavyweights
topic_facet
African American boxers
Biography & Autobiography
Boxers (Sports)
Boxing
Heroin
History
Liston, Sonny
Nonfiction
Sports & Recreations
True Crime
Biography & Autobiography
Boxers (Sports)
Boxing
Heroin
History
Liston, Sonny
Nonfiction
Sports & Recreations
True Crime
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