BRIN-JONATHAN BUTLER is a writer and filmmaker. His work has appeared in ESPN Magazine, Vice, Deadspin, The Wall Street Journal, Salon, and The New York Times. Butler's documentary, Split Decision, is Butler's examination of Cuban American relations and the economic and cultural paradoxes that have shaped them since Castro's revolution, through the lens of elite Cuban boxers forced to choose between remaining in Cuba or defecting to America.
"A writer with less integrity might have concluded...that Fidel
Castro's experiment had failed....But [Butler's] time in Cuba
provided this talented and ambitious writer with all he needed to
introduce readers to the complex and contradictory island he
loves."--The Boston Globe
"Far more than a sports memoir, this terrific book explores the
world of Cuba's famed boxers, who have chosen to live in dire
poverty in their home country even as multi million-dollar paydays
await them elsewhere....[Butler] provides a rich (if quirky)
portrait of contemporary Havana, a decaying city that remains, even
in tatters, one of the most soulful and bewitching places on the
planet." --Chicago Tribune
"Butler deftly bobs and weaves his way through Havana past and
present in his gonzo-poetic blend of sports journalism, political
philosophizing, and gorgeous first-person travelogue...this is a
book that pulls no punches." --Passport Magazine"Gripping."
--Sports Illustrated"In this striking memoir, writer and filmmaker
Butler examines his bittersweet love affair with Cuba through the
lens of boxing...More artist than journalist, Butler approaches his
material slantwise, and much of his prose is fluid and
searching....He has produced a book worthy of Cuba's beauty and
sorrow." --Publishers Weekly"[Butler's] gritty portrayal of the
island is an authentic glimpse into the lives of those who live it
every day. In many ways, the book acts as a hands-on travel guide
to Cuba, infecting readers with an urge to visit. His passion for
the island is contagious. With the United States embargo against
Cuba likely soon to be lifted, the island is on the verge of what
could turn out to be radical change. The Domino Diaries is one last
look inside Fidel Castro's Cuba." --The Globe and Mail"People
lament that this is no Golden Age of boxing writing. Hogwash, I
say....I recommend writer Brin-Jonathan Butler. [He is] principled,
intelligent, and can collect big picture thoughts and philosophy
and render it accessible." --The Sweet Science"This memoir is
particularly timely....You can embrace this book with an eye toward
its cultural commentary or you can focus on the sport of boxing.
Either way, there's plenty to learn." --Beth Fish Reads"Butler is a
sensitive observer, imparting in a most visceral way the smells,
sounds, visuals, and, most gloriously, the unblushing sexuality of
a Cuba on the precipice of another, larger, perhaps most fatal
American invasion: tourism." --Booklist"Colorful writing and
insightful analysis....A nuanced portrait of the grays where
reality lies between the black and white." --Kirkus Reviews"In The
Domino Diaries, Brin-Jonathan Butler writes like a heavyweight
champion: Tyson's power, Ali's elegance, and Joe Louis's humanity,
all of them are on display here. Writing, like boxing, is a
solitary endeavor, one that gets displayed nakedly, for better or
worse, to the world. This engrossing work not only looks at the
sweeping world, it delves into the darkness of being alone with
your aloneness. A total knockout." --Charles Bock, New York Times
bestselling author of Beautiful Children"There's nothing in the
world like America's grasping, oversexed, blundering, blustery and
oft-deadly relationship with Cuba. Charting this fever dream, this
illness of love and fear, requires a poet's ear, an outsider's eye,
a boxer's clinical cruelty, and an unhealthy attraction to
breakage. I give you Brin-Jonathan Butler. Anyone can--and,
especially now, will--tell you what to think about Cuba. But no one
can show you better how the place makes you feel." --S.L. Price,
Sports Illustrated Senior Writer and author of Pitching Around
Fidel: A Journey into the Heart of Cuban Sports"You don't have to
be a boxing fan to enjoy Butler's book. The discussion of sport
takes a back seat to the fascinating cultural insight and
comparisons to American culture." --Vice on A Cuban Boxer's
Journey"A subtle and powerful examination of Cuba, as seen through
the eyes of its most celebrated boxers. Filled with memorable
characters caught in the middle of an existential struggle."
--Steve Fainaru, Pulitzer Prize-winning coauthor of The Duke of
Havana: Baseball, Cuba, and the Search for the American Dream on A
Cuban Boxer's Journey
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