Boxing. By R. G. Allanson-Winn. (A. D. lanes and The
" Isthmian Library" of sports has received a further con- tribution in the shape of a treatise upon what has been called " the noble art of self-defence." In the course of an introductory chapter, the author, Mr. Allanson-Winn, pleads the cause of boxing not without eloquence, and adduces strong arguments to prove not only that the sport is desirable in itself, but also that it is capable of scientific exposition. Unfortunately it is diffi- cult to believe that boxing can be learnt from a text-book. The author is most painstaking and definitely precise in his directions, but one still doubts whether a beginner would not learn more in half-an-hour's rough sparring than he would by committing the whole " Art of Boxing " to memory. However, if the mystery can be explained in words, the author has done his best to do so, and the amateur will undoubtedly find many valuable hints in these pages. Not the least interesting feature in Mr. A_llanson- Winn's work is his reproduction of the accounts of some of the most famous prize-fights in the history of the Ring, and the com- parison which he institutes between the art of boxing as prac- tised in the early part of this century and the glove-fights of to-day. The comparison is all in favour of the modern champion as far as science is concerned, though it is possible that the latter can never hope to excel his predecessors in pluck and endurance under punishment. It is a pity that the author has not secured photographs of more graceful exponents of the art to illustrate his work. The rather stout gentlemen who are portrayed in the the act of "leading off with the right," "cross-countering," and similar operations, though they may be excellent boxers, can hardly be said to be decorative.
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