The Tipton Slasher, His Life and Times by Tom Langley
 
William Perry is one of those Black Country legends who crosses the boundaries of both sport and Black Country history. His early life mirrors the life of so many people in the early 19th century; harsh living conditions, hard and physical labour, low life expectancy and the grime and dust of the emerging Black Country. His transformation into the Tipton Slasher and bare knuckle boxing’s Champion of England is a remarkable tale. His demise, at the razor sharp hands of Tom Sayers gives a poignancy to the story that fiction could not hope to re-create. This book is a refreshed and amended re-print of one of our earliest publications by Tom Langley. Extra material has been added and a lot of effort has been put in to ensure this is a book that is relevant to the 21st century. The original format has been changed, so that accounts of the fights between Perry and his opponents run alongside the account of his life. Then there is poetry, further comment on his life, a glossary and a number of images of fighters of his day. Extra images have also been found, together with an additional account of Perry’s clash with Charles Freeman (The American Giant). The cover has also been totally re-designed and all in all this is a most attractive publication at a very reasonable price.