Nothing in the annals of sports has aroused more passion than the heavyweight fights in New York in 1936 and 1938 between Joe Louis and Max Schmeli...
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Jul 18, 2009
Steven
rated it: 
The world waited to watch the second Louis Schmeling fight possibly more than any boxing match since.
Louis was a black man in a nation that only tolerated black men, but he was on a meteoric rise to the most respected spot in sports.
Schmeling had a Jewish manager, which did not sit well with Hitler, but Hitler knew an idol when he saw one. Stylish, intelligent, but with his boxing career peaking, Schmeling was the ideal role model of the German man.
And both m More...
Louis was a black man in a nation that only tolerated black men, but he was on a meteoric rise to the most respected spot in sports.
Schmeling had a Jewish manager, which did not sit well with Hitler, but Hitler knew an idol when he saw one. Stylish, intelligent, but with his boxing career peaking, Schmeling was the ideal role model of the German man.
And both m More...
Feb 04, 2010
Clay
rated it: 
"Beyond Glory" is a nice, long Harper's Magazine feature on the second fight between Joe Louis and Max Schmeling expanded into 351 pages of padding. Details such as the amount of money the city of Livermore CA bet on Max Baer, or quotes from the magazine of Germany's SS, are simply pointless, though David Margolick seems to feel that endless accretion of detail enhances rather than buries a narrative.
Though the racial/Nazi element in the fight was real, Margolick pounds it More...
Though the racial/Nazi element in the fight was real, Margolick pounds it More...
May 08, 2010
Andrew
rated it: 
If you are a fan of the sport, the times, or Joe Louis then I'd highly recommend this book. I've always found boxing fascinating especially during its heyday in the United States. I have always been intrigued by the public view of the sport and how it can champion or villianize it's competitors. The one downfall of this book is that the research is so indepth that it can become burdensome to read.
Again not for the average reader but if you take a special interest in the sport, I'd More...
Again not for the average reader but if you take a special interest in the sport, I'd More...
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Jul 26, 2008
Jeff
rated it:
Too thoroughly researched to be read briskly, which may put off people who just want to read about the fighters, the personalities, and so on.
Margolick, however, must be praised for so completely giving this reader a sense of how fantastically popular the sport of boxing once was. He describes not only how dramatic the confrontations between these two fighters were, but underscores the nationalistic importance both fighters reluctantly accrued, and explores the racial politics surrou More...
Margolick, however, must be praised for so completely giving this reader a sense of how fantastically popular the sport of boxing once was. He describes not only how dramatic the confrontations between these two fighters were, but underscores the nationalistic importance both fighters reluctantly accrued, and explores the racial politics surrou More...
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Dec 30, 2011
Jack
rated it:
Too many contemporary newspaper quotes and generally too little analysis hamper this book from being a very important contribution to the history of the period of the Louis-Schmeling fights. This era, the 1930s, was fraught with racism on both sides of the Atlantic, and frequent manipulations in the sport of boxing to determine who would hold the heavyweight title.
Mar 06, 2007
Ethan
rated it:
A little too much about the fight and not enough about the world, but very thorough explanation of the events leading up to June 22, 1938. The first fight is a little brushed over.
Dec 17, 2007
Carrie
rated it:
Why would I like a book about boxing?? Because this one is about history and politics and racism and money and - oh yeah, sometimes they box.
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