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29th out of 100 books
—
39 voters
Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink
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 Schmeling — bouts that symbolized the hopes, hatreds, and fears of a world moving toward total war. Acclaimed journalist David Margolick takes us into the careers of both men — a black American and a Nazi German hero — and depicts the...more
Paperback, 464 pages
Published
October 10th 2006
by Vintage
(first published September 2nd 2002)
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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 men lived at a time when the Heavyweig...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 men lived at a time when the Heavyweig...more
"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 into the reader with t...more
Though the racial/Nazi element in the fight was real, Margolick pounds it into the reader with t...more
I hugely detailed, insightful work culled from thousands of press reports from the era right before WWII, during and after. The entire attitude towards race at that time is cataloged carefully from the pages of Nazi, Northern, Southern, Communist, and black Newspapers. The details of each fight are riveting and beautiful. Certainly this is a wonderful work of history, and a good example of how journalism today may be more "fair" and unemotional and impartial, but it is also more boring, less bea...more
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 recommend pick...more
Again not for the average reader but if you take a special interest in the sport, I'd recommend pick...more
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 surrounding both.
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 surrounding both.
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.
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.
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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