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Sport and Society
Beyond the Ring: The Role of Boxing in American Society
"Carefully documents the ruin waiting for almost all those ill-advised enough to become professional boxers. He confirms all the legends, of crime, of swindling, of the miserable economic rewards allotted to the vast majority of fighters...the traditional racism of the American ring...No one, reading Sammons, can doubt that it is evil." - "Times Literary Supplement."
- GenresSportsHistoryNonfiction
376 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 14, 2020
For fans of combative sports who like to read something more intellectually meaty than “Ring” magazine, and who have an interest in history, politics, law and social issues, this is practically a “must read”. For the casual reader, this might be a bit of a stretch.
It’s not without flaws. There are times where I wish Sammons had written more material to flesh out a point, or written more clearly. My eyes nearly crossed when I got bogged down in the labyrinthian section on criminal influences in boxing. There are probably at least five potential books contained in this one.
One example of where he falls short:
On page 104 Sammons writes, “”Progressive” thinkers had finally accepted and promoted education as a way to uplift the black race while controlling it, just as the North had “Americanized” and acculturated immigrant groups through education.”
The assertion isn’t footnoted or fleshed out any further. It suggests that the “progressives” had a nefarious goal of “controlling” blacks, as they did with other immigrant groups in the North. Placing the term “progressive” in quotation marks suggests that regardless of where they were, North and South, those advocating education for minorities were anything but “progressive”. It also seems counter intuitive to suggest that education is a way to control a minority group. When did despots ever want an enlightened population?
In any case, its a pretty strong statement, and one that merits further discussion (if not its own separate book). One unsubstantiated line like that isn’t enough. The book is worth it if your nerdiness is on the right end of the spectrum (mine is). It’s a good follow up to Gorn’s “The Manly Art”.
One example of where he falls short:
On page 104 Sammons writes, “”Progressive” thinkers had finally accepted and promoted education as a way to uplift the black race while controlling it, just as the North had “Americanized” and acculturated immigrant groups through education.”
The assertion isn’t footnoted or fleshed out any further. It suggests that the “progressives” had a nefarious goal of “controlling” blacks, as they did with other immigrant groups in the North. Placing the term “progressive” in quotation marks suggests that regardless of where they were, North and South, those advocating education for minorities were anything but “progressive”. It also seems counter intuitive to suggest that education is a way to control a minority group. When did despots ever want an enlightened population?
In any case, its a pretty strong statement, and one that merits further discussion (if not its own separate book). One unsubstantiated line like that isn’t enough. The book is worth it if your nerdiness is on the right end of the spectrum (mine is). It’s a good follow up to Gorn’s “The Manly Art”.
Displaying 1 of 1 review