Ring of Hate: Joe Louis Vs. Max Schmeling: The Fight of the Century

by Patrick Myler

"The definitive book" (The Ring) on one of the greatest sports events of the twentieth century, the heavyweight championship bout between Germany's Max Schmeling and America's "Brown Bomber," Joe Louis.

More than the world heavyweight championship was at stake when Joe Louis fought Max Schmeling on June 22, 1938. In a world on the brink of war, the fight was depicted as a contest between nations, races, and political ideologies, the symbol of a much vaster struggle. Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels boasted that the Aryan Schmeling would crush his "inferior" black opponent. President Roosevelt told Louis, his guest at the White House, that "America needs muscles like yours to beat Germany." For Louis, this was also his chance to avenge the only loss in his brilliant career-by a knockout-to the same Max Schmeling two years earlier. Recreating the drama of their momentous bout, the author traces the lives of both fighters before and after the fight, including Schmeling's efforts in Nazi Germany to protect Jewish friends and the two boxers' surprising friendship in the postwar years. In Ring of Hate Myler tells the story of two decent men, drawn together by boxing and divided by the cruel demands of competing nations.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, History

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Sean · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was so disappointing based on the interesting topic. First off, the publisher should be ashamed. This book is littered with typos, publishing errors, misspellings, etc. It was maddening to read. As for the actual writing, it was flat out bad. The writer had no idea how to lay the book out. The book centered on the two fighters, Louis and Schmeling, but would meander for no reason. Huge parts of their lives were glossed over for no apparent reason. There could have been 100 pages on just their two fights, instead this reads like a Wikipdeia entry. I wanted to love this book. Sadly, I don't know how anyone could.

[Les Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five-star entertainment. Author Patrick Mylar can best be described as a heavyweight champion among writers of boxing history. This book is a stellar accomplishment - an exploration of the many dimensions of the personalities of two great fighters who battled more than just each other in the turbulent days of the World War II era.
Max Schmeling is booed in America as a Nazi sympathizer when all German nationals are associated with the reign of Hitler. He secretly works behind the scenes to help Germany's Jewish community.
Joe Louis is a black champion whom many whites resent and want to see defeated simply because of ingrained prejudice. Joe is color-blind, well-mannered, considerate and helpful to everyone he meets.
Both men possess an extraordinary sense of fairness and perform humanitarian acts of heroism that elevate them above the ordinary man and ensure that they will be remembered and revered for much more than their boxing performances.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the 1938 Olympics, a black American boxer fought the German champion. This work parallels the lives of Joe Louis and Max Schmeling. The battle was billed as a contest between two ideologies. Well written with appendixes listing the complete records for both fighters.