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Joe Louis: Black Champion in White America
"A stunning piece of work that transcends the genre of sports biography." — Kirkus Reviews
"Boxing aficionados will be fascinated . . . a valuable addition to American social history." — Washington Post Book World
"This outstanding book not only chronicles the career of a great boxer, but charts the rise of sports as a legitimate form of American recreation and the public's changing perception of the Afro-American athlete. . . . Thorough and compelling." — San Francisco Chronicle
This critically acclaimed biography chronicles the life and times of Joe Louis, the famed African-American pugilist. Known affectionately as The Brown Bomber, Louis held the heavyweight boxing championship for a record eleven years and blazed a trail in professional sports for Jackie Robinson and other black athletes.
A dynamic combination of sports and social history, this narrative traces the champion's rise from abject poverty in the segregated South to his gradual acceptance and eventual adulation by the American public of the 1930s and '40s. Dramatic accounts of his triumphs in the ring include his finest the 1938 defeat of Max Schmeling, Hitler's champion, which made Louis the living symbol of American freedom and human rights. Fourteen photographs illustrate this compelling biography.
"Boxing aficionados will be fascinated . . . a valuable addition to American social history." — Washington Post Book World
"This outstanding book not only chronicles the career of a great boxer, but charts the rise of sports as a legitimate form of American recreation and the public's changing perception of the Afro-American athlete. . . . Thorough and compelling." — San Francisco Chronicle
This critically acclaimed biography chronicles the life and times of Joe Louis, the famed African-American pugilist. Known affectionately as The Brown Bomber, Louis held the heavyweight boxing championship for a record eleven years and blazed a trail in professional sports for Jackie Robinson and other black athletes.
A dynamic combination of sports and social history, this narrative traces the champion's rise from abject poverty in the segregated South to his gradual acceptance and eventual adulation by the American public of the 1930s and '40s. Dramatic accounts of his triumphs in the ring include his finest the 1938 defeat of Max Schmeling, Hitler's champion, which made Louis the living symbol of American freedom and human rights. Fourteen photographs illustrate this compelling biography.
352 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 17, 2019
Chris Mead’s effort read like a documentary of Joe Louis’s career with painstaking research on his fights and the technicalities surrounding them. I enjoyed the book to learn more about a hometown hero (hailing from the Detroit area myself) but was hoping to learn more about the person.
There is very little about his upbringing and Louis’s personal life is more of a side note. Not much on his motivations and inner struggles though there is plenty of fodder given to make educated guesses. I don’t sense Mead had a lot of real inside information though his research on the surface was exceptional.
Interesting to read about his financial incompetence and other issues in later life.
I would have liked to know more about his relationship with the city of Detroit. A major arena housing the Detroit Red Wings was built and named in his honor as well as a giant fist sculpture in Hart Plaza yet there was no mention of it in the book. I am curious as to how those came about, how Louis felt about them. I am also curious as to where exactly he grew up and what became of his neighborhood and his childhood friends, of which there is minimal info. Surely there are stories there and people still alive at the time of the writing.
A good bio, just don’t go into it looking for anything up close and personal. It’s more a survey, and an accurate survey, of his life and his lasting legacy.
There is very little about his upbringing and Louis’s personal life is more of a side note. Not much on his motivations and inner struggles though there is plenty of fodder given to make educated guesses. I don’t sense Mead had a lot of real inside information though his research on the surface was exceptional.
Interesting to read about his financial incompetence and other issues in later life.
I would have liked to know more about his relationship with the city of Detroit. A major arena housing the Detroit Red Wings was built and named in his honor as well as a giant fist sculpture in Hart Plaza yet there was no mention of it in the book. I am curious as to how those came about, how Louis felt about them. I am also curious as to where exactly he grew up and what became of his neighborhood and his childhood friends, of which there is minimal info. Surely there are stories there and people still alive at the time of the writing.
A good bio, just don’t go into it looking for anything up close and personal. It’s more a survey, and an accurate survey, of his life and his lasting legacy.
May 16, 2023
An excellent and objective look at Joe Louis, both in and out of the ring. The author does not pull any punches on Louis’s personal failures, nor the explicit racism experienced by Louis from sportswriters and white Americans.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was well researched. The author gave me insights into Joe Louis that I had not known before. The only thing I did not like was the punch by punch description of many of Louis’s fights - that was tedious (thus 4 stars instead of 5).
Joe Louis was the man who pioneered integration. He was a hero to blacks, who worshipped him. Even whites were won over to Louis’s personality, something unheard of in the 1930’s and 40’s. Louis’s quiet and calm demeanor, his athletic greatness, and military service all defined him as an exemplary man, and the first colored superstar of boxing. A true legend, Joe Louis is mentioned even today as one of the top three fighters of all-time. Louis held the heavyweight title for over 11 years, a record that will likely never be broken.
Louis went from enormous triumph (his decisive win over Max Schmelling) to great tragedy in his life (his mental illness battle), yet through it all, in good times and bad, he soldiered on, which is why I admire him so. Louis paved the way for Jackie Robinson to break the color barrier in baseball, and for other colored athletes in football and basketball. And he did in in a quiet and unassuming manner.
Joe Louis is one of my heroes, among many, and this book only furthers his hero status in my mind, while laying bare his many significant personal flaws.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was well researched. The author gave me insights into Joe Louis that I had not known before. The only thing I did not like was the punch by punch description of many of Louis’s fights - that was tedious (thus 4 stars instead of 5).
Joe Louis was the man who pioneered integration. He was a hero to blacks, who worshipped him. Even whites were won over to Louis’s personality, something unheard of in the 1930’s and 40’s. Louis’s quiet and calm demeanor, his athletic greatness, and military service all defined him as an exemplary man, and the first colored superstar of boxing. A true legend, Joe Louis is mentioned even today as one of the top three fighters of all-time. Louis held the heavyweight title for over 11 years, a record that will likely never be broken.
Louis went from enormous triumph (his decisive win over Max Schmelling) to great tragedy in his life (his mental illness battle), yet through it all, in good times and bad, he soldiered on, which is why I admire him so. Louis paved the way for Jackie Robinson to break the color barrier in baseball, and for other colored athletes in football and basketball. And he did in in a quiet and unassuming manner.
Joe Louis is one of my heroes, among many, and this book only furthers his hero status in my mind, while laying bare his many significant personal flaws.
February 24, 2022
Interesting perspective on Joe Louis's impact on black / white relations in the 1930s and 1940s. Got bogged down a little in the details of some of his fights. Interesting man with a complex history.
June 9, 2016
4.5 stars - Excellent look at the life and career of boxing champ Joe Louis, recommended by my boxing aficionado friend Michael Kronenberg. Mead's examination of the life of Louis is impressive, but the book really soars in its descriptions of the fights themselves. The challenge of writing this book (first published in 1985) without overstating or understating the importance of Louis's career and impact on race relations had to be difficult, yet Mead does an outstanding job of honestly capturing the time and consciousness of America from the start of Louis's career in the 1930s until his death in 1981. A few times Mead runs the risk of repeating his points too much, but again, he generally finds a good middle ground of stressing what needs to be stressed without becoming overbearing. Joe Louis is a man who should never be forgotten and this book should never go out of print.
June 20, 2015
Jim, Main patron, June 2015, 5 stars:
The story of the remarkable career of Joe Louis, this book uses repeated citations from news media of the day to create the desired atmosphere for the work. It is both a tragic and uplifting tale.
The story of the remarkable career of Joe Louis, this book uses repeated citations from news media of the day to create the desired atmosphere for the work. It is both a tragic and uplifting tale.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews