Having not picked up a boxing book in a while, I decided to request this one on Joe Louis. While there is boxing in it, this book is really about so much more. Here is my review of “The Fight of His Life.”
Title/Author: “The Fight of His Life: Joe Louis’ Battle for Freedom During World War II” by Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith
Rating: 4 of 5 stars (very good)
Review: It is well known and well documented that Joe Louis became a national hero when he defeated German fighter Max Schmeling to become the heavyweight champion of the world at a time when the Nazis were rising to power in Germany. What isn’t as well known was Louis’ later troubles with blt at racism and segregation when he enlisted in the United States Army to help defeat the Nazis. His time in both the ring and the military is captured in this book co-written by Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith.
As the subtitle will imply, much of the book is dedicated to Louis’ time in the Army. Instead of engaging in combat duty, his main duty was to promote goodwill amongst the troops, put on boxing exhibitions and to also show at least on the surface that Black soldiers were making a difference in the Allied forces’ efforts. As Roberts and Smith illustrate, that was not the case. Some of the best work they do in this book are also some of the hardest parts to read. The discrimination, poor work assignments (especially for Black enlisted sailors in the Navy) and treatment on liberty by military police are portrayed in enough detail that will make even a hardened reader shake their head.
Along with the portrayal of Louis as a vice for the Black military member, the book does a very good job of portraying Louis as a great boxer, a married man with a wandering eye (especially while in service as he and Lena Horne were an item) and also as a person who was used and indebted to his boxing manager Mike Jacobs. I never realized just how much financial difficulty Loouis had until reading this book.
This is a book that certainly pulls no punches to fully describe the activist in Joe Louis and for that reason alone, it is one that should be read by all, not just boxing fans.
I wish to thank Basic Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment