War in the Ring

April 1, 2019
A historic boxing match becomes a proxy for world politics as legendary African-American boxer Joe Louis takes on his most memorable opponent, German Max Schmeling. Louis' parents migrated from Alabama to Detroit, Michigan, in the 1920s hoping for opportunity. Despite his stepfather's objections, Joe was drawn to the boxing ring, and it wasn't long before he was a contender. His exploits made him a hero, particularly to the African-American community, but boxing authorities seemed reluctant to see a black champion. Meanwhile, Max Schmeling was moving up the ranks in Europe, eventually coming to the United States and securing the world heavyweight championship--and winning the admiration of Adolf Hitler, whose Nazi Party was rising to power in Germany. The first fight between the black man and the white man ended in defeat for the American, and by the time their rematch occurred in 1938, the "battle [became] much more than a contest between two prizefighters....Had you asked almost any American, you'd have heard that Joe Louis was taking on the führer himself." Florio and Shapiro bring considerable skill to their lively telling of this multilayered slice of history. They provide solid context for readers while keeping the focus on the match and its aftermath, giving an honest account of the racism and anti-Semitism intertwined throughout and realistically portraying the complexities of both men. Contemporaneous pictures enhance the narrative. Compelling history well told. (source notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

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April 15, 2019
Florio and Shapiro (One Nation Under Baseball) vividly recount the politically and racially charged rivalry between African-American boxing champion Joe Louis and white German boxer Max Schmeling, which grew between their 1936 and 1938 matches. Tracing both men’s careers from inception until they hung up their gloves, the authors illuminate how emblematic each was to his country while exploring the social issues of the day. Born to an Alabama sharecropper, Louis turned professional at age 20. His success in a white-controlled sport made him both famous and “a symbol of the struggle... for emancipation.” Also from humble roots, Schmeling hoped to retake the world heavyweight title he had lost in 1932. His pummeling of the hitherto-undefeated Louis in 1936 sealed his reputation as a star in Nazi Germany—and ensured that Americans were even more inclined to root for Louis at the boxers’ 1938 rematch. Louis’s triumph launched his record 12-year hold on the world heavyweight title. The authors end this sympathetic joint portrait by contrasting the men at their later “civilian” encounters: Louis in the U.S. with tax and health problems and a fit, prosperous Schmeling in Germany. Photos, source notes, bibliography, and an index supplement the text. Ages 10–14.

May 1, 2019

Gr 4-6-The two heavyweight championship fights between Joe Louis, representing the United States, and Max Schmeling, representing Germany, serve as a metaphor for the lead-up to World War II and the fight against fascism. Each man carried the weight of national pride on his shoulders, but Louis also carried the burden of being a black man in Jim Crow America. Louis lost the first match badly but redeemed himself in the second bout by knocking Schmeling out in just two minutes and four seconds. America, especially the Black community, regarded Louis's win as a symbol of perseverance and hope, but Schmeling was ostracized in Germany. Florio and Shapiro follow each man on his path to the matches, placing their respective journeys within the historical context of Hitler's rise and fall. The story manages to illuminate beyond what is told in history books, and what people were feeling in those years of war. Even for readers not well-versed in boxing lore, the story is fascinating and reads as smoothly as a novel. In addition to photographs and an index, the book also contains extensive chapter notes and an impressive bibliography of varied sources. VERDICT For a slightly different take on the time period, this volume captures a microcosm with a personal perspective. Recommended for all public and school libraries.-Katherine Koenig, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2019
Grades 4-7 When world heavyweight champion Joe Louis met German boxer Max Schmeling in the ring, the evening of June 22, 1938, it was more than a simple boxing match: it had great symbolic weight as well, for it was perceived as being a fight between the U.S. and Germany, between democracy and Nazism. Who would win? Before bringing readers to this white-knuckle event, Florio and Shapiro offer brief biographies of the two antagonists and chart their careers in the ring, especially that of Louis, arguably the greatest heavyweight boxer of his time. The entire book is smoothly written, but the coauthors particularly shine in their blow-by-blow reporting of ring action and, further, at finding the drama inherent in both icons' lives. To their credit, they don't sugarcoat their material, sharing the sad details of Louis' postcareer life. Yet the Brown Bomber's legend endures. As Reverend Jesse Jackson said in eulogizing him, God sent Joe from the black race to represent the human race. Thoroughly sourced, Florio and Shapiro's book celebrating Louis' life is a knockout.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)