Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
America's black boxing champion. Hitler's favorite athlete. And a world at war.
Joe Louis was born on an Alabama cotton patch and raised in a Detroit ghetto. Max Schmeling grew up in poverty in Hamburg, Germany. For both boys, boxing was a way out and a way up. Little did they know someday they would face each other in a pair of battles that would capture the imagination of the world.
In America, Joe was a symbol of hope to a nation of blacks yearning to participate in the American dream. In Germany, Max was made to symbolize the superiority of the Aryan race. The two men climbed through the ropes with the weight of their countries on their shoulders--and only one would leave victorious.
The battles waged between Joe and Max still resonate today. War in the Ring is the story of these two outsized heroes, their lives, their careers, and the global conflict swirling around them.
Synopsis
In the years leading up to WWII, an American boxing hero competed against a German champion in what would become a historic battle of the nations.
Joe Louis was born on an Alabama cotton patch and raised in a Detroit ghetto. Max Schmeling grew up in poverty in Hamburg, Germany. For both boys, boxing was a path out and a ladder up. Little did they know that they would one day face each other in a pair of matches that would capture the world's attention.
Joe grew into a symbol of inspiration to a nation of Black Americans hoping to carve a slice of the 'American Dream' in a racially fractured country. Max, on the other hand, became a Nazi symbol for the superiority of the Aryan race.
The battles waged between Joe and Max still resonate, and the cultural implications of the international sensation continue to reverberate far past the ring.
Synopsis
War in the Ring presents a riveting nonfiction book for kids about a boxing match that represented the growing tensions between the United States and Nazi Germany in the lead up to World War II.
Joe Louis was born on an Alabama cotton patch and raised in a Detroit ghetto. Max Schmeling grew up in poverty in Hamburg, Germany. For both boys, boxing was a path out and a ladder up. Little did they know that they would one day face each other in a pair of matches that would capture the world's attention.
Joe grew into a symbol of inspiration to a nation of Black Americans hoping to carve a slice of the 'American Dream' in a racially fractured country. Max, on the other hand, became a Nazi symbol for the superiority of the Aryan race.
The battles waged between Joe and Max still resonate, and the cultural implications of the international sensation continue to reverberate far past the ring.