Max Baer and Barney Ross: Jewish Heroes of Boxing [Hardcover]

Max Baer and Barney Ross: Jewish Heroes of Boxing is a valuable contribution to the history of boxing and the general field of sport studies. The book will certainly appeal to sports fans and historians. Even those who have been working on these topics for many years may gain fresh insights about their own subject specialisms. Selections from this publication can make good seminar readings for history students to respond to and should stimulate plenty of lively debate.In this accessible book, Sussman details the history of Jewish boxers Max Baer and Barney Ross, select competitors and contemporaries, and the anti-Semitism that surrounded both mens careers in the 1920s and 1930s. The author also discusses the general anti-Semitic culture in America during that period, the major players involved in perpetuating these beliefs, and the roles that Jewish boxers played within that culture. Other cultural forces discussed include the Great Depression and Hollywood. More descriptive history than academic tome, and often liberally pulling from other biographies, this work is not based on much original or academic research; instead, it focuses primarily on books and movies as source material to piece together a narrative. The author writes conversationally and often includes his own voice in the writing while relating his experiences with and interest in boxing and boxers. Filling in a specific gap in the history of boxing&this work is decent for those lower-level undergraduates or boxing fans interested in the history of this period in boxing and the role of Jewish boxers in history.Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and general readers.From ancient times to the present, the fighting spirit of the Jews has been unquestioned. The many Jewish boxing champions and contenders celebrated in Jeffrey Sussmans Max Baer and Barney Ross  Jewish Heroes of Boxing exemplifies this great fighting tradition. The Jewish dedication, perseverance and intelligence have sl£§