Ring of hate : the Brown Bomber and Hitler's hero, Joe Louis v. Max Schmeling and the bitter propaganda war

Ring of hate tells the story of one of the greatest sports events of the twentieth century, the heavy-weight championship bout between Germany's Max Schmeling and America's "Brown Bomber", Joe Louis - at a time when both men carried their nation's hopes on their shoulders. More than the world heavyweight championship was at stake when Joe Louis fought Max Schmeling on June 22, 1938. In a world on the brink of war, the fight was perceived as a contest between nations, races, and political ideologies - the symbol of a much vaster struggle. Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels boasted that the Aryan Schmeling would crush his "inferior" black opponent. President Franklin D. Roosevelt told Louis, his guest at the White House, that "America needs muscles like yours to beat Germany." For Louis, this was also his chance to avenge the only loss in his brilliant professional career - by a knockout - to the same Max Schmeling two years earlier. Includes bibliographical references and index. 256 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portraits ; 20 cm