Reviews

• Sehr empfehlenswerte Biographie

  Eine der besten Biographien, die ich bisher gelesen habe. Sehr detailliert und gut recherchiert. Johnsons Lebenslauf an sich ist extrem interessant, mitreißend und gibt Einblicke in eine ganz andere Zeit. Sein Charakter ist außergewöhnlich und das Buch wird bis zur letzten Seite nicht langweilig.

• Maquetado ilegible

  El libro pinta bien, pero es imposible saberlo ya que el maquetado es nefasto. Acaba siendo ilegible. Lo peor es que si quiero leerlo, tocará comprarlo de nuevo en papel... o sea que he perdido mi dinero.

• Great book!

  The best book on the great Jack Johnson He lived his life the way he wanted too at very bad times at when people looked down on the black race

• Lo and Behold one of the finest Biographies you are likely to read

  This is an amazing read about an amazing man - the notorious, wild living boxing champion Jack Johnson. Jack Johnson's life is action packed to say the least - talk about 'seizing the day' and living life to the full - Jack really went for it. What makes the story particularly incredible is that his achievements were via the bloody and murky world of turn of the twentieth century prize fighting and that he was black. The adversity, hostility, ignorance and prejudice faced by black americans during this period is staggering. The book is split into two parts - The Rise and The Fall. The Rise: As a man determined to live his life to the full and be his 'own man' and bow down to nobody, Jack is shown to be an incredible character and an inspiration for those who wish to live their lives and be true to themselves. He tackles rascism with courage and amazingly humour. His audacity is quite amazing - the nerve of the man to wind up 'white society' is jaw dropping. What a man! In my view a true hero - and though he didn't seem to declare himself a civil rights revolutionary I think in his own way he is one of the greatest. Jack Johnson stands for all the down trodden people regardless of race and what made him particularly fantastic was that he was big and tough enough to hammer the bullies! Part Two: We start to see that Jack's personal character begins to look somewhat suspect - his womanising and thirst for money tend to dominate and the pressures of holding the greatest sporting title starts to take its toll. Whereas in Part One we see the heroic rise of an inspirational man - in Part Two we see the great man descend into some questionable behaviour as various mud starts to stick. Ultimately though, throughout the book I found myself rooted for Jack Johnson - he stayed true to himself and was persecuted to the point where one is amazed he kept his sanity and bearing -at times he certainly wobbled. Though no saint and certainly capable of crude and often selfish behaviour I found him a fascinating, lovable rogue who took on the world and whose spirit shone bright. An inspirational man who lived an incredible life. Without doubt the best boxing biography I have ever read (and I have read quite a few) - definitely one for the boxing fans. But also it is one of the best biographies I have read on any person. The amount of detail is incredible - I would have difficulty putting that amount of detail if I had to write my own memoir! Simply astonishing - but utterly credible and undeniably authentically researched. Please don't pass this book by if you don't like boxing - it is an amazing historical and biographical protrait in its own right. Superbly crafted and put together by the author.The dilligent effort required to produce this masterpiece requires the highest praise - the story is fast paced, believable, impeccably researched (I even enjoyed reading the footnotes - the author knowing exactly what to keep in the main text to keep the story flowing and what to add to bring extra fascinating information to the subject). In summary, it is an awesome,brilliant work - if you are a boxing fan, like stories of the underdog facing the most hostile adversity,enjoy historical writing based on the early twentieth century then this is for you. Importantly it opened my eyes to the horrors and prejudices of racism and I felt continually moved and often outraged and ashamed to read of the experiences of Jack Johnson and his fellow black americans. A wonderful book fully deserving every one of its five stars!Mr ward has written a masterpiece and I look forward to reading his other works.

• The man, the myth, the legend

  From start to finish I couldn't put this book down. I found it compelling and hypnotizing in equal measure. That Jack Johnson was the man is for me beyond debate. His life reads like a Hollywood movie script. So much adventure had and genuine hardship overcome. The fighting and boxing matches are almost incidental to the book. Johnson has a character was so much more that just a boxer. He was a man who truly walked to the beat of his own drum. I couldn't help but feel inspired by how he had lived the life that he had wanted and refused to submit to the expectations of the day.

Purchase links