My Critique of Richard Bak's Joe Louis, The Great Black Hope

[QueensburyRules]

- - Not being mean to note some of the more obvious failings of this bio, the main culprits the off putting title and black, red, yellow cover of daggers surrounding a very fuzzy Joe.


s-l500.jpg



To be fair, Bak is a baseball guy, not a boxing guy, but growing up in Detroit felt an obligation to write about Louis.

Anyway, my copy is from the Dolton Library in South Chicago, near never before cracked until I got my grubbies on it. Published in 1996, it doesn't appear in the library until 2010 where it was never checked out much less thumbed thru. Likely the publisher off loaded surplus books.

Anyway Joe in spite of being a massive 11 lb Heavyweight at birth in rural Alabama, he was disturbingly slow in his early development much like my 4 lb preemie youngest and never took to school or books. But like Joe, when he matured, they were both physically blessed beyond the normal.

Anyway, honored beyond honor to take in the substantial good, bad, and ugly, so updates coming.

[billeau2]

- - Not being mean to note some of the more obvious failings of this bio, the main culprits the off putting title and black, red, yellow cover of daggers surrounding a very fuzzy Joe.


s-l500.jpg



To be fair, Bak is a baseball guy, not a boxing guy, but growing up in Detroit felt an obligation to write about Louis.

Anyway, my copy is from the Dolton Library in South Chicago, near never before cracked until I got my grubbies on it. Published in 1996, it doesn't appear in the library until 2010 where it was never checked out much less thumbed thru. Likely the publisher off loaded surplus books.

Anyway Joe in spite of being a massive 11 lb Heavyweight at birth in rural Alabama, he was disturbingly slow in his early development much like my 4 lb preemie youngest and never took to school or books. But like Joe, when he matured, they were both physically blessed beyond the normal.

Anyway, honored beyond honor to take in the substantial good, bad, and ugly, so updates coming.

George Plimpton syndrome... yeah those daggers lol.

[kara]

George Plimpton syndrome... yeah those daggers lol.

You see a lot of that... sportswriters who don't follow boxing closely, but decided to do a book on a boxer.

[QueensburyRules]

You see a lot of that... sportswriters who don't follow boxing closely, but decided to do a book on a boxer.

- - Sometimes and outsider has a better overall perspective than a frenzied tunnel vision fan.

Like maybe Thomas Hauser who seems to have POed more than a few Ali acquaintances who found themselves shut out of his circle including his own son, Ali Jr. I prob think Ali's wife who had taken over his affairs was trying to oversee his increasing dependence and financial affairs that were naturally quite strenuous needed to greatly reduce his schedule.

[billeau2]

You see a lot of that... sportswriters who don't follow boxing closely, but decided to do a book on a boxer.

Yes, that was the point I wanted to make. Nothing against Plimpton of course lol.

[billeau2]

You see a lot of that... sportswriters who don't follow boxing closely, but decided to do a book on a boxer.

There was a time when sportswriters... even regular writers followed the sport and had informed opinions... Jack London himself, though Jack really broke a lot of progressive hearts with his horrid treatment of jack Johnson, and breslin! who wrote one of my favorite mob books. In those days you had "oscar madison" types lol... I had a friend who I grew up with had a dad who freelanced. Guy knew every sport... and would feed us when we cut school and came over lol!

[The Old LefHook]

- - Not being mean to note some of the more obvious failings of this bio, the main culprits the off putting title and black, red, yellow cover of daggers surrounding a very fuzzy Joe.


s-l500.jpg



To be fair, Bak is a baseball guy, not a boxing guy, but growing up in Detroit felt an obligation to write about Louis.

Anyway, my copy is from the Dolton Library in South Chicago, near never before cracked until I got my grubbies on it. Published in 1996, it doesn't appear in the library until 2010 where it was never checked out much less thumbed thru. Likely the publisher off loaded surplus books.

Anyway Joe in spite of being a massive 11 lb Heavyweight at birth in rural Alabama, he was disturbingly slow in his early development much like my 4 lb preemie youngest and never took to school or books. But like Joe, when he matured, they were both physically blessed beyond the normal.

Anyway, honored beyond honor to take in the substantial good, bad, and ugly, so updates coming.

That is okay, you don't need to write anything else.

[kara]

- - Sometimes and outsider has a better overall perspective than a frenzied tunnel vision fan.

Like maybe Thomas Hauser who seems to have POed more than a few Ali acquaintances who found themselves shut out of his circle including his own son, Ali Jr. I prob think Ali's wife who had taken over his affairs was trying to oversee his increasing dependence and financial affairs that were naturally quite strenuous needed to greatly reduce his schedule.

Hauser and a few of Ali's wives appear to be close. Ali Jr. not so much.

[QueensburyRules]

Hauser and a few of Ali's wives appear to be close. Ali Jr. not so much.

Last I hear of Jr, he was living in a room with no access to toilet facilities and seemingly cut out from the Ali estate and family members.

Ali's last wife was hardly a "looker" like his previous wives had been, and perhaps a hard taskmaster. Ali sold the rights to his name and likeness a few years before his death for something like a half billion, most of which was never up front only to be delivered upon use I'd guess.

[kara]

Last I hear of Jr, he was living in a room with no access to toilet facilities and seemingly cut out from the Ali estate and family members.

Ali's last wife was hardly a "looker" like his previous wives had been, and perhaps a hard taskmaster. Ali sold the rights to his name and likeness a few years before his death for something like a half billion, most of which was never up front only to be delivered upon use I'd guess.

At the end it was must have been tough getting a looker to be a 24 hour caretaker of sorts