Reviews for Joe Louis: America's Fighter

The average rating for Joe Louis: America's Fighter based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-10-07 00:00:00 Adam Black Joe Louis, a legendary man, deserves a legendary story; David A. Adler and Terry Widener give him just that. "Joe was born black and poor during a time of segregation and prejudice. That was a lot to overcome." He was introduced to boxing at the age of 18 and knew that is where he belonged. During the Great Depression, he became a hero to many African-Americans who had lost their jobs and their hope. Because of the time period, many white boxers would not fight Joe, nor would they be his fans. That was until Joe Louis was scheduled to fight Max Schmeling, a former German world heavyweight champion. It was no longer black against white, but a united America against the hated Germans. Joe Louis's story is beautifully illustrated and truly brings the text to life. While this book tells Joe's story, it also tells a story about a country coming together for a greater cause. A Great non-fiction read, would love to use this in a Social Studies unit for the Great Depression, WWII, and Civil Rights. Awards: NCCB

Review # 2 was written on 2018-04-18 00:00:00 Qwertyuiop Qwertyuiop This is a great book about a legend boxer Joe Louis, born in Alabama May 13th 1914. Mr. Louis was the 7th of 8 children, his father was a slave and was practically been worked to death he was taken to the Searcy State Hospital. In 1926 his mother remarried and they moved to Detroit Michigan. at the age of 12 Joe Louis attended an all black school, he had a job at a vegetable market and also delivered ice, during his free time from working and school Joe and his friends would play boxing. At the age of 17 Joe and a friend, Thurston McKinney went to Brewster East Dide gymnasium to see real boxers. Joe and his friends boxed and he knocked Thurston ou"It was like Power pumping through me" (Joe Louis).pg.4 In 1932 Louis begin fighting amepateur matches eventually quitting school. Joe first amateur fight he lost his mom wanted him to stop boxing but Joe Louis refused. At the age of 20 Louis had his first professional fight knocking Jack Kracken out in the first round. After his continuous winnings Joe Louis became noticed by other African Americans becoming fans he was known as the Punching Machine. White boxers refused to fight After American boxers,but in 1935 Joe Louis and Primo Carnera, a white boxer had arranged a date to fight, people were worried that riots and fights would break out between the fans but that did not happen. At the 6th round Joe Louis knocked Primo Carnera out winning the match there was celebrations of African Americans all over. Later that year Loui married Marva Trotter he also had a match that year against Max Baer who he knocked out as well. June 19th 1936 Joe Louis was knocked out by a German fighter Schmeling, Louis was torn from the lost but he continued to fight and kept winning. In 1938 Joe Louis rematches the Max Schmeling who he knocked out. Later Joe Louis joined the army.in 1950 Joe Louis completely retired. April 12th 1981 Joe Louis passed away leaving behind a great legacy. The litary of this book was fair, due from racial incidents I would consider this a great book to read for middle schoolers. I gave this book 5 stars because I like true stories and I never heard of Joe Louis so I'm happy that I chose this book to read because I've now learned about another great African American.