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| November 2, 2005 |
REVIEW: Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink
 An admitted favorite sub-genre of literature, at least the non-fiction variety, is histories that take as their point of departure some singular event. Elsewhere in our November/December issue we discuss a book that uses a single recording session of Bob Dylan's to discuss a larger cultural context. It's a trick that is often used, and often used poorly.
But when it is used well, say by contributing editor to Vanity Fair David Margolick, it is a magical way to read history. The book in question is Margolick's latest, Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink. It uses the famous boxing match between American Louis and German Schmeling on the eve of World War II as an entry point for discussing a tumultuous time in the history of Europe, the United States, and the rest of the globe.
This is the stuff of high drama, really. Boxing as a sport is often mirred in the muck, but when it rises out of the ghettos and urban decay that supplies so many of its competitors, it can really capture the currents of historical greatness. The 1938 rematch for the heavyweight title is arguably the best example of that.
Take Joe Louis, the African-American was unbeatable, right up until the friendly Schmeling beat him. The Nazi propaganda machine ate it up, and forced Schmeling into the role of "Nazi Max." When the two boxers fought initially, Schmeling's wife spent the evening waiting for the bout to end at the home of Joseph Goebbels, Nazi propaganda minister.
But hardly the arch-villain, Schmeling was an unfortunate victim of the nation he hailed from. He had a Jewish manager. He liked FDR, and on Kristallnacht, he protected two German Jews from the terror. Or at least that is how he is often portrayed. Margolick is a better storyteller, and he manages to find the reality in the nuance of Schmeling, who is depicted as an opportunist who nodded in the Nazi direction while using his Jewish connections to deflect criticism.
Louis is depicted as realistically as possible. But the fact remains that he is notable as a symbol, more for his uniting effect on a nation that would soon be dragged into a much more serious battle with German fighters. Before the Civil Rights Movement, the dignified Louis hoisted an entire race on his shoulders and then gave a black eye to Nazi ideology, rallying a nation in his wake.
High drama indeed, and it's captured with excellence by Margolick's deftly written prose.
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