Heroes Without a Country: America's Betrayal of Joe Louis and Jesse Owens

Don McCrae,a white South African who once taught English in Soweto, turned his curiosity about a news story regarding a race between Jesse Owens and Joe Louis into a beatifully written,detailed story of two men from Jim Crow Alabama,who are both symbols of achievement-and of unique targets.In Owens case,just after the '36 Olympics-and obviously well before the current "rules" regarding "amateurs",Owens was forced to race horses,Joe Louis,etc. to make a living and investigated by J. Edgar Hoover;Joe Louis was hounded-below the belt-by the IRS.Obviously,there have never been bigger lb. for lb. black-or American sports heroes-and McCrae seems to make this argument contrasting the era of Louis and Owens with the era of Ali and the Smith-Carlos protest at the 1968 Olympics.This should be required reading,particularly for todays professional-and "amateur" athletes.

we are talking less than a Hundred Years ago which wasn't that long ago at all.we are only talking about almost 70 years back.it's scary to think that two of the Greatest Athletes Ever were treated so badly stateside. Joe Louis was a Great Champion & he did everything to distance himself from another Great Black Champion Jack Johnson because of the Politics & Hatered that went down.and the sad part Joe Louis still never was accepted. same thing with Jesse Owens.this brother won Medals & Faced Hitler face to face & didn't back down.but Being the Best still only meant 2nd Class Citizenship in America.it's truly sad & they aren't ever given enough due now as we speak about the Greatest Atheletes Ever. personally what Jesse Owens accomplished in the face of Hate with Hitler was right there with Jackie Robinson & Larry Dolby breaking the Color Line in Baseball IMO. Joe Louis the Brown Bomber was one of a kind as well. just remember this wasn't that long ago.

Although the previous professional editorial reviews provide a fair description of this book, it's necessary to emphasize what an important piece of work this is. Heroes Without a Country is at times inspiring and uplifting, and at other times infuriating and saddening. The hatred and hypocrisy that Joe Louis and Jesse Owens had to endure throughout their lives and careers are staggering. Not only does this book discuss the achievements and struggles of these two great athletes, but it also provides a clear, unflinching portrait of what it was like in the apartheid of the South during the '30s and '40s--a reality that many would shy away from. Both Louis and Owens deserve to be considered on the same level of talent as other greats such as Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali. This book shows these men's strengths, their problems, and their triumphs, all of which played out in the midst of the racism of a country that could not accept them for who they were.