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

By Donald McRae and Xio Axelrod

Book Overview

"Black men look like they rule sport in America today. It was nothing like that in the 1930s. America was white and that was that. It didn't do you no good to dream of making it to the big time. It was impossible. And then, y'know, along came Jesse and along came Joe."

-- Ruth Owens, Jesse's late wife

n the summer of 1935, within weeks of each other, Joe Louis and Jesse Owens emerged as the first black superstars of world sport, and their subsequent political and social impact on America was nothing short of sensational. To fans (and even critics) the world over, they seemed larger than life, and yet in their endeavors they were unfailingly human: as vulnerable as they were courageous; as troubled as they were brilliant; as unsettled in themselves as they are now fixed in history.

Scrupulously researched and written in spare, eloquent prose, Heroes Without a Country vividly re-creates some of the most dramatic sporting events of the past century. In August 1936, in front of Hitler and an imposing phalanx of Nazi commanders, Jesse Owens, "the fastest man on earth," won an unprecedented four medals at the Olympic Games in Berlin. Two years later, in "the fight of the century," his great friend Joe Louis crushed Germany's Max Schmeling to signal the end of white supremacy in boxing. Like Jesse, Joe had been born to black sharecropping parents in a country demeaned by racism; together their victories became a rallying point for the disenfranchised black population of America. Idolized across the world, they were two young men at the pinnacle of their careers who overcame prejudice and fear to achieve their goals. Yet for both of them, success brought its own perils. In 1938, two years after winning his gold medals in Berlin, Owens was hounded out of amateur sports by the infamously tyrannical Olympic boss "Slavery Avery" Brundage and, facing financial ruin, he was reduced to running for money against dogs, horses, and even his friend Joe Louis. Later the two would be subjected to FBI investigations, harassed by the IRS, and beleaguered by debt and despair. Jesse watched Joe slip into drug addiction and mental illness.

In Heroes Without a Country, award-winning writer Donald McRae captures the uncanny coincidences and intertwined events that bound these men together -- through both triumph and tragedy -- and provides an intimate and thought-provoking dual portrait of two of the most important athletes of the twentieth century.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 006000228X
• ISBN13: 9780060002282
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Ecco Press
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

The Debt Owed To 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.

Great Book & A Must at all Schools

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.

Heroes amid Horrors

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.