Jesse Owens: An American Life

By William J. Baker

Book Overview

Born the tenth child of a poor Southern sharecropper and barely able to read or write, Jesse Owens used his astonishing drive and athletic ability to win an unprecedented four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He became an international superstar overnight and exploded Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy in the process. This Press edition of the William J. Baker's acclaimed work offers the most complete and probing biography of Owens ever written, vividly detailing the successes and failures of this complex and troubled but ultimately indomitable figure.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 025207369X
• ISBN13: 9780252073694
• Release Date: July 2006
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"