Joe Louis defended his heavyweight boxing title an astonishing 25 times and reigned as world champion for more than 11 years. He received more column inches of newspaper coverage in the 1930s than FDR did. His racially and politically charged victory over Max Schmeling in 1938 made Louis a national hero. But as important as his record was, what he meant to African Americans at a time when the boxing ring was the only venue where black and white could meet on equal terms, was the embodiment of their hopes for dignity and equality. Through meticulous research and first-hand interviews, acclaimed historian and biographer Roberts presents Louis, and his impact on sport and country, in a way never before accomplished. The author reveals an athlete whose image was carefully managed, and whose relationships with both the black and white communities--including his ties to mobsters--were far more complex than the simplistic accounts of heroism and victimization that have dominated previous biographies. -- Book Jacket.