I Fight for a Living: Boxing and the Battle for Black Manhood, 1880-1915 (Sport and Society)

This is an academic history. not light reading, it is researched, footnoted and referenced. It takes the reader through a fascinating time in America and its shifting perception of the black man through the lens of prize fighting. The prevalent lie at one point was that black men were physically weak and incapable of beating a white man in a fight. The cold reality of the boxing ring beat the truth into the nation's consciousness.Boxing and its demands for skill, courage and discipline presented a unique challenge to many racists stereotypes and lies of the day.

I have read a little bit of this book because I like to consider myself a boxing historian; especially history on Black boxers (because I myself am Black as coal haha). I was surprised to run into this book at Barnes & Noble (the only copy in the whole store), and I skimmed through most of it to get a glimpse. I was also shocked when I was told the price! Apparently this book has limited press so the price had to be raised. I must say that the author did painstaking research in this book, and it was exactly what I was looking for on books about Black boxer history. It tells you about how hard Black men had to work in those early times for both their manhood and livelihood. It contains pictures and old newspaper drawings/sketches throughout, and there are footnotes galore! I truly hope the price either goes down, or I can be gifted this book, because $27 is too much for me; worst yet is the fact that the hardcover is $95 and the page count is only around 240. I truly hope this gets resolved because this seems to be a great book! Hopefully this review will help the publisher as well (and in return they will help me lol).Thank you,Chris Carlisle

A great read concerning the many injustices within the context of early American boxing. Each story is compelling and in most cases sad which can leave the reader numb by the middle, however when read case by case you really develop a sense of the boxing world as a result of the politics of the times. Mr. Moore does a fantastic job with the epilogue piecing the past and present together. These stories would make for a great cinematic series on turn of the 20th century boxing.

Well researched, Moore sets a context for understanding not only the culture black boxers encountered in mid and late 20th century America, but also helps to explain the contentious relationship the most successful of these boxers had in the US. "I Fight for a Living" will appeal to boxing historians, those interested in the culture of sport, and students of ethnic identity within America. As a work of scholarship it is worth a five star rating.