need boxing history book recommendations(1900-40's)

I recomend peter hellers "in this corner." unedited interviews with old champions recounting their fights and what life taught them-printed as they said it. there is gunboat smith, dempsey, johnny wilson, pep, sadler, sharkey, braddock, armstrong, graziano, micky walker, laughran and many manny others during the period you are intrested in- its a big book. its posibly the most quoted book anyway since it is from the horses mouth.

also peter wilsons "a ring side seat" writen about 1944. very light hearted, amusing and informative.

 

"THE BOOK OF BOXING", by Heinz and Ward,is a great book depicting boxings glorious
past, written by the greatest boxing writers in fistic history...Great true stories....Reissued in 1999...

 

You're starting at the top, so it's a formidable challenge you're posing. I'd start by asking Burt Bienstock and JohnGarfield for some guidance, highly literate eyewitnesses to some of the history and historical figures from the period you're interested in.

Choklab's endorsements are solid advice.

My first suggestion would be to hit some used bookstores and libraries for out of print and forgotten publications. Nat Fleischer was a first hand witness to, and intimate of, many of the history makers between 1900 and 1940, so he's one writer to consider. (It's staggering to think that Fleischer's involvement in boxing began five years before Leibling was born, and continued nearly a decade after Leibling's death.)

W.C. Heinz is a popular writer with many of us here, and his Fireside Book of Boxing occasionally turns up in second hand shops, yard sales and flea markets. (Flea markets often turn up astonishing boxing collectibles, as deceased aficionados are frequently alone among their families in their fanfare of the art. Their heirs often know not what valuables are left behind.)

 

in this corner is great, another with a lot of behind the scenes details that is a favorite is corner men by ronald fried

 

Duodenum, I concur with your thoughts on Nat Fleischer...I have old bios of Fleischer's
of Terry McGovern, Stanley Ketchel, and Benny Leonard...Nat who was born in 1887,
knew these three fighters personally, so his opinions of these three immortals hold
weight with me...W.c. Heinz was my favorite boxing writer, who died not too long ago.
Keep punching...b.b.

 

Heinz was a legend - we may have lost him but his words echo for eternity

PS I have a book by Nat too called "The Heavyweight Championship" - found it in a antique book store (for £2) - its pretty good - printed in 1954 it says but it has chapters on Daniel Mendoza, Gentleman Jackson, Jem Mace, John L, Gentleman Jim, Fizt, Jeff, Burns, Johnson, Willard, Demps - each heavy champ up to Louis actually

PS on the occassion i picked that up I also picked up another amazing find called "ROUND BY ROUND by Jack Dempsey" - have you ever read that one Burt?? - that is one of my prize possessions a great Autobioraphy by Dempsey in collaboration with Myron M Stearns - its a really great book

 

I think its tenuous at best to suggest fleischer knew Ketchel personally, maybe not even McGovern. Fleischer liked to boast a lot about what he had seen and who he knew but often times if you do the math on his age and known whereabouts it shows he was simply promoting himself. Kind of like Burt Sugar.

 

British classics that span this period and give the full spectrum of the period both in Britain and International. Britain' greats too from the 40s!

the Prince of Boxing - Len Harvey
the Rochdale Thunderbolt - Jock McAvoy
Gilroy was here! - Bert Gilroy

3 Greats and full of insight and history of boxing's greatest period in the UK and abroad.

 

My feelings exactly.

 

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quite possible the very best boxing book ever written

 

unforgivable blackness

even if youve seen the documentary, as always, the book is a lot better


it gives you a great sense of America, Society, and boxing as a sport in the earthy 20th century

 

Two Ton: One Night One Fight by Joseph Monninger. Great book on Tony Galento and his fight against Joe Louis. I am reading it now.