Publication date:
13 March 2014Length of book:
360 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442229907
Sports fans have long been fascinated with boxing and the brutal demonstration of physical and psychological conflict. Accounts of the sport appear as far back as the third millennium BC, and Greek and Roman sculptors depicted the athletic ideals of the ancient era in the form of boxers. In the present day, boxers such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Robinson, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. are recognized throughout the world. Boxing films continue to resonate with audiences, from the many Rocky movies to Raging Bull, The Fighter, Million Dollar Baby, and Ali.
In Boxing: A Concise History of the Sweet Science, Gerald R. Gems provides a succinct yet wide ranging treatment of the sport, covering boxing’s ancient roots and its evolution, modernization, and global diffusion. The book not only includes a historical account of boxing, but also explores such issues as social class, race, ethnic rivalries, religious influences, gender issues, and the growth of female boxing. The current debates over the moral and ethical issues relative to the sport are also discussed. While the primary coverage of the political, social, and cultural impacts of boxing focuses on the United States, Gems’ examination encompasses the sport on a global level, as well.
Covering important issues and events in the history of boxing and featuring numerous photographs, Boxing: A Concise History of the Sweet Science will be of interest to boxing fans, historians, scholars, and those wanting to learn more about the sport.
In Boxing: A Concise History of the Sweet Science, Gerald R. Gems provides a succinct yet wide ranging treatment of the sport, covering boxing’s ancient roots and its evolution, modernization, and global diffusion. The book not only includes a historical account of boxing, but also explores such issues as social class, race, ethnic rivalries, religious influences, gender issues, and the growth of female boxing. The current debates over the moral and ethical issues relative to the sport are also discussed. While the primary coverage of the political, social, and cultural impacts of boxing focuses on the United States, Gems’ examination encompasses the sport on a global level, as well.
Covering important issues and events in the history of boxing and featuring numerous photographs, Boxing: A Concise History of the Sweet Science will be of interest to boxing fans, historians, scholars, and those wanting to learn more about the sport.
Gems presents a dynamic history of boxing from the death fights in ancient Greece to the hyped bouts of today, with a lens towards the sport’s evolution and cultural impact. Attempting neither to glorify nor vilify the sport, the author’s goal rather is to flush out boxing’s place in context of human history. The best parts of the book focus on when the sport has been used for political and social means. Communist countries have used female boxers to proclaim the might of their people. Nations staged fights for regional power. The section on gender in sports is particularly strong as well. Women were boxing in modern times as early as the 1700s, though have always been looked at lesser than male counterparts. The discussion of class and race is also refreshing in a sports history and emblematic of Gem’s ability to be thorough in both scope and specificity. This minutia will delight boxing fanatics well but may slow the reading experience for those with only a casual interest. Gem’s meticulously researched book serves as an exemplar cultural overview of a sport in its full view.