Max Schmeling: An Autobiography

The great autobiographies I have read have been written by those in their 70's and beyond. It gives the subject a sense of perspective, it ensures that writer has seen the highs and lows of experience, and typically, modesty by that point, is gone. There might be much more to the story of Max Schmeling, but what a story he tells!Schmeling lived to be 99 years old. He competed in a time of the heavyweight division that might be called the "Silver Age". (The Golden Age belonged to the 1960's and early 1970's). Here, Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey had just hung up their gloves, Joe Louis loomed on the horizon, and Jack Sharkey, Max Baer, Primo Carnera and James Braddock circled the rings.Schmeling discusses his disappointment in winning the title via being the recipient of a low blow to Jack Sharkey, and his equal disappointment to losing the title in a return match due to a shameful hometown decision.His recall of the first Joe Louis match is still fresh in his memory some forty years later, and the breathless account of it is spine tingling to read. Although there are few alive at this time who can remember this spectacular upset, it was every bit the upset of Buster Douglas over Mike Tyson some fifty five years later.His life took a horrific turn with the rise of Hitler in Germany in the 1930's, but Shmeling was no Nazi. He was a man of conviction, and several times went to the Nazi hierarchy to plead leniency for his Jewish friends. He eventually was punished and fell out of favor of the Nazi regime, and drafted into the army where he parachuted behind enemy lines, and had to find his way back to safety, alone.He scaled to the heights of the sports world, and in bad times, his story makes one wonder if someone less tough could have survived.Yet, he tells his story without bitterness. The closest he comes is in speaking of James Braddock, who came off unscathed in biographies such as "Cinderella Man", but seemingly perpetrated a cruel hoax on Schmeling which raised false hopes and cost him a chance at his dream of being the first to regain a Heavyweight Championship.His happiest moments seem to be in reuniting with old foes after retirement, and his description of Joe Louis shows a person few have described. He never fought Primo Carnera, but went searching for him during World War II, when he was reported as having been killed. His reconnection with Carnera as well was joyous, as he describes a brotherly bond.Mr. Schmeling was an extraordinary individual who live through an incredible era of sports, politics, and war. He scaled the summit of the sports world, to the adoration of multitudes of fans.Mr. Shmeling looks back in an astonishing moment and reveals that it was for the best that he took a horrific beating to Joe Louis in his return bout, as he would have become the poster boy for Hitler and the Nazi's had he won.

For boxing history fans, this autobiography is a treasure trove of information. Schmeling, who only recently died at the age of 99, takes the reader inside the boxing intrigues of the 1930s as well as his interaction with the Nazis as they consolidated power in Germany. Contrary to the biased and uninformed Publishers Weekly review above, Schmeling was no Nazi and had no sympathy with their aims (a fact well known to anyone with any acquaintance with boxing history). When ordered by the Nazis to divorce his Czech wife and to fire his American Jewish manager, Schmeling refused. The Nazis were interested in him for one reason, as a propaganda piece.Schmeling was a solid and steady, though unexciting fighter. He won the championship by a foul and lost it via a bad decision (with his manager giving the world the famous, "we wuz robbed" quip). He was champion in a time of solid but not great fighters. However, the fact that he upset Joe Louis, when Louis appeared to be invincible, demonstrates that he was a first-rate fighter for any era.The book is a re-issue of Schmeling's 1977 German autobiography with a new epilogue written by Schmeling in the late nineties. Since the book was originally published in Germany and written for German audiences, many of the personalities that Schmeling mentions will be unknown to most Americans. Thankfully, the book includes a glossary to inform the reader who the personalities were. It would have been more helpful to have had these as footnotes but that would have probably required new typesetting and thus upped publishing costs. I do have one major disappointment with the book. It has very detailed coverage of Schmeling's fighting years and some on his activities immediately after the war but I wanted to know more about Schmeling's later years. He became a wealthy businessman who was very philanthropic. Schmeling's basic modesty is probably the explanation for this omission but it still left a gap that needed filling.In short, this is an excellent book for someone who loves boxing history and wants additional information on some of the key fights and events of the first half of the 20th century.

Contrary to what many might believe, Max Schmeling was NOT a Nazi, and after Hitler's government had used him up from a PR standpoint, they not only discarded him, but they also threw him into their fight during World War II. As Max tells it, his being drafted into a paratrooper division and dropped into combat in Crete was a form of punishment for losing his second fight to Joe Louis. Max details his youth and growing up in post-World War I Germany, his budding boxing career, shame at winning the world heavyweight title on a foul, and the triumph he felt in beating Louis in their first fight. It's a fascinating story, and Max tells it well through his prose.

Schmeling wrote a very readable autobiography. He mentions so many people that I spent a lot of time looking them up - that much more knowledge gained. I only wish that he had contacted Marlene Dietrich to clear up the misunderstanding regarding the "Nazi question." (Marlene Dietrich's biography is very interesting and enjoyable as well). This book is well worth you time if you have an interest in Schmeling and the time period.

Great and historic book..especially for boxing historians like me..Max Schmelling was a great man who lived to be 100!

This story captures some great sporting history through the lens of Schmeling himself, a forthright and morally decent source, as best I can gauge him, amidst the mainstream and largely mythic accounts that have held sway in the past 80 years. KN

Amazing book for boxing fan...

Buen libro. Sin ser un gran libro, nos muestra la interesante vida de un boxeador Aleman que vivió los año 20’s, 30’s y la segunda guerra mundial. Una lectura interesante.

Great book!!