To some, Jack Johnson was uppity. To others, he was a troublemaker. He was really an extraordinary man who wanted to be treated like a normal man. But White America wouldn't do it....

In this vivid biography Geoffrey C. Ward brings back to life the most celebrated — and the most reviled — African American of his age. Jack Johnson battled his way out of obscurity and poverty in the Jim Crow South to win the title of heavyweight champion of the world. At a time when whites ran everything in America, he took orders from no one and resolved to live as if color did not exist. While most blacks struggled simply to exist, he reveled in his riches and his fame, sleeping with whomever he pleased, to the consternation and anger of much of white America. Because he did so the federal government set out to destroy him, and he was forced to endure prison and seven years of exile. This definitive biography portrays Jack Johnson as he really was--a battler against the bigotry of his era and the embodiment of American individualism.

Where so many rock biographies tell the same story, Jack Johnson's is a true exception.

To some, Jack Johnson was uppity. To others, he was a troublemaker. He was really an extraordinary man who wanted to be treated like a normal man. But White America wouldn't do it....

At 710 pages, In the Ring With Jack Johnson - Part I: The Rise is the most detailed and thorough book ever written on Jack Johnson. This book alone (the first of two on Johnson) covers the start of Jack Johnson's career up to his winning the world heavyweight championship. It is chock-full of detailed descriptions of each bout from multiple local next-day primary sources. The book also contains plenty of context and background, details and perspectives about race from both white and black-owned newspapers, as well as approximately 225 rare photographs, cartoons, and advertisements. Boxing fans will obtain knowledge and insight into Jack Johnson's career like never before. This is the seventh book in Adam J. Pollack's series on the heavyweight champions of the gloved era, which include: John L. Sullivan: The Career of the First Gloved Heavyweight Champion, In the Ring With James J. Corbett, In the Ring With Bob Fitzsimmons, In the Ring With James J. Jeffries, In the Ring With Marvin Hart, and In the Ring With Tommy Burns. Adam J. Pollack is a boxing judge, referee, and coach, and member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He is also an attorney practicing law in Iowa City, Iowa.

Discusses the life and boxing career of Jack Johnson.