Barney Ross: The Life of a Jewish Fighter Paperback - 2009

Media reviews

“An excellent story of a man and his times. And proof positive that time does not relinquish its hold over men or monuments. In a sport devoted to fashioning halos for its superstars, Ross wore a special nimbus, and this book properly fi ts him for that.”
—Bert Randolph Sugar, The New York Times Book Review

“Will a better book on the fighter ever be written? I have to doubt it. The research is impressive yet unostentatious. The prose is trim and elegant, and lands its emotional blows with very effective precision . . . Century doesn’t waste a single paragraph.”
—Scott McLemee, Newsday

“Barney Ross’s life is a curious mix: a boxer with a religious streak who was haunted by the death of his own dad. Douglas Century has managed to deal with all of Ross’s contradictions and mysteries, when Jewish fighters were like gods of the ghetto. This is a deeply moving book.”
—Jerome Charyn, author of Savage Shorthand: The Life and Death of Isaac Babel

“Fascinating . . . A powerful account of the career of ‘one of the two greatest Jewish boxers of the twentieth century.’”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“If there is still a queue of writers mining the Depression Era for racehorses or prizefighters with inspirational stories that will resonate with today’s readers, Douglas Century has beaten them to the punch . . . Ross’s consummate boxing skills and toughness made him one of the last heirs to a largely untold tradition of formidable Jewish pugilists.”
—Kirkus Reviews