Customer Reviews

Cinderella Man: James J. Braddock, Max Baer, and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History

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F. Scott Fitzgerald once said that there were no second acts to American lives. Yet, a fellow Irishman (one much less gloomy) proved him very, very wrong.

This book is the homage that James J. Braddock has always deserved. Braddock's amazing story has been slowly fading from public memory, as well as the memory of modern boxing fans, steadily over the years. This book puts things right.

Author, Jeremy Schaap, has written a Godsend of a book for Braddock fans, and his clean, direct style is perfectly suited to telling this story. If Schaap were a boxer, he would be referred to as a cagey, "cute" fighter; meaning that it might appear that he isn't doing much, but what he does counts and he will be there at the end of the fight with his glove raised.

To put it another way, there is nothing prosy in Schaap's writing; but he really knows the way to hit the right spots. Like any very good writer, he recognizes true moments of drama and plays these moments with a pure economy of words that come at you from the blue. Bang! Suddenly I found myself very moved and didn't even see it coming.

James J. Braddock was in so many ways the perfect product of the Great Depression. He was a washed-up fighter, his best years behind him. He had been cleaned out by the depression, desperately trying to feed his family by taking odd jobs at the docks in New Jersey, even going on relief (which so humiliated him he wouldn't tell anyone, not even his mother). Yet dock work had made him lean and tough, so when his second chance came, the hard knocks of life had prepared him.

People loved him not because he was white, or Irish. Americans loved him because he was like them - all of them - and he represented a hope. He had been crushed and humiliated by life, yet he did not quit. He literally fought his way back. One of the most telling moments in the book, described beautifully by the author, was when Braddock walked into the pubic relief office. He had the amount that he had been given in cash in his pocket, and he wished to pay it back.

While this book is a pleasure for the mainstream reader, hard-core fight fans will have nothing to complain about either. His descriptions of the fights of Braddock's career make it plain the author knows his boxing as well. As an unexpected bonus, Schaap has portraits of many other fighters that entered Braddock's sphere; among them Primo Carnera, Max Bear and the great light-heavy, Tommy Laughran.

This book is a long-needed and wonderful portrait of a champion, as well as an important addition to boxing literature.

It is the best sports book I have ever read! The author pulled no punches in detailing the amazing story of Braddock. The boxer's highs and lows were vividly portrayed. You could smell the gym, feel the training, and taste the victory. Moreover, the political, economic and social state of the world in those times was marvelously woven into the fabric of the story. This book was truly a joy to experience. By the end of the story, two champions emerged, Braddock and Schaap.

James J. Braddock wasn't a great Heavyweight Champ; he lost the title in his first defense bout after he'd won it. But his is, perhaps, the greatest comeback story of 20th century pugilism. The CINDERELLA MAN had heart.

Author Jeremy Schaap's book begins with the commencement of Braddock's comeback in June 1934 with his victory over "Corn" Griffin. Jim's last previous fight had been nine months earlier, at the end of which, with a right hand that had been repeatedly broken and numerous defeats under his belt, he was thought to be washed up. To the point of the Griffin match-up, he was barely able to feed his family with odd jobs on the New York and New Jersey docks and welfare help; it was the Depression, and Braddock's fortunes were at their rock bottom. Then, Schaap regresses in time to the period 1926-33 when Jim fought as a light heavyweight, almost winning that title in 1929. The author alternates the early Braddock saga with the same for the 1929-1934 career of Max Baer, who won the heavyweight title from Primo Canera, also in June 1934, thus setting up the confrontation that established Jim's fame and won him the heavyweight crown, the Braddock-Baer bout in June 1935.

Schaap's summaries of Braddock's eighty-three fights and Baer's forty-seven prior to their epic battle are, almost by necessity in a volume of only 276 pages, spotty in detail, yet are sufficient to establish the two fighters' characters. There is an adequate section of photographs, as well as the complete ring records of both Braddock and Baer and a complete listing of all the heavyweight division champs since John L. Sullivan. (Who is Hasim Rahman, champ in 2001, for Pete's sake?!)

For a boxing aficionado, CINDERELLA MAN is perhaps, despite its relative brevity, a must read. For those who otherwise couldn't care less about the sport, then viewing the excellent 2005 film CINDERELLA MAN, starring Russell Crowe in the title role, is the preferred, shorter option that provides all the basics. The visual version skips the preliminaries, starts with Braddock's last fight in 1933, his and his family's descent into near destitution, his enduring relationships with his wife Mae (Renee Zellweger) and manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti), his comeback contests versus Griffin, Lewis, and Lasky, and his win by decision over Baer in 15 gritty rounds.

Though it wasn't the author's intent, I gather, it was Baer's personality that came across as the more intriguing, at least for me. Max was a hard-punching, underachieving champ who fell more in love with the perks of his achievements - the fame, women, fine clothes, good food, showmanship - than with the commitment to his profession and hard work necessary to stay at the top. It's one of his quotes that stays with me:

"Listen, I don't want to be one of those champions who fights once a year. I need to fight. Dames are expensive." Truer words were never spoken.

After seeing the recent movie, I had to read the book, and I enjoyed the story very much. I was impressed with the "fairer" treatment of Max Baer, than portrayed in the movie. The "human side" of James J. was an inspiration, and the injuries and condition he had to overcome was significant.

We could use more people nowadays with the stamina and "guts" to face life and triumph.

Excellent read!

If you're looking for a feel good book that's a quick read, then this is the book for you. This book is definitely not in the same league as Seabiscuit or When Pride Mattered, but it's nicely written and tells a good story: the improbably victory of James Braddock. Perfect for summer reading.

I am in the process of reading this book. It is a great story told by Jeremy Schaap. (Yes the son of the late Dick Schaap)

Jeremy Schaap has done a masterful job of weaving this story together and giving us the cultural perspective that was present in early 20th Century of the United States. As with all great stories there will be a movie made about Braddock. It should have the same type of commercial success as Seabiscuit. Read this book before going to the movie theater because it really does a nice job of telling us about the background of Braddock.

P.S. This book reminds me of how the sport of boxing has changed over the years. Boxing is now perceived by Americans more for its actions in the court room and greed by its promoters. Community identity with a boxer like Braddock is non existant in this American culture. Maybe it is not fair to compare this generation of boxers with those of Ali. Yet Ali stood for something that a society rallied around other than money. You can disagree with Ali but the respect I have for this man is incredible. Braddock might not have talked that much but he represented something that all of us could identify with. Hard work. A work ethic that people could identify with no matter where a person lived, their religion or their race.

If you liked the movie you will love the book. The book goes into much greater detail about the man and the time period. Also, if you want to know more about Max B. you will not be disappointed. He was unfairly shown in the movie as a one dimensional bad guy.

If you want to step into a time machine and see what boxing was like in the late 20's and early 30's, this one is for you. I could not put it down till I was done.

A story of an almost unbelievable time. One photograph in the book shows 80,000 people who paid more than a million dollars to watch a fight in an open field. And this was in 1921 when a million dollars had a lot more value than it does today.

This is the background against which a perceived has been of boxing James Braddock managed to get a fight with the heavyweight champion Max Baer. Going in as a ten to one underdog, the conventional wisdom was that Braddock didn't stand a chance. As history shows, he won.

This was a time when the individual sportsman reigned supreme. And of these boxing was the top of the heap. Boxers were at the top of society, perhaps just as a novelty, but invited to all the best parties, the best restaurants.

Mr. Schaap has given us a view of the time, the people, the society of the time. Even if sports are not your thing, the story is well worth reading.

Terrific biography on the greatest underdog in boxing history . But this documentary gives the reader two biographies in on. The book is as much about Max Baer as it is about Jimmy Braddock which was a pleasant reading surprise. If you enjoyed the highly acclaimed movie "Cinderella Man" this book is a must read. Unfortunately Hollywood twist reality and the truth in order to sell tickets at the box office, and the movies depiction of Max Baer was a complete falsehood. The "real" story is complete in this book that is well written and researched. A absolute must read for fans of boxing and sports.

Its a great book, and better then the movie. The movie was mainly about Braddick,
but the book is about both Max Baer and Braddick, and tells both their journeys to
final concluding fight. Based on having read the book, Max Baer is misportrayed unfairly
in the movie as a selfish bully, when according to the book he was a perfect gentleman, and
what would be called today a "people person". In fact, based on this book I felt that
Max Baer was the more interesting story as opposed to Braddick.