LOOK !  *** VERY, VERY RARE, 'THE GREAT WHITE HOPES - THE QUEST TO DEFEAT JACK JOHNSON' by Graeme Kent, a superb softback volume in EXCELLENT condition  ***

Hi Folks, I'm having one of my occasional 'clear outs' and this time I'm selling off a multitude of various graphic novels/books. This book I'm selling here is a highly sought after very RARE copy of 'THE GREAT WHITE HOPES' by Graeme Kent.

Artist Andy Warhol would have run out of supplies if he needed to paint the mostly tomato cans that were vying to be the Great White Hope.
In an interesting angle, author Graeme Kent profiles many of the white boxers that were battling to be the heavyweight contender to dethrone the great champion, Jack Johnson. The trail spans the globe; the United States, Canada, England, France, South Africa and Australia. Hate fueled by racisim has no boundaries.
The pretenders came from all walks of life - eveything from pro wrestlers to those who had their past created by their promoters - and oftentimes competed in tournaments to crown the "White Heavyweight Champion." There are fixed matches, unscrupulous cornermen, a match highlighted by a biting incident, gloves filled with material so the punches were like puffs and several deaths inside the ring.
The irony is the hate grew to such levels in the United States that quality black fighters had to leave for Europe to have any chance of getting an opportunity to compete, while white European fighters were coming stateside to try and build their reputations inside the ring and with the media.
Kent presents excellent background information on the history of the era, along with following up on what happened to many of the fighters later in life.
Johnson looms large in the story, but is not the focus of the book. The section on Jess Willard alludes to Johnson's later contention that he took a dive to drop the belt in a deal to return to the United States and not face the trumped-up federal charges that had forced him to flee the country.
Kent pretty much dismisses the "dive," citing Johnson's declining ring skills and age. I contend that Johnson was tired of living abroad and the pressure of having a government and racist society made him pursue the only means to bring this period of his life to a close; agree to lose the title.
Willard emerged from the mass of white fighters, but could hardly be considered championship-quality. His career was nearly over when he quit in the ring during a match and had an opponent die in another fight. He was not considered a great title holder then and his lack of skills were exposed when Jack Dempsey defeated him for the crown.
Though black fighters could possibly compete for championships in the lighter weight divisions, the victory by Willard closed the door on black heavyweights having a chance for ring immortality until the emergence of the great Joe Louis.
Johnson had the savvy to become the greatest heavyweight champion ever, but he could not defeat a larger opponent that still plagues society today.

Note:  Overseas bidders are indeed welcome but please, please REMEMBER, the postal costs for INTERNATIONAL deliveries is always substantially higher than those within the UK.  For overseas buyers, I'd strongly recommend using the excellent  GSP Postal service, where the buyer pre-pays the INTERNATIONAL LEG of the postage beforehand . I shall provide the total weight and relevant dimensions of the package as well as the outstanding invoice amount due to the buyer soon after purchase.

This volume has not even been read and has been carefully stored. It is effectively NEW but for listing purposes we'll call it in EXCELLENT CONDITION.