Born Dov-Ber Rasofsky to Eastern European immigrant parents, Barney
Ross grew up in a tough Chicago neighborhood and witnessed his
father's murder, his mother's nervous breakdown, and the
dispatching of his three younger siblings to an orphanage, all
before he turned fourteen. To make enough money to reunite the
family, Ross became a petty thief, a gambler, a messenger boy for
Al Capone, and, eventually, an amateur boxer. Turning professional
at nineteen, he would capture the lightweight, junior welterweight,
and welterweight titles over the course of a ten-year career.
Ross began his career as the scrappy "Jew kid," ended it as an
American sports icon, and went on to become a hero during World War
II, earning a Silver Star for his heroic actions at Guadalcanal.
While recovering from war wounds and malaria he became addicted to
morphine, but with fierce effort he ultimately kicked his habit and
then campaigned fervently against drug abuse. And the fighter who
brought his father's religious books to training camp also retained
powerful ties to the world from which he came. Ross worked for the
creation of a Jewish state, running guns to Palestine and offering
to lead a brigade of Jewish American war veterans.
This first biography of one of the most colorful boxers of the
twentieth century is a galvanizing account of an emblematic life: a
revelation of both an extraordinary athlete and a remarkable man.
"From the Hardcover edition."
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