Unforgivable Blackness: the Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson by Geoffrey C. Ward Alfred A. Knopf, November 2004 $25.95, ISBN 0-375-41532-7

On March 31, 1878, in Galveston, Texas, a boy was born who became, as many would claim, not only the greatest fighter who ever lived, but also the "Greatest colored man that ever lived."

Unforgivable Blackness guides us through the flamboyant lifestyle of John Arthur "Jack" Johnson. At the age of 13, Johnson went to work on the docks with the toughest, strongest men in Galveston. From them, Johnson first learned to take punishment and then learned to give it. After associating himself with amateur boxers, he was 15 when he made his first $25 at the sport.

In 1908, upon knocking out Tommy Burns, Johnson became the first black man to be the undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion. By 1910, the public sent out a cry for a "great white hope" Jim Jeffries came out of retirement with the hopes of returning the title back to the white people. Johnson scored a knockout against him in two minutes and twenty seconds of round 15, thus retaining his title.

Unforgivable Blackness tells how Mr. Johnson ignored the conventions of both black and white races. Many whites saw him as a danger to the natural order of things. In part two of the book, Ward tells us of Johnson's downward spiral into international exile. White terrorism was on the rise and race riots swept the United States. Government officials campaigned to strip Johnson of both his money and title.

On April 5, 1915, on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba, Johnson lost his title to less Willard in the 26th round. Later, Johnson claimed that he threw the fight. Ward presents a right-on historically accurate account of Jack Johnson as a fugitive. The author takes us from country to country and back to the United States on Johnson's trials, tribulations, prison time and eventual death in North Carolina in 1946. He also gives us a riveting account of a champion who was as tough as a bull, but blessed with the grace and intellect of a man.

At the age of seven, I was introduced to lack Johnson by my father, Arthur Rust Sr. I vividly recall Johnson being the biggest person I had ever seen. It was later in life that I realized that he was in fact larger than life.

Art Rust Jr. is a veteran journalist and sports historian.