Preview of Josh Gibson Summary:

Coretta Scott King's introduction to Josh Gibson notes that reading the stories of Gibson and other courageous men and women not only helps us discover the principles that we will use to guide our own lives but also teaches us to know the heroes and heroines of our history and to realize that the price we paid in our struggle for equality in America was dear. But we must also understand that we have gotten as far as we have partly because America's democratic system made it possible.

It is asking much to make a star athlete an example of a people's struggle, but Holway narrows the focus to the realm of athletics and uses Gibson to show the state of affairs for African-American athletes during the Great Depression and World War II.

Further, Holway emphasizes Gibson's humanity, his weaknesses as well as his strengths. An athlete as...