Ringside

the long version

In this bountiful collection of his best boxing writing of a lifetime, Mr. Schulberg takes his fans all the way back to an epic bare-knuckle contest in England two hundred years ago; draws a revealing portrait of Uncle Mike Jacobs, the impresario of boxing in its Golden Age; expertly places Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali in the social history of their times; brings fans up to date in the careers of the great names of recent decades-Tyson, Holyfield, DeLaHoya, Hopkins, Chico Corrales; and much more. His writing sparkles with authority and insight. Here is great prose on great fighters, laced with a realistic sense of boxing's wrongs as well as its rights. Publication of Ringside is an event in the world of sports reportage.