Strong Boy: The Life and Times of John L. Sullivan, America's First Sports Hero

Now in paperback!

“From the first page to the last, Klein’s prose retains its powers of enchantment and illumination. It is one of the best boxing books ever penned.”
—Boston Globe

“[A] muscular, relentlessly detailed book.”
—Wall Street Journal

“I can lick any son-of-a-bitch in the world.”

So boasted John L. Sullivan, the first modern heavyweight boxing champion of the world, a man who was the gold standard of American sport for more than a decade, and the first athlete to earn more than a mill...