When Jack Johnson defeated white heavyweight champion Jim Jeffries in 1910, it was America's notions of racial superiority that staggered under his blows. Amid riots and lynchings, the search began for the Great White Hope who could put the uppity new champion in his place. Here is the startling true story of the most famous--and most hated--black American of his day. Papa Jack takes us into a violent and sordid world. It is an astonishing tale of black defiance--and white retribution--set against the dramatic canvas of sports and spectacle in Jim Crow America.

In Winning Is the Only Thing, Randy Roberts and James Olson take a hard look at the dark side of American sports. The scandals. The role of organized crime. How politicians and businessmen exploit the Olympics. Who gets rich and who goes broke. Why the fitness craze has nothing to do with fitness. And how TV sports czars like Roone Arledge--inventor of the -instant replay---actually dictate how games are played.