Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1919 to 1926, Jack Dempsey began his boxing career as a skinny boy of sixteen, riding the rails and participating in hastily staged saloon bouts against miners and lumberjacks. This biography charts the life and career of a man widely regarded as one of the toughest ever to enter the ring.

In late February and early March of 1836, a Mexican army led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna lay siege to a mission known as the Alamo, held by a small band of rebels that included Davy Crockett, James Bowie, and William Travis. In the dark early morning of March 6, all inside the fort were dead -- and one of America's most enduring legends was born.
Randy Roberts and James S. Olson retell the story of the Alamo from both the Mexican and the American perspectives, delving into the historical accuracy of such myths as Bowie's famous line in the sand, Crockett's celebrated fight to...

In 1962, boxing writers and fans considered Cassius Clay an obnoxious self-promoter, and few believed that he would become the heavyweight champion of the world. But Malcolm X, the most famous minister in the Nation of Islam--a sect many white Americans deemed a hate cult--saw the potential in Clay, not just for boxing greatness, but as a means of spreading the Nation's message. The two became fast friends, keeping their interactions secret from the press for fear of jeopardizing Clay's career. Clay began living a double life--a patriotic "good Negro" in public, and a radical reformer behind...

A young readers edition of Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X (Basic Books, 27K combined copies sold)-focusing on the remarkable relationship between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X, and how the shifting tides of their bond affected the movement for Black pride and independence in the 1960s.