In this captivating and complex portrait of an American sports legend, Russell Sullivan confirms Rocky Marciano's place as a symbol and cultural icon of his era. As much as he embodied the wholesome, rags-to-riches patriotism of a true American hero, he also reflected the racial and ethnic tensions festering behind the country's benevolent facade.

Spirited, fast-paced, and rich in detail, Rocky Marciano is the first book to place the boxer in the context of his times. Capturing his athletic accomplishments against the colorful backdrop of the 1950s fight scene, Sullivan examines how Marciano's career reflected the glamour and scandal of boxing as well as tenor of his times.

| Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: A Man for His Time Part 1: Rising 1. Holyoke 2. Providence 3. New York 4. The Great White Hope 5. The Uncrowned Champion 6. Jersey Joe Part 2: Reigning 7. The Ideal 8. The Ugly Duckling Illustrations 9. The King and His Kingdom 10. Ezzard 11. The Italian Hero 12. Archie Part 3: Receding 13. The Wanderer 14. Rocky Notes Bibliographic Essay Index |"In the early '90s, Marciano started slipping from our short long-term memory. Enter his poet, Russell Sullivan . . . Sullivan's book is not just a perfect paean to a pugilistic hero but also to a history of mid-century America as glimpsed from the corner window of what was then America's second most popular sport, professional boxing."—Los Angeles Times
"Russell Sullivan's revealing new biography . . . will refresh those of a certain age about a boxing legend and initiate others into the full, entertaining story."—Chicago Tribune
"More than anything else, the book assesses Marciano in the context of his times, the early 1950s, when his career reflected America's serene years before the marches of the civil rights movement, when boxing ranked second to baseball as America's favorite sport."—Dave Anderson, New York Times Book Review
|Russell Sullivan is senior vice president and general counsel of Linkage, Inc.