Author Mike Stanton, a UConn journalism professor, Pulitzer-Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author, will discuss his new book UNBEATEN: Rocky Marciano's Fight for Perfection in a Crooked World (Henry Holt), at the UConn Barnes & Noble at Storrs Center at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 27.
Author Jonathan Eig (Ali: A Life) calls Unbeaten "one of the best sports books I've read in years." The Boston Globe says that "Stanton delivers a meticulously researched and eminently readable account of the only heavyweight champion who exited a savage sport with a perfect professional record — 49-0 with 43 knockouts, 26 of them in the first three rounds."
Unbeaten is about more than just boxing. The book chronicles a changing post-war America in the middle of the 20th Century, a tale of immigrants and mobsters, Guys & Dolls, and a bygone era in New York. The Wall Street Journal says, "Mike Stanton brings back Marciano, and with him, a whole era in American social, industrial and athletic history." The book has gone into its third printing and Stanton has spoken to ESPN's Jeremy Schaap and NPR's Only A Game, and appeared on such show as WGBH's Greater Boston with Jim Braude since its release this summer. Last week, he talked to the UConn 360 podcast.
Stanton will talk about Rocky's story and describe his own research, including surprising discoveries he made at the National Archives and other old files to dig up never-before-seen information. Stanton, in his sixth year at UConn, previousy was an investigative reporter for The Providence Journal, where he wrote the bestselling book The Prince of Providence. Earlier this year, he wrote a Yankee magazine feature about the UConn womens' basketball program.
For more information, contact: Mike Stanton/Jouralism at mike.stanton@uconn.edu