Jacobs Beach, by Guardian writer Kevin Mitchell, takes a fascinating, noirish look at boxing and its underbelly in New York in the 1940s and 1950s.

New York at that time was arguably the most interesting and vibrant city in the world. As American culture burst to life— creating television, beatniks, rock ‘n roll, Marilyn, Elvis, and Cold War paranoia—New York was its epicenter.

And New York contributed a couple of other things too: one bloody and brutal but the king of sports, and the other simply bloody and brutal. The 1940s and 1950s were boxing’s last real heyday. Never again would the sport be so glamorous or so popular. And that’s where New York’s other gift to the world—the Mob—came in.

This revised edition includes a foreword by Mike Stanton, bestselling author of Unbeaten: Rocky Marciano’s Fight for Perfection in a Crooked World (Henry Holt, 2018).

About the author

Kevin Mitchell is the boxing and tennis correspondent for the Observer and The Guardian. He is the author of War, Baby, which was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, and the co-author of Frank Bruno's autobiography Frank, which won the Best Autobiography category of the British Sports Book Awards.