The names Jack Dempsey, Babe Ruth, Red Grange, Fatty Arbuckle, Sophie Tucker, Charles Lindbergh, Walter Winchell, Sally Rand, Leopold and Loeb play through the novel's pages.

WSJ: The Old Bunch | Meyer Levin | Destiny's Children | Masterpiece by Joseph Epstein

In 1954, 24 boxers became the first inductees into the Boxing Hall of Fame, including Henry Armstrong, Gentleman Jim Corbett, Jack Dempsey, Jack Johnson, Joe Louis and John L. Sullivan.

CNN: Monday,

In the words of Budd Schulberg, who had seen them all from Jack Dempsey on, Jones was "Hamlet with a mouthpiece" - to be or not to be one of the greatest?

BBC: Jones out to prove his greatness