Wil Haygood is the author of a riveting new biography, Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson, one of the greatest boxers in history. Haygood’s book is “a biography worthy of a great athlete and an important social force,” vividly detailing the often controversial life in and out of the ring of the legendary Sugar Ray, who was born in rural Georgia. His story weaves in some of the major figures in 20th century American history, including Langston Hughes, Miles Davis and Lena Horne. Haygood previously has written acclaimed biographies of Adam Clayton Powell and Sammy Davis, Jr.
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Robert J. Norrell, Bernadotte Schmitt Professor of History at the University of Tennessee, delivers the first full-length biography of Booker T. Washington in a generation. 
