Atlas by Peter Alson, Peter Kaminsky, Teddy Atlas (2006, Hardcover)

I've been a fan of Teddy Atlas' for years, having enjoyed his commentary on ESPN 2. I could tell he knew a lot about the sport, of course. But I also could see that boxers really respected him. This book explains why. Teddy came up the hard way despite the trappings of a comfortable middle-class life. His dad was a doctor, but Teddy was his own man. This book recounts the many scrapes he got into (including jail time at Rikers), his brief career as a boxer, and the stories behind the boxers he trained. There are many shocking moments here, including the time Teddy held a gun to Mike Tyson's head. (You read that right.) This is a book I'll always keep at hand, and re-read now and again for the sheer inspiration of it.