In 1903, the National Police Gazette wrote that Irish boxers were received by audiences with "a hearty cheer and earnest backing." For a time in the United States, the Irishman became the idealized boxer; the apotheosis of masculinity. The "Emperors of Masculinity," as author Gerard Earley described the leading heavyweight boxers of the era, had become Emerald Emperors. This book is the first in depth study of the role played by Irish and...