Once a competition held exclusively for wealthy members of the New York Yacht Club, the America's Cup has undergone significant transformations in the twentieth century. No longer a yachting event limited to Morgans and Vanderbilts, the race now includes boats skippered by athletes who are not among the circles of the country club elite. Recently, women also competed in their first Cup.

Along with writer Michael Levitt, Dennis Conner, son of a commercial fisherman and three-time winner of the America's Cup, takes us inside the vibrant, complex world of The Cup. It is a world in which legends like Commodore Harold "Mike" Vanderbilt, Ted Turner, and Michael Fay race in an event with a long and rich history that few of us know. Accompanied by spectacular black-and-white and full-color photos, both vintage and contemporary, Conner and Levitt's account of the America's Cup is a dramatic record of this century's wins and losses and the diverse personalities who have contended for the oldest trophy in sports.