Going the Distance: Stallone, Philly, and the Story of Rocky

The remarkable behind-the-scenes story of the making of a timeless and beloved piece of American pop culture: Rocky.

"In a time when nostalgia is leveraged to shine a rose-colored light on the darker parts of history, Mike Sielski's Going the Distance is a clear-eyed and exhaustively researched work, eschewing sentimentality in favor of truth, demythologizing a fictional boxer, and elevating the flesh-and-blood figures whose lives and careers made this story possible." --John Vercher, author of After the Lights Go Out and Devil Is Fine 

The greatest underdog story in movie history celebrates its golden anniversary in 2026. Rocky turns 50, and in Going the Distance, Mike Sielski delivers the definitive account of the film's creation, the factors that drove Sylvester Stallone to write and star in it, and its everlasting emotional connection to Philadelphia and to people around the world.

Armed with intimate knowledge of Philadelphia's texture, culture, and history, Sielski traces how and why Rocky came to be made and reveals fresh details and anecdotes that will surprise even the film's biggest fans. Through extensive research and exclusive insights from some of the movie's legendary collaborators - including Stallone, producer Irwin Winkler, and composer Bill Conti - Sielski tells Rocky's story in a completely new way, showing Stallone's rise from an aimless kid to an ambitious artist, one who was willing to do whatever he had to do to succeed in Hollywood.

Going the Distance is the unfiltered origin story behind one of the most inspirational films of all time. This is more than a book about a movie. It's a love letter to a great American city - and a dramatic, fascinating ride all its own.

Mike Sielski is the author of four books, including the bestseller The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality. A columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, he was formerly a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, and his work has been anthologized three times in The Best American Sports Writing and The Year's Best Sports Writing. He lives in Bucks County, Pa., with his wife and two sons.