His research investigates the history of American sports, and he is especially interested in sports icons who have left imprints on American culture. His first book, The Sons of Westwood: John Wooden, UCLA, and the Dynasty that Changed College Basketball (2013), explores the emergence of college basketball as a national pastime and the political conflicts in college athletics during the 1960s and 1970s. Most recently, he is a coauthor, with Randy Roberts, of Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X—named by Amazon as one of the best history books of the year—which reveals how Malcolm X awakened Cassius Clay's political consciousness and transformed the boxer into Muhammad Ali, an international symbol of black power. Smith is currently writing "The Year of the Slugger: When Mickey Mantle Became an American Hero," with Roberts.