The Muhammad Ali Reader - Softcover

Early, Gerald

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062233572 ISBN 13: 9780062233578

Publisher: Ecco, 2013

Synopsis

From his status as Heavyweight Champion of the World to his ongoing battle with Parkinson's disease, Muhammad Ali is a celebrated icon known the world over for his athletic championships and his civic and humanitarian enterprises. Ali has been both underdog and champion, villain and prince, playboy and staunch Muslim, exalted hero and reviled conscientious objector- the very spirit of the 20th Century, (Norman Mailer). Organized by decade and illustrated with sixteen pages of classic photos, "The Muhammad Ali Reader" tells Ali's story in more than thirty essays from a stellar array of authors, athletes, and social commentators, including A. J. Liebling, Tom Wolfe, George Plimpton, Norman Mailer, Pete Hamill, Gary Wills, Hunter Thompson, and Joyce Carol Oates. Floyd Patterson defends Ali's right to criticize the Vietnam War; Malcolm X explains how Ali went from entertainer to threat with his declaration as a man of race; Ali shares some intimate and definitive thoughts in a Playboy magazine interview; and Gay Talese gives us a front seat on a 1996 ride to Cuba where Ali meets up with Fidel Castro. Fascinating and diverse, this collective portrait reveals the many facets of the awe-inspiring, controversial, and beloved man and legend known to all as The Greatest: the one and only Muhammad Ali.

About this title

Review:

Muhammad Ali is still one of the best known figures in the world--a sports man, but seen by his fans and admirers as more--someone who ranks as one of the heroes of his generation.

Those who saw him fight talk of Ali with a dreamy look in their eyes, as if he was like nothing or nobody they had ever seen grace the canvas of the boxing ring before or after.

I'm A Little Special follows Ali's boxing career and life from his days as Cassius Clay in the 1960s to the slowed frame that we have seen in his later days as a shadow of his former self.

Magazine and newspaper articles of the time tell the story of a supreme boxer and talker, a world champion who believed--no, knew--that he was in his rightful place at the very top of the sport.

A variety of articles--news stories and features, observations and interviews--are threaded together to form a unique reading on boxing's most famous ambassador.

The book tells the story of a true superstar, but shows the slowing down of Ali through boxing-induced Parkinson's disease.

Articles are introduced chronologically and the tome includes writings from some of the world's most respected journalists and publications.

The differing styles of writing and the carefully selected and edited articles add a spice to the book and give the excellent collection a changing pace.

Gerald Early has shown through his choices--out of literally thousands of pieces written on the great showman--his respect and admiration of the man, not just the boxer, that is Muhammad Ali. --Andrea Thursday

Review:

"He is the very spirit of the 20th Century." --Norman Mailer

About this edition

• Publisher: Ecco
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0062233572
• ISBN 13: 9780062233578
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336