Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0002251892 ISBN 13: 9780002251891

Publisher: Harpercollins, 1996

A celebration of the career of Muhammad Ali whose speed, verbal acrobatics and charm gave him the right to his self-proclaimed title The Greatest. It explores his life in and out of the ring, from his bouts with Sonny Liston and Joe Frazier to his controversial alliance with the Nation of Islam.

Review:

In this affectionate look at Muhammad Ali, Thomas Hauser makes a good case that Ali might be the most loved person in the world. Certainly, it's difficult to think of an athlete who is more revered, as Ali's appearance at the 1996 Olympics demonstrated. Muhammad Ali in Perspective is illustrated with hundreds of photographs, many by longtime Ali photographer Howard Bingham. It is a stunning look at a man who was not only one of the best fighters and athletes ever, but who also showed the courage of his convictions when he refused to register for the draft and transcended his sport to become a world spokesman for human rights.

From the Publisher:

It wasn't easy doing what Ali did in Atlanta. But this is a man who, all his life, has come up with one incredibly gutsy performance after another. There was no way he could beat Sonny Liston. So he went out and beat Sonny Liston. There was no way he'd give up his title, so as an act of principle, he gave up the heavyweight championship of the world. He beat George Foreman when everyone knew he couldn't. He won the heavyweight crown for a third time, against Leon Spinks, when he was too old to win. Each time the world thought Ali was out of miracles, he performed another miracle. That's Muhammad Ali: In Perspective. And what you had in Atlanta was a wonderful reaffirmation of just how much Muhammad Ali means to the world. Three billion people were watching. Three billion people were in love with one man. Three billion people, even if it was just for a moment, had all the hate and petty prejudices removed from their hearts and felt nothing but love. That's a miracle.

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" is forever engraved in the collective consciousness of generations who watched Cassius Clay emerge from obscurity to become Muhammad Ali. Now a glorious new pictorial work -- Muhammad Ali: In Perspective -- celebrates the legendary career and private life of this extraordinary man. With dramatic photographs from some of the world's best photographers, including Howard Bingham, and newly discovered archival material, it explores Ali's life from his childhood in Louisville, Kentucky, to his epic bouts with Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier and George Foreman, to his controversial alliance with the Nation of Islam, his refusal to be inducted into the U.S. Army, the evolution of his religious beliefs and his life today. Drawing on dozens of recently conducted interviews and hundreds of hours spent with Ali, author Thomas Hauser, who is recognized the world over for his earlier works on Ali, reveals the man behind the blazing lights; a hero who continues to command reverential respect long after his glory days in boxing.

There was a time when Muhammad Ali was the greatest fighter in the world. He's not anymore, because like the rest of us, he has gotten older. But Muhammad Ali is now the most loved person in the world. He can go anywhere -- to a shopping mall in the United States, a restaurant in Europe, a marketplace in Africa, a village in Asia -- and virtually every man, woman and child he sees will know and embrace him. That's an incredible status for anyone to hold.

Muhammad Ali: In Perspective is a compelling portrait of a unique man: a superstar athlete who has become more important than his sport; a cultural icon who is a genuine role model. Ali has earned the right to the title he once proclaimed for himself -- "The Greatest."