Muhammad Ali: Ringside - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0821226266 ISBN 13: 9780821226261

Publisher: Bulfinch Pr, 1999

Synopsis

Incorporating Ali's personal memorabilia and vintage photographs, a collection of essays--organized chronologically by decade--by Alex Haley, Joyce Carol Oates, Norman Mailer, Peter Richmond, and other notables celebrates the life and career of the legendary boxer. 30,000 first printing.

About this title

Review

Muhammad Ali once claimed that he would take on any fighter in any state in any country in the world and this glossy, richly illustrated tome certainly acts as a testament to that claim.

After an introduction by veteran black actor James Earl Jones, a friend of the boxer, the book takes us through Ali's turbulent career as a hot-headed young fighter who threw just as many verbal punches as he did physical ones. In fact his early demeanour bears a striking parallel to Sheffield star Prince Nazeem, who has, quite understandably, been compared with Ali on more than one occasion. Ali's boasting and "I am the greatest!" claims won him criticism and adulation in equal measure, but it seems from the lightweight yet revealing interviews throughout the book that this mindset was not so much a choice but a necessity, given his upbringing and colour. What this book attempts to show us is that throughout his career, Ali was an inspiration to people all over the world, regardless of their colour, because of his sheer will to succeed in whatever he did, from punches to poetry (a hobby that was lambasted by critics).

Those looking for an in-depth personal biography will be disappointed; it doesn't tread any new ground but it does offer a fresh and well put together analysis of the boxer, complete with details of his fights and many reproduced posters for all his bouts. As an overview of a career in boxing it does the job well, but what it really serves to highlight is the lasting endurance of Ali's fighting spirit . Despite succumbing to Parkinson's disease which has since, physically at least, reduced him to a shadow of his former self, it is clear that he is man with a few rounds left in him yet and can still float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. --Jonathan Weir

From the Publisher

"You can almost smell the boxing gym mustiness."
For all sports fans, there was something sad and yet very magical about seeing Muhammad Ali - "The Greatest" - gracefully accepting his award as the BBC's Sports Personality of the Century. Ali polled more votes than all the other candidates put together, which is pretty good going when you remember that he was up against the likes of Don Bradman, Jack Nicklaus, Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis.

We all know the effect Parkinson's syndrome has had on the great man, but his enormous stage presence and charisma remain, and so does his sense of humour - "I may even make a comeback," he chirped at the award ceremony!

In truth, there was only going to be one winner of that award, for the simple reason that Muhammad Ali is comfortably the most culturally significant sporting figure of the twentieth century.

You certainly don't have to be a boxing fan to get carried away by the amazingly evocative imagery in Ringside, a book we knew we had to publish the minute we saw the original fight posters, tickets and classic photos that had been unearthed.

As one recent review commented: "You can almost smell the boxing gym mustiness." If you love Muhammad Ali, you'll love Ringside.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bulfinch Pr
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0821226266
• ISBN 13: 9780821226261
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128
• Editor: Miller John