Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties

Marqusee, Mike

ISBN 10: 1859842933 / ISBN 13: 9781859842935

Published by Verso, New York, 2000

About this Item

310 pages.

Seller Inventory # 77235

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties
• Publisher: Verso, New York
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1859842933
• ISBN 13: 9781859842935
• Binding: Soft Cover
• Edition: 1st Verso PB Edition.
• Condition: Very Good
• Book Type: Biography

About this title

Synopsis

Is there a more characteristic figure of the sixties than Muhammad Ali-playful and political, popular and non-conformist, defiant and triumphant? In a unique new book, Mike Marqusee puts the great boxer back in his true historical context to explore a crucial moment at the cross-roads of popular culture and mass resistance. He traces Ali's interaction with the evolving black liberation and anti-war movements, including his brief but fascinating liaison with Malcolm X, as well as his encounters with Martin Luther King. Marquesee's elegant and forceful narrative explores the origins and impact of Ali's dramatic public stands on race and the draft, and reinterprets the 'Rumble in the Jungle', shedding new light on its triumph and tragedy. Above all, he imbues Ali's story with a long-neglected international dimension, revealing why he was embraced with such warmth by diverse peoples across the globe. This timely antidote to the apolitical celebration of Ali as 'a great American' revisits the man and the period with a fresh eye, casting new light on both his courage and his confusions.

About the Author

Mike Marqusee's books include Wicked Messenger: Bob Dylan and the 1960s, Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties, War Minus the Shooting, Anyone but England and If I Am Not for Myself. He is a regular contributor to the Guardian and writes a fortnightly column for the Indian newspaper The Hindu. He lives in London.