The Fight [Paperback]

Norman Mailer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 1997

In 1975, at the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship in Kinshasa, Zaire, Muhammad Ali met George Foreman in the ring. Foreman's genius employed silence, serenity and cunning. He had never been defeated. His hands were his instrument, and 'he kept them in his pockets the way a hunter lays his rifle back into its velvet case'. Together the two men made boxing history in an explosive meeting of two great minds, two iron wills and two monumental egos.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There are sporting events that transcend the world of sports, and the 1974 heavyweight title fight in which Muhammad Ali regained his crown by improbably kayoing George Foreman in the middle of the African night was certainly one of them. Metaphorically, it was a writer's dream: two imposing black warriors, one all grace, the other brute force, one the iconoclast, the other the blind patriot, battling each other. Fatefully, the appropriate writer threw his pen into the ring. Norman Mailer's masterful account goes far beyond the ropes to capture the primal ethos of the sport, the larger social canvas this particular fight was drawn on, and the remarkable cast of personalities--not the least of which is Mailer himself--who converged to make this "Rumble in the Jungle" a landmark in sports history and a clear knockout in Mailer's journalistic portfolio.

From Library Journal

The "fight" is the 1975 world heavyweight championship bout in Zaire between then reigning king of the ring Muhammad Ali and up-and-coming George Foreman. Mailer relays the events of the actual fight and includes the observations of George Plimpton, Hunter S. Thompson, and others.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (September 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375700382
• ISBN-13: 978-0375700385
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Boxing

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great follow-up to your viewing of 'When We Were Kings', May 3, 2000

By 

Andy Orrock (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Fight (Paperback)

If you were fascinated by Leon Gast's Oscar-winning 1996 documentary "When We Were Kings," do what I did: go out and buy Mailer's 'The Fight' immediately. More than just covering the fight itself, Mailer takes in and reports the entire crazy scene in Kinshasa, Zaire, circa 1975. It must be noted that this book is as much about Norman Mailer (referring to himself throughout the book in the third-person) as it is about Muhammad Ali, but this results in some great reporting like in the one memorable chapter where Mailer decides he's going to run in the early dawn with Ali.

The best parts of the book deal not with Ali but in the richly drawn portraits of the other important players. Ali's mystical cornerman Drew 'Bundini' Brown is a revelation, and you won't find a better take on Don King anywhere, despite the fact that this prose is now 25 years old. The real value of this work is that is captures the essence of Ali and Foreman circa 1975, and - like 'We Were Kings' - subconsciously directs your brain to compare these 'Kings' to the men they have become. The natural tendency is to recognize the true extent of what we have been deprived of by Ali's descent into the grips of Parkinson's, but there's a corresponding shock when reading about Foreman: to realize how this man totally reconstructed his personality to turn himself into a multi-media star. You read Mailer's book and say: No way. But George pulled it off.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable romp, December 15, 2003

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fight (Paperback)

Brilliant, self-indulgent and wildly subjective, this is a dazzling one-off effort.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Different Look At "The Rumble in the Jungle", August 28, 2003

By 

usaamah (Bhopal, India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fight (Paperback)

Norman Mailer's "The Fight" is quite simply one of the best boxing books I have ever read. Reading Mailer the novelist writing about boxing gives you a certain novelty you will not experience in other books on sport. Mailer's keen observation comes shining through: on life in Zaire, Mobutu's rule, George Foreman and of course Muhammad Ali.

I was surprised to see that Mailer has such a keen eye on the sport. His description of the fight is like no other you will ever read or see. The result is something like a passage jointly written by Bill Cayton and Alistair MacLean. Mailer with his minute observation adds a great touch of drama to the proceedings instead of presenting only a dry technical analysis of the fight. If you want the latter, you might as well watch Max Kellerman on ESPN. Mailer on the other hand gives you a lively picture, making you feel like you were there on that dark, sultry Kinshasa night, part of the radiant crowd chanting "Ali, mumbaye".

Mailer displays an ardent love for the sport and admiration for Muhammad Ali. Many insights are given into Ali's personality. Particularly interesting are the insights into the lives of Ali's camp members: Angelo Dundee, the workaholic trainer who never gave away an inch; Lou Bundini, the colorful sidekick, and Herbert Muhammad, the manager who always meant business. I have read a lot on Ali but have not been able to find anything special on his troupe, apart from this book by Mailer.

If you are a serious boxing and Ali fan, you just have to read this book. If you are not and are just interested in understanding the fascination about Muhammad Ali, this is something that will do a lot to help you.