Customer Reviews

The Fight

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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

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.

The Rumble in the Jungle is a seminal moment in boxing, and for that reason alone it deserves an account. The fact that a boxing fan/skilled writer and social critic wrote the account would appear to be to the benefit of the reader. And Mailer does two things particularly well. The first is his description of the fight itself, which captures the drama of the struggle in a captivating and thrilling manner. The second is Mailer's attention to the political struggle in Zaire during the '60's (This is akin to holding a title fight in Serbia in the mid-90's). But, Mailer has to ruin a great little book by injecting himself into the action. He doesn't have to be the fly on the wall and he has every right to admit his personal bias. But it's nauseatingly tiresome to refer to yourself in the third person and speculate as to how people think about you, "the famous writer." What an unbelievable ego. It's not only an annoying personal trait, but it disrupts the flow of the book and takes from the titular reason that many people picked up this book. See if your library has it, but don't bother paying for a very good account marred by one man's need to talk about himself.

Norman Mailer delivered a classic in his coverage of the October 30, 1974, "Rumble in the Jungle," in the May 20th Stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire, when heavy underdog Muhammad Ali shocked the world one more time with his 8th round knockout of champion George Foreman.

Referring to himself in the third-person, Mailer captures the various angles of the fight that was oftentimes more interesting with the personalities and controversies outside the ring.

There are interviews with George Plimpton and Hunter S. Thompson - the Gonzo journalist who could go toe-to-toe with Mailer in the world ego championship - along with the bitter Joe Frazier and vastly underrated contender Ken Norton. This was Don King's first boxing promotion, who got into the game with a boost from Ali.

While Mailer gives perhaps the best sketch of Ali's famous cornerman, Drew "Bundini" Brown, it is nearly a throwaway comment on what appeared to be Ali struggling at times with his quick quips that may have been one of the earliest signs of what became permanent neurological damage.

Going into the fight, Foreman - who earlier in his pro career enlisted Sonny Liston as a sparring partner - was considered unbeatable, with fears that Ali would get severely hurt in a heroic, but losing effort. After the loss, Foreman claimed - though later recanted - that his water bottle was tampered with & he was drugged.

Foreman also claimed - but also recanted - that members of Ali's had loosened the ring ropes, so his punching power was negated by Ali leaning his upper torso & head far outside the ring.

The Fight is not the typical coverage of a sporting event, but Mailer proved to be up to the task and delivered some of the best writing in his storied career.

This was my first time reading Mailer, and I'd never really read something written with that kind of self-important style before, and I didn't even know what to expect going in. But I enjoyed the book quite a bit for what it was and what it wasn't.

The description of the fight was tremendous and Mailer's take on both fighters was so distinct and fantastic that you really felt as though you were there. There's something to be said for being able to persuade the reader toward the view of Foreman being the heavy favorite so long after the events have already been written in history.

Mailer writing himself in the third person seemed perfectly fine to fit in with the African religious themes he describes, and it just gives a flavor to the book that I didn't expect going in. Definitely recommended if you have an interest in classic American authors, combat sports, or feature-length in-person journalistic accounts.

If ever two egos needed to meet, these were the two. Only Norman Mailer could've made a Muhammad Ali-centered event like "The Rumble In The Jungle" so much about himself. And yet in his way, Mailer makes one want to read and re-read every page. He crafts a tale that makes it easy to sense the chaos preceding a heavyweight title fight, as well as the almost universal expectation that Ali was simply going to get himself killed by George Foreman. I loved Mailer's attempts to draw out Ali, and loved Ali's constant tug-of-war with Mailer, "the press" and the Foreman camp. Were the small cracks in Ali's confidence real, or was it part of the show? Did he use Mailer, or did Mailer use Ali? Having watched the fight many times over the years, I knew how the book would end. And yet I was enthralled by the ebb and flow of Mailer's thoughts as the fight approached and unfolded. No newspaper account...this is a marvelous take on a legendary sporting event, and well worth reading as a fight fan or a literature fan.

This book is about an event that has always interested me, and as such I enjoyed it. It is filled to the brim with fascinating, larger-than-life characters, with the hangers-on almost as interesting as the pugilists. But I found Mailer's writing too self-consciously complex and clever at times (probably a sacrilegious thing to say), which detracted from my enjoyment of the book, and cost it a fourth star. It is, however, still well worth a read for people interested in boxing, Ali, African dictatorships and this bout in particular. Such people must also watch When We Were Kings (I am probably the umpteenth person saying this), a marvellous documentary about this bout and all the hype and happenings preceding it. Ali is at his hysterical best in the documentary, funnier than anybody in the world of comedy.

I think Mailer did an excellent job of making the characters (Ali, Foreman, George Plimpton...) come to life. And his commentary on the fight itself is also excellent. I do think, however, that Mailer's arrogance and machismo were a bit irritating at times; for instance, he repeatedly compares himself to Hemingway.

This was my first experience with Norman Mailer and it certainly will not be my last. The Fight paints beautiful portraits of many of the characters, events, and locations that surrounded The Rumbe in The Jungle of 1975. His eye for detail and incredible descriptive ability made this a wonderful read. More important to boxing fans, however, is that his actual recount of the fight itself may be the single best piece of boxing writing I have ever read--it was better than watching the real thing and Mailer somehow makes the reader feel like he is both a ringside spectator and one of the combatants at the same time (a strange experience, but certainly one worth having). This book is an excellent companion to When We Were Kings and the actual video of the fight, both of which are sold by Amazon. Another interesting contrast is provided by David Remnick's King of the World, which details the months leading up to Ali's first championship fight against Sonny Liston. Ali evolved a great deal between 1964 when he was still a young, scared Cassius Clay and 1975 when he had become an older, wiser, though no less enthusiastic champion. The Fight is a great book, a must have for all boxing fans and certainly worthy of any reader who enjoys excellent character development, action, and terrific writing.