The Muhammad Ali Reader [Paperback]

Gerald Early (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 20, 1999

Muhammad Ali is The Greatest. From Heavyweight Champion of the World to his ongoing battle with Parkinson's disease, Ali has captured the imagination of our finest writers and won admiration and scrutiny the world over.

With sixteen pages of classic photographs, this collection brings together thirty-two essays, interviews, and articles by the best contemporary sportswriters and literary journalists. Spanning four decades, these pieces chronicle the highs and lows of Ali's career -- his first pro fight in New York; his affiliation with the Nation of Islam, his epic battles with Joe Frazier and George Forman; his Vietnam draft refusal, and the subsequent stripping of his title; and his ultimate return to the spotlight at the 1996 Olympics -- memorable milestones in a truly extraordinary life.

Awe-inspiring, controversial, and beloved, Muhammad Ali, the man and the legend, comes out swinging in a collective portrait that is as illuminating as it is celebratory.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There is no mistaking the marvels of the Ali Reader. It begins with the cover, which leaves you wordless--literally; there is nothing on it except the face of The Greatest linking you in his gaze, toying with your curiosity, and inviting you to step inside.

And what's inside is a knockout collection of 30 essays (and a poem from Nobelist Wole Soyinka) on the most remarkable sportsman of the 20th century, written by a stable of some of the most powerful contemporary literary heavyweights ever assembled in one ring: A.J. Liebling, Tom Wolfe, George Plimpton, LeRoi Jones, Murray Kempton, and Irwin Shaw spar with the Ali of the '60s and his metamorphosis from Cassius Clay; Norman Mailer, Pete Hamill, Gary Wills, Hunter Thompson, and Ishmael Reed pick up the saga in the '70s; and Jose Torres, Joyce Carol Oates, and Gay Talese bring the myth into the present.

From his entrance onto the world stage in 1960, Ali exuded a fascinating mixture of personality and skill, which he combined with an ability to mesmerize, charm, infuriate, and cajole. He has always been a writer's dream subject. His inherent poetry seemed to demand nothing less than worthy efforts from the legion of scribes who tried to corner him in prose; Ali possessed the goods that bring writers up to his level.

There are several surprises here, particularly in the early rounds, in which both former heavyweight champion Floyd Paterson (humiliatingly taunted by Ali in and out of the ring) and Jackie Robinson defend his embrace of the Black Muslims. Hamill writes poignantly about what Ali's individualism and his principles cost him in the eyes of the white public: "He had, quite simply, broken too many rules on the way to becoming a man." Thompson provides a dizzying chronicle of "the brown Jay Gatsby." Mailer writes searingly on ego and the body. And Oates, one of the most insightful of all observers of the Sweet Science, sums up his "Parkinsonian" present of muscular shakes and slurred speech with a single, thrilling line: "Who is to presume to feel sorry for one who will not feel sorry for himself?" Ali's own marvelous voice rings clear in a long Playboy interview as well as a shorter, but no less substantial, Q&A for Sport magazine conducted by former light heavyweight titlist Torres.

Though Ali is always on center stage, you don't need to like boxing--or even The Greatest--to be held in the spell of the Reader's literary wallop. The power of its pens should rivet your interest the way Ali himself used to hold ringsiders spellbound. --Jeff Silverman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

One of the most admired and best-known boxers of the 20th century, Ali is the subject of some 30 essays and a poem by an all-star cast of prominent contemporaries, including Tom Wolfe, George Plimpton, Jackie Robinson, Leroi Jones, Irwin Shaw, Norman Mailer, Roger Kahn, Garry Wills, Bert Giamatti, Hunter Thompson, Joyce Carol Oates and Gay Talese. One surprise is that Floyd Paterson, humiliated by Ali in the 1960s and who later called him a coward, staunchly defends Ali's fight decisions, in a piece here written by Paterson and Talese. Mailer offers a turgid essay on the language of the body. Oates, who recalls the pugilist's early fights when he said he "floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee," muses on the "genius" of Ali's boxing in view of his graduating 376th out of 391 in his high school class. Other pieces tackle the subject of Ali's Muslim religion, portraying an idealistic, devout, warm, generous and admirable human being determined to help blacks fight what he describes as the "awful odds" against them. Early (Tuxedo Junction) has assembled a splendid collection. Photos. (June) FYI: Knopf has recently published the translation of a German biography of Ali: More Than a Champion, by Jan Philipp Reemtsma, trans. by John E. Woods (172p $21 ISBN 0-375-40030-3)
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial; 1st Rob Weisbach Books ed edition (January 20, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688166202
• ISBN-13: 978-0688166205
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,450,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #82 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( A ) > Ali, Muhammad

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest, July 24, 2002

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Muhammad Ali Reader (Paperback)

"Maybe if there were a few cheers from the other side of the fence, and a little more tolerance, too, people would realize Cassius Clay is not as bad as he seems, and maybe then he would also return the favor once in a while and keep his mouth shut."
--Floyd Patterson (with Gay Talese), "In Defense of Cassius Clay," August 1966

"Boxing is a dialogue between bodies. Ignorant men, usually black, and usually next to illiterate, address one another in a set of "conversational" exchanges... It is just that they converse with their physiques." -Norman Mailer, "Ego," March 1971

This is an excellent book, not only for those interested in perhaps the greatest boxer of all time, but for people interested in the separate and combined effects of race, the 1960's, and the subjectivity of writing. For example, it appears that Patterson and Mailer held contradicting opinions about Ali's talking, and, much this book's fun is how Ali served as a projective test for the attitudes and values of others--Mailer in particular is a hoot.

Ali's larger-than-life persona draws such literary heavyweights as Amiri Baraka, the humorist and essayist A.J. Liebling, Mailer, Joyce Carol Oates, George Plimpton, Irwin Shaw, Gay Telese, Garry Wills, and Tom Wolfe. Ali is a symbol, yes, but an individual too, and the better essays show him as a multifaceted, intelligent, and controversial person. Three interviews ("Black Scholar," uncredited, June, 1970; "Playboy," uncredited, November 1975; "Sport," Joe Torres, December 1981) let the champ speak for himself.

The book is full of great writing (except for Hunter S. Thompson's annoying self-aggrandizing piece and Wills' non-illuminating intellectualism), and offer snapshots of Ali from 1962 through his post-Atlanta Olympics acclaim in the late 1990's. A blend of facts and iconography, the book is a fascinating look at Ali both inside and outside the ring. (Some pieces were edited for this book, but there is a bibliography on source material. With 16 pages of photos, no index, and an introductory essay by the editor.) Very highly recommended!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest!, May 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Muhammad Ali Reader (Paperback)

If you want to begin to try and really understand what Ali is all about, if you want to feel that you have met him and talked with him, this book is for you! It is a great read, and the many writers who contribute each have their own take on this most complex of all heavyweight champs. I loved this book from the first page to the last. You cannot find a better way to get to know Ali. I have read other books about him, and this one stands in a class by itself.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired Writing and Subject, September 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Muhammad Ali Reader (Hardcover)

This is a really nice chronicle of Muhammed Ali's life and times. The writing here is just as inspired as the subject, so even non-boxing fans can appreciate it. Don't be put off by Early's poor introductory essay -- get the the meat of the book and you won't be disapointed. I'm glad I read this book.