Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World [Paperback]

Lennox Lewis (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2007

Many regard Muhammad Ali simply as “The Greatest” heavyweight of all time. Others admire his battles against racial injustice and religious intolerance. A few just call him “Dad.” They are all here in this book—fifty men and women of note coming together to celebrate the man Sports Illustrated crowned “Sportsman of the Century”: Angelo Dundee, Ali’s trainer; Billy Crystal, actor; Sir Henry Cooper, former British and European heavyweight champion; Bert Sugar, journalist and boxing historian; Hana Ali, Muhammad Ali’s daughter; Ferdie Pacheco, Ali’s fight doctor; and more.  This book will be treasured by anyone who has ever been inspired by “The Greatest.”

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In prose of wildly varying quality, 52 essays address the paradox of how a man who beat other men senseless for a living and served as the spokesman for a religion that taught that white people are devils became the among the most beloved figures on the planet. The broad outlines of Ali's career are known to almost everyone, from the shocking knockout of Sonny Liston to the conversion to Islam and the theft of Ali's title after he refused to be drafted into the Vietnam War. Ali's words—No Vietcong ever called me nigger—remain a memorable statement from the era, and his comeback with the three Frazier fights and the Rumble in the Jungle provided a triumphant coda that Hollywood couldn't have scripted. Essays from such luminaries as Maya Angelou, Gil Scott Heron and Dustin Hoffman contain the platitudinous, the touching, the surprising and the bizarre. However, there are some excellent pieces here, including one by Stanley Crouch, who refers to the Nation of Islam as cultural/political LSD... an emotional hallucinogen. Yet what impresses about this book is the sheer variety of contributors (BB King, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Bert Sugar), providing yet another testament to the enduring importance of the heavyweight boxer. (July)
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About the Author

Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE (born September 2, 1965) is a retired boxer who won gold for Canada at the 1988 Olympic Games as an amateur. As a professional boxer he became the undisputed World heavyweight champion.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (June 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602390282
• ISBN-13: 978-1602390287
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,645,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ali through the blind eyes of the world, April 19, 2002

By 

"hollowbunny" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World (Hardcover)

Following the recent release of Hollywood's horrible 'ALI' movie, we have yet another book attempting to ride the Ali bandwagon. The best thing about this book is that it contains a lot of cool photographs that I hadn't seen before. Very little of the text is new or insightful, though. With few exceptions, these people just retrace the same old tired topics. Ali refused to go to Vietnam, Ali won the heavyweight title, Ali is funny, Ali is kind, etc... True, but how many different times do I need to hear somebody say this? Of all the people chosen to comment in this book, few of them have anything unique to say about the man. In addition, a lot of these people don't really seem to know fact from legend. For example, several references are made to the story about Ali throwing his Olympic medal into the river. This is complete fiction, dreamed up for the '70's book and movie, "The Greatest". In reality, he just lost the medal somewhere. There are a few good entries here, such as the ones by referee Arthur Mercante, Bert Sugar, Angelo Dundee, daughter Hana, ex-wife Veronica, and several people who fought against or helped train Muhammad. These cover less than 1/2 the book, though. Instead of getting some comedian who's never even met the man, why not get Joe Frazier or Ken Norton or George Foreman or Ali's current wife Lonnie or his best friend Howard Bingham to comment? How about his brother, Rahman? Leon Spinks, even. The editing is atrocious, at least in the hardcover edition. If you really want to read something about Ali that's well written and well researched, I would suggest the great books 'Muhammad Ali, His Life and Times' by Thomas Hauser and 'King of the World' by David Remnick.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Worlds Greatest, March 26, 2002

By 

Mike Rowan (Missouri, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World (Hardcover)

Muhammed Ali: Through the Eyes of the World by Mark Collings and Lennox Lewis helped me tremendously to understand the life of Muhammed Ali. This book kept me interested throughout. What was unique about this book that kept me wondering what was behind the next page was that it was told from many people's eyes, not the authors'. From his opponents to his four wives, you got the story from everyone. When someone's story started to get old, here it was, a new story. The different commentaries give you his whole life story. You hear about the way he fought, how he loved kids, his love for entertaining, his generosity, you hear it all. After reading the book I had the feeling that I knew Ali as a person. I give this book five stars. If I could, I would give it more.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING TO WRITE ABOUT THIS MAN, December 10, 2002

By 

reviewer (Zurich, Switzerland.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World (Hardcover)

"Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World" is a fine documentation, which tells the story of a fine man. It was a good effort by Lennox Lewis, (a heavyweight champion), and Mark Collings; although that I didn't come across any new event or issue regarding the life of this greatest champion that sports has ever known. However, since most books that bear Ali's perspectives are hard to find in continental Europe, I was more than glad to lay my hands on this one.
I have either heard or read every story that I found on the pages of this book, yet, the refreshment it offered was great. I had a satisfactory pastime with it; and I guess that you'll cherish it too.
No matter how much you know about The Greatest, this book will certainly knit-up your weekend. The chapters are well-arranged, and the overall documentation is cute.