King of the World: Muhammed Ali and the Rise of an American Hero by David Remnick |
by Thomas Hauser
|
by Muhammad Ali
|
by Stephen Brunt
|
DVD ~ Muhammad Ali
|
| |||||||||||||||
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
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
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.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?
 |
63% buy the item featured on this page: Muhammad Ali Reader |
 |
13% buy The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey $18.70 |
 |
11% buy King of the World: Muhammed Ali and the Rise of an American Hero $10.85 |
 |
8% buy Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times $14.04 |
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Listmania!
|
|
So You'd Like to...
Product Information from the Amapedia Community
Beta (What's this?)Be the first person to add an article about this item at Amapedia.com.
› See featured Amapedia.com articles
Look for Similar Items by Category
Look for Similar Items by Subject
Your Recent History
(What's this?)|
After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. |
