Who is Muhammad Ali

The Lost Legacy of Muhammad Ali

by: Thomas Hauser

"The Lost Legacy of Muhammad Ali" is Thomas Hauser's companion volume to his seminal 1991 work, "Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times," a biography hailed as "incomparable" by The New York Times,"a considerable achievement" by The Wall Street Journal, and "simply magnificent" by the Boston Globe. Fourteen years later, Hauser believes that Ali remains a transcendental figure in American life. But in recent years, Ali has been packaged and repackaged and the reasons for his importance, as well as the electrifying nature of his persona, have been obscured in a fog of revisionism.

"The Lost legacy of Muhammad Ali" strips away the revisionism to reveal, once again, the true Ali. Hauser has assembled all his writing about Ali, other than his definitive biography, and added several essays published here for the first time. He recounts Ali's triumphant ascent to near-mythical stature by virtue of his achievements, both inside the ring and out. But he also chronicles how, ever since Ali lit the flame to open the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, there has been a deliberate distortion of what Ali believed, said, and stood for in order to sanitize his public image and maximize his economic potential. That, Hauser asserts, is a disservice to history and to Ali himself.

Hauser recalls Ali as a great man with flaws. In his youth, Ali advocated racial segregation and demeaned many of his ring opponents. His embrace of the Nation of Islam and his refusal to fight in Vietnam engendered contempt from some and praise from others. Ali is now universally recognized as a champion of peace, freedom, and social justice. Hauser believes that it is incumbent to honor Ali but wring to selectively erase memories of the man he was.

"Great men are considered great," writes Hauser, "not only because of what they achieve, but also because of the road they travel to reach their final destiniation. Ali stood up for his convictions and sacrificed a great deal for them. So why hide the true nature of what his principles were?"

This is, along with Hauser's biography of Ali, probably the best and "closest to the truth" book we have on the Greatest of All Time.

Hauser is an honest sports journalist who, although obviously enamored of his subject, never tries to hide the flaws of this internationally renowned and original personality. Indeed, more than cynical would-be writers like Mark Kram (whom Hauser addresses directly in this book), he has come to that place so many fans, writers and adoring celebrities never could: the actual Ali behind all that myth, bravado and unmatched boxing skill.

Through his exhaustively readable collection of quotations from not only Ali himself but sports figures like Reggie Jackson, Ernie Terrell, Angelo Dundee, Ron Lyle, Sylvester Stallone (and of course Joe Frazier), the confused but courageous core of the man then and now emerges.

What is revealed is a wildly exuberant, spiritual, sometimes volatile and sometimes serene man who himself could often not tell the difference between himself and the fictions created about him. His courageous refusal, at any cost, of being inducted into the draft to fight in Vietnam is juxtaposed with his readiness to do things like call Joe Louis an "Uncle Tom" and shoot off his mouth whenever he felt himself or his ego threatened.

For one of the toughest SOBs to ever live, Muhammad Ali had a very pronounced sensitive side, and his excessive showmanship and extreme bravery were often manifestations of a need to hide this side of himself. As a result, he made quite a few enemies. His uncritical allegiance to the Nation of Islam is also shown for what it was; a frenzied response of a black athlete to show white America that he was not afraid to adopt radical, dangerous positions and still kick butt in the ring.

The essentially religious side of Ali emerged in later life, and the obvious time out of Parkinsons ripped him away from the cameras to reflect on some of his more radical beliefs (apartheid). What people need to remember is that this is a guy who grew up in Louisville Kentucky when racism against blacks was it's height. That explains quite a bit about "the true nature of his beliefs".

An endlessly entertaining, superb book on the man seen through the eyes of others and himself by an insider. -- J. Allen "reasonbran234@aol.com" (Albany, NY United States)

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The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey

by: Muhammad Ali, Hana Yasmeen Ali

Few lives have been more zealously recorded in movies, photography and literature than Ali's. So it's fortunate that this book is not so much a memoir as a collection of the supreme athlete's spiritual contemplations. Structured as a series of minichapters on abstract virtues-love, friendship, peace, wisdom, understanding, respect, etc.-it consists of Ali's religious reflections, buttressed by personal anecdotes, Sufi parables, aphorisms, personal letters and poetry. What might be seen as mawkish or cloying from someone less universally beloved has real poignancy coming from boxing's brashest champion ("The Mouth" was one of his many nicknames), who is slowly being driven behind a wall of silence by Parkinson's. The book has the intensity of a deathbed confessional. Ali is settling his accounts, apologizing to Joe Frazier and Malcolm X for hurting them. But primarily he is giving advice to his many children, for whom he obviously feels an overwhelming love. (His daughter Hana addresses her love for her father directly in the book.) Besides Ali's love, readers will be struck by his remarkable faith. With the Black Muslims, he found not only an expression of his own pride in being black but also a personal relationship with Allah, which served as the wellspring for the remarkable courage he displayed both inside ("The Rumble in the Jungle") and outside (refusing the Vietnam draft) the ring. It's hard not to be moved by Ali's spirit.

Published recently in 2004, this is a very inspirational and deeply philosophical autobiography by Muhammad Ali.

I am writing this review after having read "Smokin' Joe, the Autobiography." I honestly feel that both autobiographies must be read to shed complete light on the relationship between the two.

This autobiography, which is an "Ebook" goes into interesting detail about Ali's childhood which for the most part has been talked about in televised biographies. Then, thoughout the book, Ali digresses with Islamic tales in order to make points. I found that distracting and elusive.

Throughout the book, he echoes about the power of love and the instinct of "following your heart" so much that, after awhile, I, the reader, feel as if he's belittling me. I didn't like that about this autobiography.

I was however amazed by his work ethic and when he went into detail, about his principles that led to him being stripped of his heavyweight title for not registering for the draft.

I was disappointed that he did not go into more details about his opponents or about those people in his life.

I found the best part of the reading related to his early years with the Nation of Islam movement. His ability to explain their misunderstood purposes and motives to be quite fascinating.

The most powerful aspect was his story about Malcolm X just prior to his death and how he regretted not saying goodbye to him. It was touching.

This book also provides insight on his current health and his mind today which is very active and still filled with love.

There are some disappointments, but there are many gems if you are able to read through the overly glossy parts. -- Tony Ukena "TU" (CA, United States)

Release Date: 11/16/2004

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The Greatest: Muhammad Ali

by: Walter Dean Myers

An introduction to Ali's life from his childhood to the present day, focusing on his career and the controversies surrounding him. Both his talent in the boxing ring and his showmanship earned him international fame, while his refusal to accept the stereotypical role of a black athletic star in the 1960s and his membership in the Nation of Islam brought him notoriety. Myers interweaves fight sequences with the boxer's life story and the political events and issues of the day. He doesn't shy away from reporting on the brutality of the sport and documents the toll it has taken on its many stars. Ample black-and-white photographs of the subject in and out of the ring illustrate the book. Covering Ali is a daunting task, especially since dozens of books and hundreds of articles have been written about him in the last 40 years. Fortunately, young adults have their own award-winning author, one with the perspective of being a young African American in Harlem during the height of the boxer's fame, to tell his story. Myers's writing flows while describing the boxing action and the legend's larger-than-life story.-Michael McCullough

This is a perfect book for a kid 14 or 13 years old and younger - it's a fantastic introduction to Muhammad Ali - I just bought it for my friends son - he's 12 - not that familiar with Muhammad Ali - just a basic knowledge of the myth and legend - he knows "Float Like a Butterfly - Sting Like A Bee!"

This is a great way to show a youngster that in addition to being the Greatest Of All Time that he was (and is) one of the most influential, courages and important figure of the 1960's and up -

It gently shows and explains the race issues of the 60's without overwhelming a child or blasting it in their face - it's very difficult for a kid these days to understand that as little as 40 years ago (which is actually life times to a kid) that if you were black then you had to sit at the back of the bus - or couldn't drink from certain water fountains or had to "know you're place" and how Muhammad Ali shattered that mold - I'm hoping that this actually creates a dialogue with parent and child - anyway - it shows Muhammad as the Champ both in and out of the ring.

The book goes over some of the famous fights and rivalry's - from Liston to Frazier - once again I found myself excited about the blow by blows of these fights - no matter how many times I read it I'm just awe struck about the Rumble in the Jungle -

I highly recommend this for any child as a great introduction to The Greatest Of All Time - Muhammad Ali! -- Buster Paris (Boston, MA)

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King of the World

by: David Remnick

You'd think there wouldn't be much left to say about a living icon like Muhammad Ali, yet David Remnick imbues King of the World with all the freshness and vitality this legendary fighter displayed in his prime. Beginning with the pre-Ali days of boxing and its two archetypes, Floyd Patterson (the good black heavyweight) and Sonny Liston (the bad black heavyweight), Remnick deftly sets the stage for the emergence of a heavyweight champion the likes of which the world had never seen: a three-dimensional, Technicolor showman, fighter and minister of Islam, a man who talked almost as well as he fought. But mostly Remnick's portrait is of a man who could not be confined to any existing stereotypes, inside the ring or out.

In extraordinary detail, Remnick depicts Ali as a creation of his own imagination as we follow the willful and mercurial young Cassius Clay from his boyhood and watch him hone and shape himself to a figure who would eventually command center stage in one of the most volatile decades in our history. To Remnick it seems clear that Ali's greatest accomplishment is to prove beyond a doubt that not only is it possible to challenge the implacable forces of the establishment (the noir-ish, gangster-ridden fight game and the ethos of a whole country) but, with the right combination of conviction and talent, to triumph over these forces. --Fred Haefele

"I ain't got no quarrel with them Vietcong," Ali said in 1967 on refusing to be drafted. He was sentenced to five years in prison, and though the Supreme Court would overturn his conviction four years later, principle lost himAtemporarilyAhis title, big bucks, the support of many admirers and the best years of his fighting life. Vietnam postdates most of New Yorker editor Remnick's (Lenin's Tomb) coverage, as he writes little about Ali in the post-Sonny Liston era. At its best, the book recalls the boxing writings of A.J. Liebling, while Remnick's frequent use of Ali's hilarious "rapper" doggerel adds to the melancholy humor through which he describes the Louisville kid who beat gambling odds on the way to the heavyweight title but couldn't beat the medical odds. "The history of [prize] fighters," Remnick writes, "is the history of men who end up damaged." Only in his middle 50s, the once graceful Ali, last seen worldwide clutching the Atlanta Olympic torch in a trembling hand, is disabled by degenerative Parkinson's disease. To many, though, he was disabled even earlier by his conversion to Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam, which, whatever its controversial separatist image, "orders [Ali's] life and helps him cope with his illness," according to Remnick. The author smartly records Ali's defiant besting of adversaries in and out of the ring and shows him to be a champion human being.

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The Greatest

The incredible career of perhaps the greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali, is dramatized in this exciting film starring Ali himself. Fresh from his gold medal victory at the Olympic Games, 18-year-old Cassius Clay is ready to seek the heavyweight championship. Under the masterful guidance of trainer Angelo Dundee (Ernest Borgnine). Clay snatches the title from Sonny Liston. Soon afterward, Clay converts to the Islam religion and changes his name to Muhammad Ali. When he is suddenly classified 1A by the Draft Board that earlier rejected him, Ali refuses the draft on religious grounds. His hard-won title is taken from him. Winning a three-and-a-half year long court battle. Ali returns to the ring for what have been some of the greatest fights of all time.

Release Date: 12/11/2001

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