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hvgge's review against another edition
4.0
This book is more than boxing. Ali’s life was enormous and his book taught me so much.
The author must have known that sport historians would keep track of his score and achievements. Thus, instead of a factual journalistic retell of his matches, the book takes you behind the scenes and in his head: The immense preparation that goes into a match; All the pressure and threats he was living through; His encounter with an emasculated victim of the KKK whose story gave him strength and motivation; His out-of-the-ring strategies to destabilize an opponent.
The chapter that describes the process of refusing the draft, narrated with precision and suspense, leaves you biting your nails.
The only weakness I found are a few chapters in the middle dedicated to people Ali wanted to commemorate. These slow the pace down. Fair enough though.
It helps to complement the reading with a documentary to get the chronology in order and put some faces on the people.
Finally, it’s not a weakness, but just to know what to expect: the book does not cover his post boxing life. I guess The Greatest wanted to leave some work for the biographers.
The author must have known that sport historians would keep track of his score and achievements. Thus, instead of a factual journalistic retell of his matches, the book takes you behind the scenes and in his head: The immense preparation that goes into a match; All the pressure and threats he was living through; His encounter with an emasculated victim of the KKK whose story gave him strength and motivation; His out-of-the-ring strategies to destabilize an opponent.
The chapter that describes the process of refusing the draft, narrated with precision and suspense, leaves you biting your nails.
The only weakness I found are a few chapters in the middle dedicated to people Ali wanted to commemorate. These slow the pace down. Fair enough though.
It helps to complement the reading with a documentary to get the chronology in order and put some faces on the people.
Finally, it’s not a weakness, but just to know what to expect: the book does not cover his post boxing life. I guess The Greatest wanted to leave some work for the biographers.
bookslut007's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing amaaazing read. Unreal. What a man. The greatest heavyweight of all time for more than one reason .Brilliant book so glad I own this copy.
txlxu2's review against another edition
3.5
(This review is more of a note to self than literary analysis.)
I’m not a boxing fan. I don’t understand the sport. I am a sports fan and understand the transcendence of sport beyond the activity itself. Ali’s story speaks to that. I gained some understanding of him and his times, but still don’t get the sport.
The book was published in 1975 when he was only 32, so the events were relatively fresh to him. I will check out one of other Ali books in the Ex-Libris 100 list later to get a bigger picture.
The narrator, Dion Graham, has become a favorite. His performance is amazing. (Coincidentally, he narrated the book I listened to just before this one: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which doesn’t have much in common with Ali’s book.)
I’m not a boxing fan. I don’t understand the sport. I am a sports fan and understand the transcendence of sport beyond the activity itself. Ali’s story speaks to that. I gained some understanding of him and his times, but still don’t get the sport.
The book was published in 1975 when he was only 32, so the events were relatively fresh to him. I will check out one of other Ali books in the Ex-Libris 100 list later to get a bigger picture.
The narrator, Dion Graham, has become a favorite. His performance is amazing. (Coincidentally, he narrated the book I listened to just before this one: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which doesn’t have much in common with Ali’s book.)
lafate's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
This book is a phenomenal book and audiobook. I listened on Audible. Muhammed Ali wrote it with Richard Durham in the 1970s when he was still fighting. I remember Ali as I was growing up and remember watching him fight a couple of times. He was larger than life. He was larger than boxing. It is so interesting to hear his words because without his words and his compelling personality he would have been just another fighter.
He had a lot of integrity as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War. He and so many other were so right about that war - we should never have gone. The war was as polarizing as his objections and the consequences he paid.
There's insight into his personal life here. He wanted his first wife to be a good Muslim, but she didn't really want the same thing. By the end of his life he was married four times so he definitely had personal struggles and was somewhat chauvinistic.
All that fell away as I listened. I was entranced with the narrator who sounds like Ali without being a caricature of him. I highly recommend this book. Just remember that it is about boxing so there will be blood and blows and bravado. You can see for yourself why he became the most recognized Black person on Earth.
mpimental's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
mommagray's review against another edition
5.0
Such an exciting read! Perfect for road trips, civil rights and anti war activism for mom, amazing fight detail for dad and 11yo Ali fan.
mommagray's review against another edition
5.0
Such an exciting read! Perfect for road trips, civil rights and anti war activism for mom, amazing fight detail for dad and 11yo Ali fan.
corar's review against another edition
4.0
This autobiography/memoir was written in the 70s while Ali was still fighting. I found his life told from his point of view fascinating. Reading about his struggles as an African American male made me think of how far we had come and how other things have yet to change. There were times the style of writing, specifically flashbacks within flashbacks, were a bit confusing regarding where you were in the timeline of his life. I liked how he included transcripts of conversations with Frazier and his first wife to give the reader their perspectives (although the conversation with Frazier was mostly the two of them boasting about their ability to beat the other). It was interesting to get inside his head during his fights and his decisions regarding his stand against white power and the Vietnam War. I am very interested in reading one of the books he wrote later in life because I know some of his positions changed a little over time and I would like some insight on what caused those changes.
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