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A review by alexbond3
King of the World: Muhammed Ali and the Rise of an American Hero by David Remnick
4.0
When I was two or three years old, my parents took me to our local grocery store in Virginia and I got to shake the hand of perhaps the most famous man in the world, who was promoting, of all things, his line of Champ Gourmet Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Muhammad Ali is a totally compelling character, a boxer, celebrity, activist, civil rights leader, philanderer, philanthropist, Black Muslim, and American icon. This book could’ve been two times longer and I’d’ve still devoured it.
What moves me most about Ali is the strength of his convictions and the independence of his thought. He rejected every role people expected him to play. He was loud and proud and unapologetic, which wasn’t how a Black man was supposed to behave, least of all a fighter, least of all at that time. In 1967, as the reigning heavyweight champion of the world, he refused the draft and lost four years of his prime - ages 25 to 29 - as his case wound its way to the Supreme Court. He did not apologize for being a member of the Nation of Islam despite the ambivalence of much of the public to that group’s poisonous rhetoric, and he later regretted his rejection of Malcolm X, who he had been so close to, after Malcolm left the group and was assassinated. After his boxing career he spread love and inclusion and Black and Muslim pride around the world. Ali transcended boxing as much as anyone ever transcended sport. What a legend. And I shook his hand!
Muhammad Ali is a totally compelling character, a boxer, celebrity, activist, civil rights leader, philanderer, philanthropist, Black Muslim, and American icon. This book could’ve been two times longer and I’d’ve still devoured it.
What moves me most about Ali is the strength of his convictions and the independence of his thought. He rejected every role people expected him to play. He was loud and proud and unapologetic, which wasn’t how a Black man was supposed to behave, least of all a fighter, least of all at that time. In 1967, as the reigning heavyweight champion of the world, he refused the draft and lost four years of his prime - ages 25 to 29 - as his case wound its way to the Supreme Court. He did not apologize for being a member of the Nation of Islam despite the ambivalence of much of the public to that group’s poisonous rhetoric, and he later regretted his rejection of Malcolm X, who he had been so close to, after Malcolm left the group and was assassinated. After his boxing career he spread love and inclusion and Black and Muslim pride around the world. Ali transcended boxing as much as anyone ever transcended sport. What a legend. And I shook his hand!