Rating: 
Summary: Top of the world
Review: When I was growing up in Apartheid South Africa I remember listening on radio (pre-TV days) to the fight in Zaire. Ali was a symbol of a different world... I read this book with relish and couldn't put it down. I've been recommending it to everyone since then.
Rating:
Summary: Book is not only about Ali
Review: This book is excellent. What makes it so captivating is that it really is about how America was changing from the late 50s through the mid sixties. As such, it is an incomplete bio of Ali, but a great window into America during the early 1960's period of Civil Rights.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Insight in the early Muhammad Ali
Review: Muhammad Ali is an almost universally revered figure today, but this book reminds us that it was not always so. This book covers the time between when young Cassius Clay won the Olympic gold medal in boxing until he emerged as the premiere fighter of the '60's when he beat Floyd Patterson in 1965. Until Ali came along, heavyweight fighters were expected to fight flat-footed and use their superior strength and hitting power to defeat their opponents. Ali showed them a different way with his "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" way of fighting. And there was always his bragging. Ali knew very well what he was doing with his poems and his ever-running mouth. They sold tickets to his fights, pure and simple. But in his first fight with Liston even he wasn't sure if he could deliver on his boasts. If you've ever wondered how it was in the '60's when Clay fought the bear, Sonny Liston, this is a must read. You'll learn things about Muhammad Ali that haven't been covered before. I'd recommend this book highly.
Rating:
Summary: king of the world
Review: I thought it was inspiring and heartouching. I learned a lot of things that I didn't know. It deserves ten stars instead of just five.
Rating: 
Summary: A GOOD BOOK; FOR WHAT IT INCLUDED
Review: THIS BOOK IS REALLY WELL WRITTEN. THE AUTHOR FAILS IN ONLY ONE WAY; HE SHORTCHANGES THE IMPORTANCE OF ALI AFTER HE FOUGHT PATTERSON. THIS BOOK ONLY REALLY COVERS UP TO 1965. IT GLOSSES OVER EVERYTHING AFTER THAT PERIOD OF TIME. COSSELL IS ONLY MENTIONED IN PASSING. IT IS A GOOD BOOK, BUT TO MAKE IT A GREAT BOOK, REMNICK IS GOING TO HAVE TO COME OUT WITH SECOND VOLUME TO DETAIL THE REST OF ALI'S INCREDIBLE LIFE. DEFINITELY WORTH BUYING, AND MOST ASSUREDLY WORTH READING!
Rating:
Summary: HE WAS THE GREATEST
Review: this was the best biography about the best fighter ever
Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: This book focuses on Ali in the 60's, which includes his two fights with Sonny Liston, his fight with Floyd Patterson, his interaction with other past heavyweight champs (e.g. Joe Louis), his conversion to Islam, etc. It's a great read for those of us who are young enough to have only encountered Ali in the 70's. In particular, the leadup to the first Liston fight (and the weigh-in shenanigans) is excellent.
Rating:
Summary: MUHAMMAD AIL
Review: I NEED A ADDRESS, HOME OR COMPANY FOR MUHAMMAD ALI PLEASE ANYONE
Rating:
Summary: Great but not enough...
Review: This book is extrememly well written--absorbing and engaging, and well able to bring the characters to life. One of those books I looked forward to taking up again at the end of a busy day (and I'm not even a sports fan). The only problem, for me, was that after a rich, thorough beginning which chronicles Ali's career beginnings within the context of the boxing industry of the times (which "beginning" occupies fully three quarters of the book), the telling of Ali's life rather abruptly peters out, entirely omitting his years of boxing exile and then giving his post-exile years an extremely slight treatment. It left me wondering how Ali's career and public image progressed, what twists and turns there might have been to get him to his present Parkinsons-afflicted state.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest
Review: For what Remnick set out to do, I can't imagine it done any better. The narrative is honest and keeps the same steady pace througout. Remnick shows all of Ali, not only the greatest fighter of his generation, but also a man capable of being callous towards his wife and friends when they failed to live up to what the Nation of Islam demanded. Certainly his shunning of Malcolm X immediately before his assasination reveals a different side of Ali than I had ever seen on TV. But most importantly, Remnick shows the charisma and charm that made Ali great. Overall, this is an important book which frames Ali in the panoramic of the great leaders and issues of his time. I recommend it to anyone, even those not interested in boxing.
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