Muhammad Ali

Often called the finest athlete of his time, Muhammad Ali is traced here in a richly illustrated volume that gathers his own recollections alongside accounts from people who watched his rise and saw his fame grow. The book follows a three-time heavyweight champion who refused to play the part boxing had written for its kings. Using the spotlight that came with his title, he pushed audiences to rethink their assumptions about the Vietnam War, racism, sexism, and the newly independent nations of the Third World.

When critics pressured him to justify his conversion to Islam, he answered that he would not be shaped into whatever others expected. He rarely went along with prevailing opinion. Rather than relying on the brute force that defined many heavyweights before him, he won with lightning hands and feet, defeating towering opponents such as Sonny Liston and Joe Frazier. Late in his career, he drew on cunning and creativity to topple George Foreman, a fighter who had looked unbeatable.

Ali, now living with Parkinson's disease, once polarized American opinion over his social and religious stands. Today he is widely regarded as a source of unity and a symbol of peace and hope. The book portrays a sports figure who spoke out on matters of conscience at a time when many celebrities stayed silent. It describes a man who socialized with presidents and monarchs yet felt most at home among ordinary people.