King of the World

Author:

By David Remnick

Awards:

William Hill Sports Book Of The Year Award Short Listed 1999

Format:

Paperback

Availability:

In print, usually dispatched within 3-4 days.

Price:

£8.99 £7.99 (Save 11%)

Tagged with:

Boxing, Biography, Muhammad Ali

Member Reviews

• Reviewed by 1 member with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars. Login or join us to post the first review!

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Further Details

• Published: 10th Dec 1999
• ISBN: 0330371894
• Pages: 352
• Size: 198mm x 129mm

From Word of Sport:

The unforgettable story of Ali's rise and self-creation, as told by the Pulitzer Prize-winning editor of the New Yorker. Remnick focuses on some of the key players and pivotal moments of the 1960s to portray Ali's life in the political and cultural context of this tumultuous period.

From the Publisher:

This unforgettable account of Muhammad Ali's rise and self-creation, told by a Pullitzer Prize-winning writer, places Ali in a heritage of great American originals.

David Remnick concentrates on Ali's early career, when he was still fighting as Cassius Clay. The book begins in September 1962 with the fight between Floyd Patteson and Sonny Liston, providing a remarkable sociological backdrop to Ali's entrance on the boxing scene. Remnick then describes Clay's 1964 fight with Liston, which even his own people thought Clay couldn't win, and takes us through to 1967 when Ali refused the military draft to Vietnam. This is much more than a sports book. It is a study of the rise of the black voice in the American consciousness and a look at how the media creates its heroes - Cassius Clay began as a 'light-hitting loudmouth' before becoming gradually canonized by the American press and public as Muhammad Ali.

Member Reviews and Ratings

James (Blogger)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars.

This is a fantastic book! It's a very detailed account of boxing through the stories of Floyd Patterson, Sonny Liston and of course, Ali.

It's well written, insightful and will make you rethink the established wisdom on boxing. For example; Liston has long been portrayed as a demonic figure - it's popular (and easy) to focus on his brutishness and ties with the Mafia. King of the World reveals that Liston longed for acceptance and that he wanted to set a good example for Black Americans in the Civil Rights era.

Highly recommended!

Posted on 29th Dec 2006 at 12:36:25 GMT.