Why This Is The Best Biography Ever Written on Muhammad Ali?

‘Ali : A Life’ is the best biography I have ever read on the life of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. In this blog I dive deep into my reason in believing that Jonathan Eig has produced the best work on the life of GOAT Muhammad Ali.

Muhammad Ali — whose name before embracing Islam was Cassius Clay — is a personality who stands apart in world history. We are often told by parents and teachers to be humble and modest. But Muhammad Ali grew up shouting and howling “I am the greatest of all time.”

At just 12, he had already declared that he would become a famous man. However, due to poverty, he did not have access to a good education — nor was he particularly fond of studying. So he chose a path where education wasn’t necessary: boxing.

While still in school, he would give autographs to his friends. And what did he write in those autographs?

Cassius Clay, World Heavyweight Champion.

He won 31 consecutive professional fights and brought a unique style to boxing.
Instead of just beating his opponent, he would tire his opponents out.  He was so great at analyzing his opponents that he could predict the exact round in which he would be able to knock them out.

He became World Heavyweight Champion three times, and his passion and preparation were unmatched. Even when facing top fighters of the world, whenever journalists asked him about his match preparation, he would say: “This match is nothing more than a warm-up for me. Right now, there’s no boxer in the world at my level who can compete with me.”

But if you only recognize Muhammad Ali as a boxer, it would be unfair to his life story. He was a complete personality. If you’re a teacher and read about Ali’s life, your teaching will improve. If you’re a doctor, you’ll become a better doctor.

Because many boxers came and went. But the world remembers Muhammad Ali because of his principles. At a time when Black Americans would accept whatever the government said to please them, Muhammad Ali had the courage to call wrong wrong, and right right. The entire American government stood united in trying to send him to fight in the Vietnam War. But when Ali took a stand and said the war was unjust, even if it meant going to jail or losing his title, no one could make him bow down.

Yes, this book is quite lengthy. And usually, I tend to stay away from long books — because you can’t always match your pace of progress. For example, if you set a goal to finish a book in one week but end up taking 20 days, if the book is good, you still feel a sense of accomplishment. But if it’s not as good as expected, it can leave you disappointed. Just like I’m currently stuck in a book — more on that in another review. But this book is not one of those. In fact, it’s one of those rare books that as you approach the ending, you wish it were even longer.

This book was published in 2017, authored by Jonathan Eig. It has 623 pages and is divided into three parts:

Part 1: Covers Muhammad Ali’s early life — his childhood, family background, and upbringing.

Part 2: Covers the peak of his boxing career, as well as his political and religious activities. This section also includes a detailed account of Muhammad Ali’s famous fight with Joe Frazier. And I say this with full confidence.  I have seen the footage of that fight (it’s available on YouTube), but the way Jonathan Eig has described that fight in the book — you’ll truly enjoy reading it.

Part 3: Covers the later part of his life. Most notably, it includes the Rumble in the Jungle — the fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman that was followed by people all over the world.

The most beautiful thing about this book is that it doesn’t portray Muhammad Ali as a flawless hero. It presents a realistic picture of his life. If he liked money — the author tells you so, plainly and honestly.

After reading this book, you’ll get to know the strengths and weaknesses of Muhammad Ali realistically, and you’ll be convinced that he was truly a great man.

There’s another similarly inspirational book titled Man’s Search for Meaning,
written by a psychologist who spent time in Hitler’s prisoner camps. I’ll be sharing a brief review of that book too — be sure to check it out.

If you are interested in purchasing out this book, here is the Amazon link : https://amzn.to/4kpPHlM