A criticism one may have of Eig's detailed biography is its length.

Muhammed Ali, aka Cassius Clay, The Greatest, The Champ, The Louisville Lip, and less flattering nicknames, shows Ali lives up to every name noted in Eig’s biography of Muhammed Ali. One who grew up in the sixties will be reminded, entertained, and appalled by Eig’s biography of the greatest heavyweight fighter of all time. Jonathan Eig’s research of Muhammed Ali’s life offers some surprises to listener/readers. Yes, he was a great is just that, peacock over a 'real 'human being And I say that never having followed (or, for that matter, been interested in, in the slightest] boxing The language and story telling is clear the story interesting the narrator fine BUT: ( a big but) The longer it went on, the more I was struck by the contrast between the adulation that Ali produced, and the lifestyle which, absent the misplaced adoration we place on athletes, was really quite despicable in many ways. Overall, I recommend this book to anyone. Ali is a story about race, about a brutal sport, and about a fascinating man who shook up the world. Jonathan Eig's Ali breaks bold new ground, revealing Ali in the complexity he deserves, shedding important new light on his politics and his neurological condition. He also had access to thousands of pages of new FBI and Justice Department files as well dozens of hours of newly discovered audiotaped interviews from the 1960s. Eig had access to all the key people in Ali's life, including his three surviving wives and his managers. Jonathan Eig, hailed by Ken Burns as one of America's master storytellers, breaks new ground and radically reshapes our understanding of the slippery figure who was Muhammad Ali. But until now, he has never been the subject of a complete, unauthorized biography. Get used to me.'Īli went from being one of the most despised men in the country to one of the most beloved. But get used to me - Black, confident, cocky my name, not yours my religion, not yours my goals, my own. He insisted that America come to grips with a Black man who wasn't afraid to speak out or break the rules. At his funeral in 2016, eulogists said Ali had transcended race and united the country, but they got it wrong. Muhammad Ali was one of the 20th century's greatest radicals and most compelling figures. He was the wittiest, the prettiest, the strongest, the bravest, and, of course, the greatest (as he told us over and over again). The definitive biography of an American icon, from a New York Times best-selling author with unique access to Ali's inner circle

Ali by jonathan eig