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.
Rating: 
Summary: interesting read about an interesting era in america
Review: Perhaps I am not the best person to review this book as I am not a boxing fan at all, rather a person who appreciates good non-fiction and character studies. I picked up this book based on other reader reviews and the fact that that Time magazine named it the Best Nonfiction book of the year. The title of this book, as mentioned by other reviewers, is somewhat misleading as the book is only in part about Muhammad Ali. This book is more of a history about the era in which Ali became the champ. It is a well written account of Ali's association with the Black Muslim's and Malcolm X. It is also an informative account of the other famous fighters of his time and before. While the book is not a "gripping" book it certainly holds the interest of the reader. Surprisingly, after reading it I found myself less of a fan of Ali's than before,which may be the best evidence that the book is an honest account of the era.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, well written, substantive
Review: This is an enjoyable and informative book. Like the author, I am not a boxing fan, but I do like sports, and I especially enjoy well written non-fiction on almost any "slice of life" topic. Upon finishing the book I watched the video, "When They Were Kings," a documentary of the Ali-Foreman Zaire fight and associated happening. It is worth watching, although I definitely enjoyed the book more.
Rating:
Summary: Great book about a topic I thought was thorougly covered
Review: I'm a big boxing fan, and am fascinated with both Muhammed Ali, how he evolved from Cassisus Clay, and Sonny Liston. There's a lot of great boxing writing, however, and I thought every angle of these two had already been covered, both in facts and in their roles as mythic figures. So it was with great pleasure (and surprise) I found David Remnick's book so terrific. Besides learning new facts that only a good investigative reporter could dig up 35 years after the fact, the book read like a great story. The prose really flowed, but not in a pretentious way that took away from the subjects, and I think even non-boxing fans would enjoy the tale of when these two tragic men (though Ali wouldn't become tragic for decades)met to fight for the heavyweight crown. I plan on buying a hardcover for my boxing book collection (a shelf I'm VERY discriminating about.)Thanks David Remnick!
Rating:
Summary: read this book
Review: This is a great writer that can be appreciated by the boxing fan and non fan alike. At times the narrative is a bit choppy. But in the end this style adds to the reader's enjoyment as the usual biographical methods become enhanced. The title and cover pic are a little misleading : while Ali is clearly the focus much space is given to (and much is learned about) Liston, Patterson and most interestingly, the whole boxing culture....Bottom line : A great book.
Rating:
Summary: The Essence of an Ora
Review: The book was a well written and well developed book. It not only portrays Ali as a complex, deep man who did much more than just box, but the whole generation of fighters, promoters, gangsters, Press agents and all the people of the age. The trajedy of Liston, Pattersons lost hope, the rise and fall of some of America hardest working men. The book is an explanation of the scenes behind and all around the sweet science. You dont have to be a boxing fan to enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: A great book-enlighning on a wide range of topics
Review: I concur emphatically with the great reviews this book has received. The surprise of this book is the compasionate biographies of Liston and Patterson, as well as the rivalry of Malcolm X and Elijah Muhamed. When the Author describes the sight of Ali standing above a fallen Liston in their second fight, he stops the action and refers you to an enclosed famous photo. He tells you in one paragrapgh about the young photographer who shot the picture, and interviews him. Many side stories and bio are included.
Rating: 
Summary: A depressing book
Review: It was a boring disguisting fowl book, i disliked it and i CERTAINLY DO NOT reccomend it to others!
Rating:
Summary: A great boxing book.
Review: This book was fascinating. I remember the grown-ups talking about these fights when I was a kid. I knew they were a big deal, but I didn't know why. Now I do. Mr. Remnick has illuminated the times and the political/racial atmosphere in which these fights took place. I found the short biographies of Floyd Patterson and Sonny Liston especially enlightening. It's surprising to read how loathed Ali was at the time. And how lucky he was! If the first Liston fight hadn't been postponed because of Ali's hernia... when Liston had really trained and was ready... well, who knows? This has been the best sports book I've read in years, and I can't recommend it highly enough. What a wild ride!
Rating:
Summary: How Soon We Forget/The Transition into an Icon
Review: Remnick's multi-facted biography of Classius Cly (Muhammad Ali) places into the focus the young champion as he was in the beginning, before he became a legend (faults included), and in my case, a hero. Most compelling were the mini-biographies of Liston, Pattterson, Malcom X, the various sport writers. These helped to place perspective into the story and let the reader be a part of those times. How soon we forget the overt racism that was ingrained in American life not so long along. I have never been a boxing fan, but have long admired Ali as a person who had the courage to do the right thing. Today it is easy to look back casually remark that his accomplishments were as a boxer. However, Remnick's Clay/Ali paints the brash (in those days the word uppity would have been used)confident young Negro that challenged existing conventions and won. We might even say that nobody ever "walked the talked" like Ali did. Yes, he was neither the bad negro or the good negro, he was and became Muhammad Ali, a negro who stood as an independent man, ready to change the way others preceived himself and the members of his race. Ali should go down not only as a great boxer, not only as a man that help to end the draft, but a man that helped to change the way Americans look at African-Americans. Ali is one of the true icons of American History.
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