The Greatest: Muhammad Ali (Scholastic Focus): Muhammad Ali

paperback. motivating story

This is a perfect book for a kid 14 or 13 years old and younger - it's a fantastic introduction to Muhammad Ali - I just bought it for my friends son - he's 12 - not that familiar with Muhammad Ali - just a basic knowledge of the myth and legend - he knows "Float Like a Butterfly - Sting Like A Bee!"This is a great way to show a youngster that in addition to being the Greatest Of All Time that he was (and is) one of the most influential, courages and important figure of the 1960's and up -It gently shows and explains the race issues of the 60's without overwhelming a child or blasting it in their face - it's very difficult for a kid these days to understand that as little as 40 years ago (which is actually life times to a kid) that if you were black then you had to sit at the back of the bus - or couldn't drink from certain water fountains or had to "know you're place" and how Muhammad Ali shattered that mold - I'm hoping that this actually creates a dialogue with parent and child - anyway - it shows Muhammad as the Champ both in and out of the ring.The book goes over some of the famous fights and rivalry's - from Liston to Frazier - once again I found myself excited about the blow by blows of these fights - no matter how many times I read it I'm just awe struck about the Rumble in the Jungle -I highly recommend this for any child as a great introduction to The Greatest Of All Time - Muhammad Ali!

The book is well written and interesting. Lots of facts. The author however seems a bit too biased in regards to his love for Ali. For instance he doesn't shy to mention and promote all of Ali's achievements, but fails to talk about his flaws and failures. For instance he mentions Ali's bravery when fighting Norton despite a broken jaw, which is true; yet he fails to mention that the reason he struggled against Norton is that he trained poorly and partied all night the night before the fight, thus taking Norton and the fight lightly. He talks about his failed marriages and his difficulties being a present father which lead to frequent divorces. He mentions Ali' start status and frequent traveling and obligations has the main reason, yet doesn't talk at all about Ali's womanizing, namely the scandal prior to the Thrilla in Manila, when Ali presented his mistress, Veronica Porsche, as his wife which ultimately led to the end of his marriage with his then-wife Belinda. Finally the author minimized the injustice which Ali caused to Joe Frazier when Ali repeatedly wrongly accused Frazier of being an Uncle Tom, and an ugly, ignorant gorilla only to paint himself as the people's champ/hero, to give himself a platform and to paint Frazier as the pro-status quo villain. For this reason, the book lacks objectivity when describing Ali's accomplishments; both inside and outside the ring

I bought this book for my fifth grader for a report he did on Ali. He enjoyed the book and pictures very much; to the point that he became quite interested in Ali's life (beyond just boxing). The boook was easy to read, not too long, and had some great, famous photographs.

Honestly such a great and inspirational book