More Than a Hero: Muhammad Ali's Life Lessons Presented Through the Eyes of His Daughter Book

I believe it is very important to teach our people more about our history. We can never be free until we know about ourselves. This is the reason. The Book says you should know the truth and the truth alone shall make you free--Muhammad Ali More than any sportsman before or since, the career of Muhammad Ali has come to be associated with the communication of ideas, as much as with his achievements in the ring. More Than A Hero--Muhammad Ali's life lessons by his daughter Hana Ali, celebrates the spiritual, political and philosophical impact of the three-time World Champion. This slim volume contains poetry and prose by both father and daughter, with perhaps the most interesting selections being Ali's own speeches drawn from the late 60s after he was banned from boxing for refusing the draft for Vietnam. That act had its foundations in his alignment with the Nation of Islam, and was part of an enlightenment that transformed the teenage braggart Cassius Clay into a figurehead of revolutionary politics. Nearly 25 years on, the transcripts offer a fascinating snapshot of a crucial period in American history. The rest of this book is less distinguished. Ali's "fighting talk" (Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee etc), which played such an important part in his marriage with the media, is presented without context, and seems lifeless on the page. Some of his other writing contains the sort of homespun philosophy that wouldn't look out of place embroidered on a cushion cover. Hana Ali's own poetry and accounts of family life are entertaining, but too reverential to offer fresh insight--further embellishment of the "Ali as guru" mythology which has arguably come to overshadow the reality of his achievements. Neverthless, a worthwhile addition to the library of works on The Greatest--with previously unpublished text and photographs--but those with an interest in the transformation of Cassius Clay into Muhammad Ali which is, in effect, the starting point for this book, should also try Pulitzer Prize-winner David Remnick's excellent King of the World .Alex HankinRead More