Muhammad Ali: The Making of an Icon

Sporting

by Michael Ezra

Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Clay) has always engendered an emotional reaction from the public. From his appearance as an Olympic champion to his iconic status as a national hero, his carefully constructed image and controversial persona has always been intensely scrutinized. In Muhammad Ali, Michael Ezra considers the boxer who calls himself “The Greatest” from a new perspective. He writes about Ali’s pre-championship bouts, the management of his career and his current legacy, exploring the promotional aspects of Ali and how they were wrapped up in political, economic, and cultural “ownership.” Ezra’s incisive study examines the relationships between Ali’s cultural appeal and its commercial manifestations. Citing examples of the boxer’s relationship to the Vietnam War and the Nation of Islam—which serve as barometers of his “public moral authority”— Muhammad Ali analyzes the difficulties of creating and maintaining these cultural images, as well as the impact these themes have on Ali’s meaning to the public.

Genres: Sports

247 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Musa707 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book by Michael Ezra. In the book he narrates the life of Muhammad Ali, from the time when he was little Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky to his Worldwide fame on the boxing stage. It started with a very interesting scene; it started with the story on why Cassius wanted to become a boxer in the first place. When he was a kid growing up in Louisville, he once took his bike to a fair, he parked it outside then went on in. When he got back someone had stole the bike, Cassius became very angry, and wanted to beat up the kid who took it. In result he went to the police officer who was near by and told him what had just happened the police officer then offered to give him boxing lesions. Who would have known that this little kid from Louisville, Kentucky would go on to win an Gold medal for boxing during the 1960 Olympics in Rome, 56 career wins, and become known as one of the best boxers in history. I recommend this book to anyone who likes sport, athletes or boxing. , I learned many new things from this box it also tells you about the basics of boxing. In all this was a very enjoyable book the I highly recommend to anyone who likes sports.

[Vincent Serrani · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful look into the business of the making of a champ.

[Glen Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great addition to the Ali library

Ezra's book is well-written and as equally well-researched. His goals of relating Ali's early professional career, the managerial record of his earliest investors (the LSG), and Ali's post boxing life from cultural and commercial perspectives are achieved. For me personally, I learned how involved the LSG was in creating Ali's public personna - his moral authority in Ezra's words, and how the same struggle continues, even though Ali dead. Highly recommended to boxing and sports historians, as well as those interested in American culture.