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Zen of Muhammad Ali: And Other Obsessions
This collection features Davis Miller’s celebrated trilogy of award-winning Muhammad Ali pieces, including the classic “My Dinner with Ali,” together with a provocative new essay called “The Yin and Yang of Muhammad Ali.” There are also two pieces about Miller’s unusual relationship with boxer “Sugar” Ray Leonard, and he continues to explore the Bruce Lee phenomenon. Now collected for the first time, these brilliant pieces form a haunting meditation on fighting, living, friendship, and love.
- GenresSports
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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About the author
Davis Miller
11 books37 followersDavis Miller is notable for a series of works that combine reportage and autobiography. His books include The Tao of Muhammad Ali and The Tao of Bruce Lee: a martial arts memoir, both of which have been critically acclaimed number-one bestsellers in the United Kingdom and Japan, as well as The Zen of Muhammad Ali: and other obsessions, a collection of personal essays, memoir and short fiction that was published exclusively in the U.K., where it was a number-eight bestseller.
His most recent book is Approaching Ali: A Reclamation in Three Acts, which was published on 1 March 2016 in the United States and the United Kingdom, and on 3 September 2016 as En Busca de Muhammad Ali in Spain.
Miller's story 'My Dinner with Ali' was judged one of the twenty best magazine stories of the 20th Century.
He is also co-librettist of the acclaimed chamber opera, "Approaching Ali," which was commissioned by the Washington National Opera and received its world premiere in 2013 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
His most recent book is Approaching Ali: A Reclamation in Three Acts, which was published on 1 March 2016 in the United States and the United Kingdom, and on 3 September 2016 as En Busca de Muhammad Ali in Spain.
Miller's story 'My Dinner with Ali' was judged one of the twenty best magazine stories of the 20th Century.
He is also co-librettist of the acclaimed chamber opera, "Approaching Ali," which was commissioned by the Washington National Opera and received its world premiere in 2013 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 11, 2014
An actual published review of this book:
"Sport can be epic, squalid, noble, cheap, dramatic and mundane, its contrasts between winners and losers should be easy pickings, and its opportunities to broaden the plot to weightier matters are wide open. Yet it is often badly served by writers, which is why Davis Miller's book is especially welcome. The focus of the first half, Muhammad Ali, was once the most famous man on the planet and is still one of the most admired. The essay 'My Dinner with Ali' was celebrated on its original publication in 1989 and remains a superb piece of writing today, a warm and touching tribute to a great idol who keeps a strange dignity. Added to that is 'The Zen to Muhammad Ali', a follow-up essay to his seminal attempt to capture the legend and the reality of the man, the book The Tao of Muhammad Ali. His similar tome on Bruce Lee also receives an echo here, again an esoteric attempt to get to the centre of a legendary figure. Sugar Ray Leonard receives a more simplistic, though always personal, appraisal, before the book goes on to matters closer to home, some based on sport, some on relationships, some on families, and all nestling under the guise of 'observations'. Beautifully written in a fluid, personal, slightly worldly-wise manner -- part Norman Mailer, part Garrison Keiller -- this is a gripping book, a window on sport through which we can view other (not necessarily bigger) issues, dealt with profundity, wisdom and wit. Highly recommended." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Sport can be epic, squalid, noble, cheap, dramatic and mundane, its contrasts between winners and losers should be easy pickings, and its opportunities to broaden the plot to weightier matters are wide open. Yet it is often badly served by writers, which is why Davis Miller's book is especially welcome. The focus of the first half, Muhammad Ali, was once the most famous man on the planet and is still one of the most admired. The essay 'My Dinner with Ali' was celebrated on its original publication in 1989 and remains a superb piece of writing today, a warm and touching tribute to a great idol who keeps a strange dignity. Added to that is 'The Zen to Muhammad Ali', a follow-up essay to his seminal attempt to capture the legend and the reality of the man, the book The Tao of Muhammad Ali. His similar tome on Bruce Lee also receives an echo here, again an esoteric attempt to get to the centre of a legendary figure. Sugar Ray Leonard receives a more simplistic, though always personal, appraisal, before the book goes on to matters closer to home, some based on sport, some on relationships, some on families, and all nestling under the guise of 'observations'. Beautifully written in a fluid, personal, slightly worldly-wise manner -- part Norman Mailer, part Garrison Keiller -- this is a gripping book, a window on sport through which we can view other (not necessarily bigger) issues, dealt with profundity, wisdom and wit. Highly recommended." -- Kirkus Reviews
March 7, 2014
One of these stories has been judged among the best sport stories of the 20th Century and named one of the world's best-ever magazine stories. The Ali pieces are the best I've read about any celebrity; they serve to elevate lowly celebrity journalism to the level of timeless literature.
In its entirety, story by story, this is a very beautifully written book and among my all-time favourites.
In its entirety, story by story, this is a very beautifully written book and among my all-time favourites.
February 16, 2015
A few published reviews:
'Davis Miller writes profoundly and beautifully.' -- Joyce Carol Oates
'Nobody has ever written so purely about Ali before.' -- Los Angeles Times
Easygoing but unflippant, formless yet rigorous. Solid reporting and sumptuous storytelling. Miller's is an American voice attractive to Brits. -- Tim Birch, Guardian
One of the greatest pieces of sports writing of the 20th century. Miller writes with intelligence, humour and passion. Peerless essays. -- Highbury and Islington Express
a martial arts FEVER PITCH -- The Times
engaging . . . often poetic -- Desmond Barry, Observer
'Davis Miller writes profoundly and beautifully.' -- Joyce Carol Oates
'Nobody has ever written so purely about Ali before.' -- Los Angeles Times
Easygoing but unflippant, formless yet rigorous. Solid reporting and sumptuous storytelling. Miller's is an American voice attractive to Brits. -- Tim Birch, Guardian
One of the greatest pieces of sports writing of the 20th century. Miller writes with intelligence, humour and passion. Peerless essays. -- Highbury and Islington Express
a martial arts FEVER PITCH -- The Times
engaging . . . often poetic -- Desmond Barry, Observer
April 1, 2017
Miller evidently wrote one wonderful magazine article about Ali, re-wrote it several times and re-sold it, and parleyed that into a career of sports writing. Perhaps that is unfair for me to say, but it is the only conclusions I can draw from reading this short book. You only need to read the first 2 excellent stories about Ali in this book, and the rest is filler. Decent diversion for a planeride, and a good introduction for the initiate, who might be wondering why Ali is such an icon. Much better to read "King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero" by David Remnick, which was perfect.
May 28, 2013
Anyone picking this up expecting something like the Tao of Pooh will be sadly disappointed. It is a series of (sometimes) repetitious essays of limited journalistic value but interesting none-the-less for the insights into Bruce Lee and Muhammed Ali. If you have no interest in this, then look elsewhere for your spiritual improvement.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews