In the words of the great Muhammad Ali: "Don't count the days, make the days count." "Success is not achieved by winning all the time. Real success comes when we rise after we fall. Some mountains are higher than others. Some roads steeper than the next. There are hardships and setbacks but you cannot let them stop you. Even on the steepest road you must not turn back".
The perfect gift for the collector of rare autographed sports books. A luxurious leather bound collector's edition, published by Easton Press and personally hand signed by "The Greatest", Muhammad Ali. Alongside President Ronald Reagan, Nelson Mandela and the former Soviet Union's Mikhail Gorbachev, this is one of the most sought after Easton volumes. Muhammad Ali is one of less than a slight handful of figures who can be recognized anywhere in the world.
A gorgeous dark red leather Numbered Limited Edition, also signed by the author, Thomas Hauser. He is remembered for writing Missing which starred Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek. Limited to 3500 signed & numbered copies. This is number 415 the year of the SUMMER OF LOVE. Illustrated with numerous historic black & white photographs. Original publication date 1996.
From the Preface-
"This book is not an attempt to mythologize Ali. It's an effort to show him as he was and is: a superb human being with good qualities and flaws. In his twenties, he was arguably the greatest fighter of all time. But more importantly, he reflected and shaped the social and political currents of the age in which he reigned. Ali in the 1960s stood for the proposition that principles mattered, that equality among people was just and proper, that the war in Vietnam was wrong."
Ali was the first man to win the heavyweight title three times and he revolutionized the sport of heavyweight boxing. In 1990, Muhammad Ali was introduced into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Widely regarded as one, if not THE, best heavyweight fighters who ever lived, Ali's biography is an important book signed by an important world figure. Although his physical prowess may have not been as marked after the Vietnam issue sidelined him, he came back with intelligence and an iron jaw that enabled him to fight some of the greatest fights of all time including the Rumble in the Jungle with George Foreman and the Thrilla in Manila with Joe Frazier. Perhaps his greatest fight was with the government and hawkish sectors of American society but Ali stood strong.
As Cassius Clay, Ali won the light heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Olympics (after hesitation given fear of flying) and began the road to a highly successful heavyweight career that had societal implications as well. In 1964, Ali surprised the world by beating Sonny Liston in Miami Beach and after the fight he changed his name to Ali after adopting Islam. Ali's title was stripped from him in 1967 when Ali refused the draft but he regained it, eventually, in 1974 by beating George Foreman. Ali successfully defended his title several times until the early 80's when his career was over but many feel he should have retired after the third Frazier fight in the Philippines. Larry Holmes practically begged the referee to stop the fight that then resulted in the sad image of a distraught and downtrodden Ali in his corner that was associated with boxing royalty.
Editorial Reviews
A meticulously detailed, if hagiographic, account of Ali's public career and private life. Hauser (author of one of the best books ever on the fight game, 1985's Black Lights) is an obvious and uncritical fan of Ali's, whom he apotheosizes early on as "the most recognizable person on earth.'' In aid of what might be called oral biography, Hauser draws on over 200 sources--acquaintances, associates, opponents, friends, enemies, blood relations, and celebrity observers of the sometime title-holder--to create a comprehensive and composite portrait that's longer on sympathetic assertions than reflective insight.
The ranks of the commentators include the oddly coupled likes of: Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr. (Ali's dad); Joe Martin (the Louisville cop who taught Ali to box); Olympic teammates; Atallah Shabazz (the daughter of Malcolm X who helped convert Ali to the Nation of Islam); trainer Angelo Dundee; Jimmy Carter; Leon Spinks; George Plimpton; Sylvester Stallone; referee Arthur Mercantee; Chuck Wepner (a human punching bag widely known as ``The Bayonne Bleeder''); and Carl Walker (the black assistant attorney general who tried to make the federal case against Ali for draft evasion). Overall, Hauser does a good job of marshaling a wealth of facts into a cohesive whole and providing behind-the-scenes glimpses of a ring lion in the autumn, if not winter, of his years. Throughout, however, the author makes almost no attempt to conceal the genuine regard and admiration he feels for his subject. A walkover for Ali but a disappointment for those with even a passing interest in the glorious science's grittier realities. Lifetime Guarantee of Signature Authenticity Personally hand signed by both Muhammad Ali and Thomas Hauser directly onto the special limitation page. The autographs are not facsimiles, stamps, or auto-pens. learn more |
