I have been an avid Ali fan since the 60's. I remember the Rumble in the Jungle, his gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome and how he "shocked the world" in 1964 by defeating Sonny Liston for the heavyweight title. I always have loved his charisma and enthusiasm for the sport of boxing...now my grandchildren can share in the glory of this true American icon. Gordon's portrayal of Ali is thorough, but written on a level that children will be able to understand the affect that he has had on the world.

Looks like by using the old Rope-a-dope tactic, laying low, and waiting for the right time to buy an Ali book for the kids, was the right one-two combo!

This book i thought was written in a simple format and was meant for children who just understood a vivid image of muhammad ali himself. When I read this book though i couldnt stop since it was written soo simply yet well. Although we've all seen Ali biographys before this book is really speaking in an exciting tone and is very well written for young people. I wouldnt reccommend this book for people who really want to know about the Ali story as this is just a simple book meant for people who only want to know the basics of the Greatest himself, uhammad Ali

I like the look in Muhammad Ali's eyes on the cover of this Journey to Freedom series from The African American Library, but I cannot believe they actually used a picture of a the champ with a mustache. I mean, obviously he had one at one point, but nobody who thinks of Muhammad Ali thinks "mustache."

Clay Latimer has to not only tell the story of how Cassius Clay became the heavyweight boxing champion and the most famous person in the world as Muhammad Ali, but also covers important key issues in the champ's life like the Nation of Islam, refusing induction into the military during the Vietnam War, and Parkinson's disease. However, for the most part Latimer focuses more on the biographical details than really attempting to explain the complex psychology of Ali or his symbolism in the United States. When I think of Ali I always remember a Public Service Announcement he did, about the same time he was having fun making commercials for Raid, in which he was urging people to help with some children's cause. I do not remember the specific cause, but I do remember Ali telling viewers how if you helped "then you'll be the greatest." I always had the sense that THIS was the real Muhammad Ali and that the rest was a carefully constructed facade that served a multitude of purposes. Basically, I would like young readers to get a sense of both that complexity and the real man behind it, and in that regard this juvenile biography really only skims the surface and provides the basic events and issues of his life. But understanding Muhammad Ali will have to come later with a more adult version of his life.

The Journey to Freedom series educates children about the achievements and contributions of America's noted African American leaders, inventors, educators, scientists, entrepreneurs, entertainers, and sports figures. Other volumes in the series are devoted to figures such as Colin Powell, Benjamin Banneker, Mary McLeod Bethune, George Washington Carver, Jesse Jackson, and Leontyne Price. There are also volumes on specific topics from the Emancipation Proclamation to the March on Washington.

So many books have been written on Muhammad Ali; this book is a very good book to read to get an overview of just how GREAT this man is. Concentrating on his athletic achievements in the ring, through quotes from opponents and friends. The book is filled with great pictures. To a novice Ali fan this book is a good tool. It is a quick read. Only one tiny mistake; Floyd Patterson was the " rabbit." George Chuvalo was the "washerwoman."

I remember when my uncle bought me this book for my birthday about 25 years ago. I loved the large colorful pictures, especially a 2 page layout of Ali glaring disdainfully at a retreating George Foreman. The pictures alone make the book a worthy purchase.

But Sheed doesn't offer any insightful commentary on Ali other than his own biased meanderings. It isn't the best book on Ali in terms of historical worth and journalistic reporting. For that, I would read 'King of the World' or Thomas Hauser's authoritative biography, written with the full cooperation of Ali.

This book is beautiful, with many dramatic pictures about the life and career of Muhammad Ali. This is a collector's piece, and if you really love Ali I recommend it.

This is a good book, I learned a lot about prophet muhammed`s(PBUH) life his cleverness and his wisdom about managing and controlling people and solving very tuff problems...
I like this book but I would offer you another book with this . The book is called "Infinite Light" by fethullah gulen. It has a lot of real seen from prophet muhammed`s life, it cover all the aspects of prophet muhammed`s life, there are a lot of specific evets explained how Prophet muhammed actec in those tuff situation...so I strongly recommend that book...

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK FOR THOSE WHO WANT A BRIEF HISTORY OF MUSLIMS IN EARLY AMERICA. THIS BOOK FOCUSES MAINLY ON MUSLIMS WHO WERE BROUGHT HERE AS SLAVES AND WHAT BECAME OF THEM. SOME BECAME MEMBERS OF THE CALVERY OR BOUGHT THIER FREEDOM AND RETURNED TO AFRICA. THERE WAS THE PRINCE OF SLAVES ,CALLED SO BECAUSE HE WAS A PRINCE WHEN HE WAS CAPTURED, THERE WAS BROTHER YARRO WHO LIVED IN GEORGETOWN IN WASHINGTON, D.C. THERE IS ALSO INFORMATION AND PICTURES ON BURIAL SITES AND SLAVE LIVNG QUARTERS AND WELL AS PICTURES OF THE MUSLIM SLAVES THEMSELVES. THEN THERE IS THE STORY OF THE FIRST NATIVE BORN MUSLIM CONVERT WHO WAS A CAUCASIAN. THERE IS MUCH MORE OFFERED IN THIS MODEST WORK.

I was looking forward to this book hoping that it would show the fairness towards Joe Frazier that has been missing for many Years now. The late, great Phil Berger attempted to do this with his fine book on Smokin' Joe, but received unjust criticism because Joe simply stated how he felt. Kram, did his part in giving Joe a fair shake in this book and I believe he accurately ranked Joe among the Heavyweight Champs in history, despite what Thomas (Mr. Ali) Hauser feels was "silly". Kram's ranking of Joe in the top 5 is very close to my view: 1- Ali, 2- Holmes, 3- Louis, 4- Liston, 5- Foreman, 6- Frazier, 7- Holyfield, 8- Marciano, 9- Tyson, 10- Johnson, 11- Dempsey & 12 Charles. My problem with this book was that instead of just showing how Ali was mean and cruel towards Joe, Kram decided to get on his soapbox and denounce Ali as a political figure as well. Kram would like us to believe that the influence that Ali had on blacks in the 60's and 70's was not all that great. Well, with neither myself nor Mr. Kram being black, I will defer to what Reggie Jackson said, as was quoted in Thomas Hauser's review of this book on Houseofboxing.com: "Do you have any idea what Ali meant to black people? He was the leader of a nation; the leader of black America. As a young black, at times I was ashamed of my color; I was ashamed of my hair. And Ali made me proud. I'm just as happy being black now as somebody else is being white, and Ali was part of that growing process. Think about it! Do you understand what it did for black Americans to know that the most physically gifted, possibly the most handsome and one of the most charismatic men in the world was black. Ali helped raise black people in this country out of mental slavery. Then entire experience of being black changed for millions of people because of Ali." Sure Mark, Ali wasn't a powerful political figure at all. He spoke for an entire race at a time when that race did not have a voice. Was he Martin Luther King? God no. Was he none the less an important influential figure in history? Hello? I thought Kram covered boxing for SI during this time period? Wasn't he paying attention to what was going on outside of the ring during the 60's and 70's as well? Maybe Kram felt the need to make it up to Joe for all he had to endure, but this book seemed to get personal as well. The truth and facts of what went on between the two seemed to speak loud enough. To personally attack and denigrate Ali is no better than what Muhammad did to Joe. Thomas Hauser goes too far in lauding, praising and defending Ali. Kram goes too far in tearing him down. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. But if nothing else, this book did do a solid job in celebrating Joe Frazier. Which, along with Berger's book and HBO's special covering the first Frazier Ali bout, has been a long time coming. Out of five stars, I deduct three for the Ali bashing and Kram gets two for his recognition of Frazier. If he'd kept his personal and political views out of this book and just kept to the facts, it would have easily gotten four stars. Neither Ali nor Frazier were saints. But Joe didn't deserve the shabby treatment he has gotten for years and Ali didn't deserve it in the personal manner with which it was displayed in this book. For more on the author Mark Kram, I encourage everyone who reads "Ghosts", to read "Only In America, The Life and Times of Don King", by Jack Newfield. I'll leave it up to the reader to draw their own conclusions after reading this fantastic, well written book.

I read this book after watching the Manila fight on ESPN Classic. Don't be fooled (as I was initially) by the book's size; while not the tome I was expecting, it had more than enough information and definitely held my attention.

On the negative side I did find the editing to be subpar in some places which at times made the text difficult to discern. This is especially annoying because much of the book is written in a Sports Illustrated coulmn style. But overall the pace was quick and fluid.

I was impressed that the author was able to debunk the Ali myth while still acknowledging Ali's talent as a fighter. Contrary to one of the other reviewers here, Kram did NOT see the Manila as just another fight. In fact, he made it plain to the reader that both Ali-Frazier I and III brought out the best(and worst) in both men and rank as the some of boxings greatest moments.

Whatever your personal feelings of Ali and Frazier you won't regret reading this book.

Mark Kram appears to know the boxing world inside and out. My biggest complaint is that at times the metaphors and allusions the author uses are more than a bit on the purple side. However, the book in general is well written and holds your attention. The author knows his subject well.

What a subject! He's somewhat merciless to Ali. But he cites more than a little evidence to show Ali as an arrogant, pretentious, and mean bully to his opponents, and frequently to his close associates. One has to feel sorry for many of the women that he got involved with--although with some of them you have to feel sorry for Ali. Ali comes off in Kram's book as being the perennial petulant child. As a political leader he is portrayed as laughably uninformed which could not be compensated for by his very real personal charm and charisma.

Kram sees the Black Muslims in a very negative light. He sees Ali as being almost totally dominated and manipulated by them. He touches on Ali's abandonment of Malcom X--a man of much distinction in Kram's eyes. He also hints that Sonny Liston might have thrown his two fights against Ali out of fear of the Muslims. He quotes George Foreman as saying that Liston was the only opponent who ever backed him up in a ring. He also draws a highly sympathetic portrait of Liston--much like David Remnick in his 1999 book. It's good to see the restoration of a man who has been maligned by so many people. Sonny was no saint, but then who would be with the kind childhood and life that he had to suffer from? May his spirit rest in peace. By comparison, Ali had a life of ease and privilege.

Kram is very kind towards some of the other of Ali's opponents. He obviously displays much sympathy and compassion for Joe Frazier. The poor boy from a family of 25 children in South Carolina. He was the real flesh and blood black model for Stallone's Hollywood treatment/white transformation. He portrays Frazier as a sympathetic person and great fighter with little of the meanness and malice of Ali. The author deals at length with Ali's racist taunts of Frazier.

The author is also obviously very fond Floyd Patterson. Another unfairly maligned heavyweight--and underrated one as well. Ali's verbal treatment of Patterson, Frazier, and others was not one of the highlights in his career. He apparently learned much from professional wrestling theatrics. And today's pro wrestling probably owes some of it's hype to his example.

Kram, the veteran sports writer, writes admiringly of Sugar Ray Robinson and sees him as being truly the greatest boxer of all time. He admits that Ali might be the greatest heavyweight of all time--although he claims he was not a particularly good inside fighter and did not have particularly impressive hooks. He admits to his very impressive skills and also his magnetic charm. However, in this book he more or less tells the Ali worshippers that they need to take a lot of cold showers. From his view, this guy is not the great hero that so much sports writing puffery has proclaimed him to be in recent years. It's very hard to be the great political figure and leader when you haven't a clue as to what politics is about. Writers should definitely cool any comparisons to Martin Luther King or Malcom X.

Finally, this book will not make you want to pick up the gloves for a career as a boxer. Moreover, if you have children, it will cause you to want to injure them if they ever even think about pursuing boxing. When I was younger I admired the courage and skill of those who were accomplished boxers. But now I have to agree with the ex-amateur boxer, Rod Serling, who portrayed the "sport" as a decadent, disgusting, barbaric aberration. This isn't sport, it's about brain damage to the participants and the moral degradation of the "fans". At one time I, too, was one of those "fans". Hopefully, boxing will eventually be seen for what it is and die a quiet death of irrelevance. Anyway, this book is truly about the "living death" of the two gladiators of the "thrilla from Manila".

While I am not Muslim but Reformed Christian, my interest in other cultures--their history, their faith, their music and their literature--has compelled me to read the Koran.

My fear about reading the Koran in translation and with study notes by the translator is the same as my fear about people from other faiths approaching the Bible with little or no background: we are dependent on the accuracy of the translation and the faithfulness of the study notes (to an extent, and assuming we regard the notes). However, a good friend--a Muslim from Pakistan who reads the Koran in its original language and who is very orthodox in his faith--has assured me of the accuracy of this translation of the Koran. He has also strongly cautioned me about the study notes--the translator is apparently quite liberal in his understanding of the Koran. As with the Bible, so with the Koran--read it for yourself first, then go back and compare your understanding with the study notes. Perhaps you missed a concept or misunderstood a passage, and perhaps the study note itself is incorrect. Also, study the background of the text--history of doctrine, the great interpreters and theologians, etc.--the better to inform your understanding.

In conclusion then, this is a fine edition of the Koran. A beautiful translation, thorough introduction to the whole Koran, brief introduction to each chapter, side-by-side English/Arabic text, exhaustive study notes, good index, and other features make this a worthy purchase. Five stars, minus one for the study notes!

In the Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful...

As-Salaam-Alaikum! (Peace unto you)

This is the best translation of the Holy Qur'an in English. Marmuduke Pickthall, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, and others all acknowledge the wonderful work done by Mr. Ali. Mr. Ali's translation is both lucid and intelligent. He is not biased against women, trying to make them subservient and docile. His translation contributed to Islam becoming more respected at the time of the first printing back in early 1900's.

I'm not in the Ahmaddiyya movement. But let me say that it never cease to amaze me how many people restate the same old lies, either because they are being vicious, or more probably-because they are just ignorant. I'm not being vicious in saying "ignorant", just noting that I'm using that word in the context of saying they don't know what they are talking about. The Ahmaddiyya's never said that Prophet Muhammad Ibn Abdullah (PBUH) was not the seal of the Prophets. They said that they believed the Madhi had come. That's the difference-that's it. If you don't believe that the Madhi came as they say (and I don't believe it, in all due respect)-then fine. If not, then you are just still looking for him to come.

Critics use that one thing to attack Mr. Ali's work, or to slander him and the Ahmaddiyya Movement. But then, the Ahmaddiyya's at least let women drive,don't force them to be as chattel, etc. See, when one looks to dwelve into the word for foolishness, then that is what one finds. And one you go seeking
a translation, filled with notes about why the translator gave the translation he did (and note that Qur'anic Arabic is different than Colloquial Arabic-just as the Queen's Engish is way different than American English) and seeking to revive and renew the interests of the world in Islam-that's the book to read!

Mr. Ali also gives painstaking history on issues of controversy in his notes to the text-including one of the finest defenses I've read against the critics of the Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) (the Holy Qur'an gives the best!) This is the book to read, for all the reasons noted by the other supporters of this translations. I rather doubt if a single critic has ever read it. Instead, they are just repeating the same old tired lies.

This is the translation that shakes up the hypocrisy, lies, misapplications, and purposeful misinterpretations of some.

Sincerely,

P.Muhammad, Esq.

I would like to offer some reasons why I recommend this translation over ALL others commonly available, especially for Muslims who would like to give a Qur'an to any academic type person who is well educated or even just well read. I am not a member of the Lahore movement they even refuse to sell me their books so this is not a biased opinion. Also a caution for Muslims: this IS NOT a Qaidani book as often believed (they strongly condemn Qaidani's) and you will find this translation given a positive review with slight reservations in the first edition of Yusuf Ali's translation. So, onto those reasons.

Most other translations are actually embarrasing to nascent Islam's reputation for high scholarship and professionlism. They fail embarrasingly in one or more (often all) of the following: either no index at all (Asad, etc) or a very poor index (Yusuf Ali, Muhammad Khan etc); professional quality of the printing and publication itself (Yusuf Ali etc); also the readability of the Arabic script (most); and most importantly either no commentary (Arberry, Pickthall, actually most) or very bad commentary (Khan's dishonest use of brackets or Yusuf Ali's inaccurate, dogmatic, awkward style).

This Qur'an has: 1. a very thorough index, 2. excellent publication and printing quality, 3. the very best I've seen in Arabic script readability, 4. the most scholarly and thorough commentary I've seen with only Asad coming close, 5. a commentary that offers the multiple possiblities where this occurs without telling you which choice "is the only right choice", 6. linguistic commentary with separate Arabic linguisitic index, 7. finally most important is the date this translation and commentary were done: early 1900's revision around 40's-50's; that M.M. Ali's types of comments were made, especially about women at these early dates is a proud fact for Islam. A new paraphrased for English as a second lanquage version or a simple English paraphrase is the only way I can see to improve this work.

I would not reccomend ordering this or his other books from the publisher as they don't seem to respond well to individual orders, but ordering through dealers works just fine.