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.

One of the best books about Prophet Mohammed (PBH), his life and religion of God. Author provides first a good history of Arabia prior to birth of Prophet where you get a good understanding of the environment, there are a lot of references to old greek, persian and Byzantium historians. Than mostly relying on Ibn Ishak's "Life of Mohammed" the birth and life of Mohammed is written. There are few references to Hadiths that may not necessarily be sahih or reliable but considering that they are muslim sources, author seems to take them as they are. I found this book written very nicely, all key events are described with quotations from the original sources and time to time author makes interpretations or value judgments. I found the ancient history of arabia very useful, provides you perspective and who is who type of information.

W. Montgomery Watt wrote Muhammad at Mecca in response to his perceived need for a new look at the life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) set in a fuller historical context. He states that part of this need arose from the broader desire of twentieth century historians to see historical events in relation to the economic, social, and political background prevalent at that particular time. The author asserts that the special feature of this biography of Muhammad is thus not that it combs available sources more minutely than others have done previously, but that it pays fuller attention to these material factors, and attempts to answer many questions that have hardly been raised in the past. When this work is juxtaposed with Watt's other work Muhammad at Medina, the two together constitute a comprehensive history of the life of Muhammad and the origins of the Islamic community. The author declares in the introduction of this work that it is first and foremost written for the historian. He warns though that there is inherently the human inclination of 'tendential shaping' by early historians to make allowances for distortions or even to make it more acceptable within the shadow of other religions such as Christianity or Judaism. Though many bibliographic sources used for this work are based on earlier primary sources, one must remember that there are no known written sources other than the Qur'an about the life of the Prophet written prior to about 150 years after his death.

This book was very educational about Islam and their followers. In past books I found Ms. Warren's writing to be a little vex, but this time she did a nice job. I can't wait till to next book by Ms. Warren comes out.

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...