Muhammad Ali: The Making of an Icon
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Synopsis
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 have 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.
Jim Burns - Library Journal
According to Ezra (American multicultural studies, Sonoma State Univ.), more has been written about Muhammad Ali than about anyone else in history. Ezra's contribution explores how Ali's cultural status has always been determined by who has been making money off of him. First, as Cassius Clay, he was the brash but lovable "Louisville Lip," guided to the heavyweight championship by the beneficent (and white) Louisville Sponsoring Group. Then his star fell as he came under the control of the Nation of Islam. And, finally, his image has been reconstructed under the direction of his wife, Lonnie, and with the help of what Ezra sees as sycophantic biographers. Scholars will appreciate Ezra's work, with its plethora of footnotes and paucity of ring action, more than Joe Fight Fan may. In the end, this book increases our understanding of how difficult it is to know the real Ali, a simple man paradoxically imbued with great complexity. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries.-
Editorials
Library Journal
According to Ezra (American multicultural studies, Sonoma State Univ.), more has been written about Muhammad Ali than about anyone else in history. Ezra's contribution explores how Ali's cultural status has always been determined by who has been making money off of him. First, as Cassius Clay, he was the brash but lovable "Louisville Lip," guided to the heavyweight championship by the beneficent (and white) Louisville Sponsoring Group. Then his star fell as he came under the control of the Nation of Islam. And, finally, his image has been reconstructed under the direction of his wife, Lonnie, and with the help of what Ezra sees as sycophantic biographers. Scholars will appreciate Ezra's work, with its plethora of footnotes and paucity of ring action, more than Joe Fight Fan may. In the end, this book increases our understanding of how difficult it is to know the real Ali, a simple man paradoxically imbued with great complexity. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries.-
—Jim Burns
From the Publisher
“Muhammad Ali is a terrific book. Disciplined, convincing, equipped to deliver on his bold and original thesis, Michael Ezra makes fresh sense not only of Ali as cultural icon and historical figure but of the vast Ali literature and mythos that surrounds him.”
—Carlo Rotella, Boston College, author of Cut Time: An Education at the Fights