Review, buy Political: Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties, Where We Have Hope, In Love and War, Robert Kennedy and His Times, Alexander the Great: The Death of a God: What - or Who - Really Killed the Young Conqueror of the Known World?, Killed Cartoons: Casualties of the War on Free Expression, The Leaders We Deserved (and a Few We Didnt): Rethinking the Presidential Scorecard, Bismarck (Flagship Historymakers), Charlemagne, A War in Words, The Baburnama (Modern Library), My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots, Fire-Breathing Liberal: How I Learned to Survive (and Thrive) in the C, The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism, A Special Kind of Courage: Bomb Disposal and the Inside Story of 321 EOD Squadron, The Khrushchev Era: 1953-64 (Seminar Studies In History), The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power: 1 (Years of Lyndon Johnson), Confucius: A Life of Thought and Politics, The Red Baron's Last Flight: An In-depth Investigation into What Really Happened on the Day Von Richthofen Was Shot Down, The History of King Richard III (Hesperus Classics)

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Review Verso Books / Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties

Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties (Verso Books)

Authors

Mike Marqusee

Edition: New Ed
Publication date: 2000-05-11
Dewey code: 796
RRP: ~~£10.00~~
Price: £29.07

Review Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties / Verso Books:

Hero to some, traitor to others, Muhammad Ali managed to land powerful punches both in and out of the ring. What changed him from athlete to personality to a heavyweight of global reach? "At the core of the Ali story", Mike Marqusee reminds us, "is a young man who made daunting choices and stuck to them in the face of ghastly threats and glittering inducements. " Redemption Song explores those choices in the context of the turbulent times in which they were made. Ali and the 60s were a naturally synergistic fit. It was a time of great change, and Ali, the seeker, had remarkable access to the fomenters of that change. They, in turn, had a prime influence on his symbolic rebirth and re-emergence. As Redemption Song recounts, the night the young Cassius Clay upset Sonny Liston for the title in 1964, he skipped the traditional post-fight party and headed straight for Miami's black ghetto where he met with Black Muslim leader Malcolm X, singer Sam Cooke and the running back Jim Brown, an early advocate of black rights in sports. The next morning, announcing to the white world that "I'm free to be what I want" and "I don't have to be what you want me to be," he confirmed rumours about his conversion to Islam. The conversion to Islam was only one of Ali's "daunting choices". As Marqusee moves through the decade, he carefully traces Ali's choices to confront the establishment and stand as a symbol of civil rights and the anti-war effort; his relationships with Malcolm X, Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King; and the importance of his travels to Africa. [+]

There's plenty of boxing too, but Marqusee is more interested in how Ali expanded that arena to take in the kinds of fights that go beyond the ropes. It's a tall order, but Redemption Song fulfils it with solid reporting and worthy analysis. -Jeff Silverman, Amazon. com.

Review Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties / Verso Books:

Review Where We Have Hope / John Murray Publishers Ltd:

Review In Love and War / Naval Institute Press:

Review Robert Kennedy and His Times / Mariner Books:

Review Alexander the Great: The Death of a God: What - or Who - Really Killed the Young Conqueror of the Known World? / Robinson Publishing:

Review Killed Cartoons: Casualties of the War on Free Expression / W. W. Norton & Co.:

Review The Leaders We Deserved (and a Few We Didnt): Rethinking the Presidential Scorecard / Basic Books:

Review Bismarck (Flagship Historymakers) / Collins Educational:

Review Charlemagne / Yale University Press:

Review A War in Words / Simon & Schuster Ltd:

Review The Baburnama (Modern Library) / Random House Inc:

Review My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots / Fourth Estate Ltd:

Review Fire-Breathing Liberal: How I Learned to Survive (and Thrive) in the C / Thomas Dunne Books:

Review The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism / HarperCollins:

Review A Special Kind of Courage: Bomb Disposal and the Inside Story of 321 EOD Squadron / Methuen Publishing Ltd:

Review The Khrushchev Era: 1953-64 (Seminar Studies In History) / Longman:

Review The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power: 1 (Years of Lyndon Johnson) / Vintage Books:

Review Confucius: A Life of Thought and Politics / Yale University Press:

Review The Red Baron's Last Flight: An In-depth Investigation into What Really Happened on the Day Von Richthofen Was Shot Down / Grub Street Publishing:

Review The History of King Richard III (Hesperus Classics) / Hesperus Press Ltd: