Title/Author:
“Ali and Liston: The
Boy Who Would Be King and the Ugly Bear” by Bob Mee
Tags:
Boxing, professional, history,
race
Publish date:
October 11, 2011
Length:
336 pages
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very
good)
Review:
Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) and
Charles “Sonny” Liston took very different paths to arrive at the heavyweight
championship fight that took place on February 25, 1964 in Miami. What the two
men did to reach this point in their boxing careers and their lives is captured
in this engrossing book by boxing analyst Bob Mee.
The research is
through and the writing detailed as the reader will learn much about both men,
especially Liston as it is universally accepted that he was a very complex
character and that the truth about many parts of his life was hard to confirm.
Not only does Mee cover Liston’s boxing and his criminal past, there is also
coverage of the alleged ties to organized crime that constantly dogged Liston
during his boxing days. While there are some books and publications that cover
his life more thoroughly, Mee does a credible job of explaining Liston’s life
and personality.
He also does the same for Ali, but does not go into the detail that many other sources do as Ali’s life has been chronicled many other times in all forms of media. The writing about Ali is slightly less detailed and covers more of his life in shorter chapters, but still is a good source of information for the casual boxing fan. Just like the writing about the darker aspects of the Liston’s life, the writing about Ali’s involvement with the Nation of Islam and his brash personality is informative and detailed if not revealing new information that hasn’t been reported in other sources.
The book is more about
the lives and management of the two men than it is about the actual fights in
Miami and Lewistown, Maine. The questions about Liston’s injury in the first
fight and the very quick knockdown in the second fight are covered in an
objective manner and Mee shows no bias or gives a strong opinion about either
of these controversies. The reader will have to make his or her own conclusions
from the information given.
This is a book well
worth the time to read if one wants to learn more about these two
fighters. If the reader has read other
books on them, especially Ali, there won’t be a lot of new information, but Mee
does present a fresh view of the fighters and the two bouts that is both
informative and entertaining.
Book Format Read:
Hardcover
Buying links:
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