Ali Book Summary - Ali Book explained in key points

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Ali summary

Name: Ali
Rating: 4 (25 reviews)
Author: Jonathan Eig

Jonathan Eig

A Life

4 (25 ratings)

24 mins

Topics

Sports

Table of Contents

Ali
Summary of 10 key ideas

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What’s in it for me? Go toe-to-toe with “The Greatest,” Muhammad Ali.

Few people embody the tumultuous social climate of the United States in the 1960s as well as Muhammad Ali. At the time, there was unprecedented social upheaval due to the civil rights movement and widespread protests against the war in Vietnam. And speaking up on both of these matters, with an electric presence and poetically blunt words, was Muhammad Ali, an amazing boxer who forever changed the sport with his vibrant personality and unorthodox style.

Every time Ali stepped into the ring, due in large part to the fearless public stances he took in calling for peace and equality, it felt like more than just a regular boxing match; it felt like a powerful political event, with this uncommonly gifted man somehow fighting on behalf of the disenfranchised and all those who were fed up with the status quo.

Journalist Jonathan Eig takes us back to the turbulent 60s, when a young Cassius Clay went from being an Olympic hero to a divisive figure after making the personal and public shift to Muhammad Ali. Few people led quite as dynamic a life as the man who would come to be known simply as “The Greatest.”

In these blinks, you’ll discover

how a stolen bike led to a boxing career;
how Ali had to face a choice between faith and boxing; and
which devastating punch literally tore Ali’s brain.

Muhammad Ali had a troubled family tree.

To understand who Muhammed Ali was and what motivated him in his life, it’s important to learn about his family background.

Like many other African-Americans, Ali’s family tree included slaves and slave owners.

Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, a name that can be traced back to his great-grandfather, John Henry Clay, a slave whose own name came from his owner, the Kentucky politician, Henry Clay.

Despite being a slave owner, Henry Clay was a close colleague of Abraham Lincoln, and held similar antislavery views. Clay was also a founder of the American Colonization Society, which proposed freeing slaves and shipping them back to Africa.

At some unknown date, Muhammad Ali’s great-grandfather, John Henry Clay, was emancipated and obtained a small amount of property where he grew his family. But in the years following emancipation, the lives of black Americans were anything but easy.

In particular, trouble followed Muhammad Ali’s grandfather, Herman Heaton Clay. As the story goes, around the year 1900, a 24-year-old Clay stole a quarter from an acquaintance by the name of Charles Dickey. Later, a friend of Dickey’s approached Herman with a heavy cane and demanded he settle his debt. Not only did Clay refuse to repay the quarter, he shot Dickey’s friend with a pistol.

For this, Herman Clay spent six years in jail. When he got out, he married Muhammad Ali’s grandmother, Edith Greathouse – but more trouble was on the way.

Herman and Edith’s first child, Everett Clay, was sent to prison for murdering his wife with a razor. But their second son, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr., made a living as a painter of billboards and signs, and eventually became the father of Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., who was born in January 1942, and would go on to lead a fascinating life as Muhammad Ali.

Cassius Clay was a precocious and stubborn child who experienced a relatively pleasant upbringing.

Even as a baby, Cassius Clay found ways to get attention. Legend has it that no other baby in the hospital ward screamed as loud as Cassius could. Fortunately for this rambunctious child, Cassius wouldn’t have much to scream about, as the Clays managed to carve out a life of relative peace and quiet.

While the Clays lived in a tiny house in the neighborhood of West Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay, Sr. worked hard to make it as comfortable as possible. He planted a vegetable garden, dug out a goldfish pond in the backyard and even painted the house pink, since it was his wife’s favorite color.

After losing his bicycle, Cassius Clay started on the path to boxing glory.

Getting your first bicycle is a common rite of passage for a lot of children, as it gives them their first taste of freedom and independence. But, unfortunately, experiencing your first stolen bike is also a common ordeal.

For Cassius Clay, Jr., the transformative event of having his bicycle stolen occurred in October 1954.

Cassius Clay’s big break came at the 1960 Rome Olympics, where he won gold.

In 1960, Cassius Clay was 18 years old and making a name for himself as a light-heavyweight boxer. But that year, his career got a huge boost when he was chosen to be part of the US Olympic Boxing Team.

The 1960 Olympics took place in Rome, and Clay’s boyish enthusiasm quickly made him a fan favorite – if not exactly a favorite to win gold.

When Cassius Clay joined the Nation of Islam, he began to address social and political issues.

In the four years that followed the 1960 Olympics, Clay continued to win one boxing match after another. But the 60s were also a time of significant personal changes for him.

After an epic victory against Sonny Liston in 1964, Clay cemented his status as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. And it was at the after-party of this match that Clay met Malcolm X, a prominent spokesperson for the Nation of Islam and the Black Muslim movement.

After refusing to serve in the military, Muhammad Ali was suspended from boxing.

Along with the civil rights movement, there was also social turbulence in the 1960s due to the war in Vietnam, and Muhammad Ali had strong opinions about this as well.

In April of 1967, Ali’s political and religious convictions caused him to speak out against the US military’s involvement in Vietnam. As a Muslim and a man of peace, he told the press that he would refuse to serve as a conscientious objector.

Like others, Muhammad Ali was banished due to the strict commands of his religious leader.

Muhammad Ali’s suspension from boxing was a good thing in the eyes of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam. According to the guidelines of the faith, smoking, drinking and other acts of frivolity are strictly prohibited.

But then, in March of 1969, Elijah Muhammad summoned Ali to his home, after he’d heard that Ali had been hinting at a comeback now that his suspension was coming to an end.

Muhammad Ali returned in “The Fight of the Century,” which provided his first professional loss.

After three years of suspension, Ali was ready to return to the world of boxing with a high-profile fight against the heavyweight champion at the time, Joe Frazier.

The fight was scheduled to take place on March 8, 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and it was to be one of the most anticipated and feverishly hyped boxing matches of all time.

The Rumble in the Jungle became legendary, while a rematch against Leon Spinks would be Ali’s last championship win.

Ali would go on to fight Frazier in two more hotly contested matches, winning both, and he’d also find a new rival in Ken Norton, who managed to break Ali’s jaw during their fight on March 23, 1973.

Ali’s defeat in the Norton match cost him his world championship title. But never one to back down, he was soon plotting his comeback with another epic battle, this one billed as “The Rumble in the Jungle.”

After his boxing career, Muhammad Ali continued to entertain and use his fame for good causes.

Even though Ali continued fighting into 1981, his health was rapidly deteriorating; the thousands of blows he’d taken to his head were starting to show their effects. Clearly, it was time for Ali to find a different outlet in life.

Ali’s gift for gab and his cemented status as a popular celebrity made him a perfect fit for the talk show circuit and television interviews. And even in this forum, he was able to find creative ways to overcome challenges.

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What is Ali about?

Ali (2017) takes you through the the life of Muhammad Ali, a man whose complex story reveals him to be much more than just one of history’s greatest heavyweight boxers. Author Jonathan Eig takes readers through the humble beginnings of a young Cassius Clay, his transformation into Muhammad Ali and the many triumphs and scandals that followed.

Best quote from Ali

Chance delivered Cassius Clay to Joe Martins boxing gym, but choice would bring him back.

—Jonathan Eig

Who should read Ali?

Sports fans
Students of history
Readers who love an inspirational biography

About the Author

Jonathan Eig is an author and journalist from New York City who has written several acclaimed and best-selling books. The fascinating subjects of his biographies include the legendary baseball players Lou Gehrig and Jackie Robinson, and the infamous Chicago gangster Al Capone.

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