Muhammad Ali passed away late Friday night, June 3, at the age of 74 after complications from a respiratory condition he had been receiving treatment for in a Phoenix hospital. I’m not a journalist, and I never saw Muhammad Ali fight – I’m too young – so I’m not going to try to sum up his life for you in this blog post. Besides, there are a myriad of news and sports agencies that have written articles summing up his life and what he has meant to the world of sports and the world at large.
What I want to share with you is what the library has that can help you find out more about who Muhammad Ali was. If you really want to know about “The Greatest,” you’ll need to go beyond all of the synopses you’ve been seeing the past couple of days. In my opinion, the influence Muhammad Ali had on this world deserves more than that and I hope you’ll take the time to look at some of the materials the library has that can take you into his life and into the time period in which he lived and show all of the people he influenced.
Because whether you like Ali or not, whether or not you agree with what he stood for, and whether or not you think he really was the greatest, or just someone who couldn’t keep his mouth shut, he definitely influenced millions of people in this nation and around the world.
Here’s a taste of what the library has that will help you find out more about Muhammad Ali:
Biographies:
Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years by Felix Dennis
The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life’s Journey by Muhammad Ali
Running with the Champ: My Forty Year Friendship with Muhammad Ali by Tim Shanahan
Approaching Ali: A Reclamation in Three Acts by David Miller
I Am Ali – Documentary DVD
A.k.a. Cassius Clay – Documentary DVD
In Their Own Words: Muhammad Ali – Documentary DVD
Sports/Boxing:
The Fight of the Century: Ali vs Frazier March 8, 1971 by Michael Arkush
Facing Ali: The Opposition Weights in by Stephen Brunt
The Phantom Punch: The Story Behind Boxing’s Most Controversial Bout by Rob Sneddon
My View From the Corner: A Life in Boxing by Angelo Dundee (Ali’s Trainer)
When We Were Kings: The Untold Story of the Rumble in the Jungle – Documentary DVD
Muhammad and Larry – Documentary DVD
Ali in Action – The Man, the Moves, the Mouth – Documentary DVD
Social Issues:
Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight: Cassius Clay vs the United States of America by Howard L. Bingham
Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship of Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X by Randy Roberts
This is Where I Came in: Black America in the 1960s by Gerald Lyn Early
The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame by Peter Dreier
The Trials of Muhammad Ali – Documentary DVD
Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight – Documentary DVD
Nate Hohl
I'm the Red Carpet Librarian and work to bring lifelong support services to the Topeka and Shawnee County area through outreach and programming. I also am a sports enthusiast, work closely with the library's sports collection, and provide programming to engage the community's sports fans.