Product Description

Published on his 60th birthday, Muhammad Ali: Through The Eyes Of The World is a unique, authorised account of one of the great icons of the 20th century told by some of the greatest living sportsmen, entertainers and politicians as well as those closest to him. Husband, opponent, inspiration, or comrade at arms; childhood friend, 'dad' or fellow star.Ali means something different to everyone in the book. Friends, family members, former wives, Nation of Islam followers, Dustin Hoffman, BB King, Maya Angelou, Billy Connolly, Sir Henry Cooper, Billy Crystal, Angelo Dundee, James Earl Jones, Tom Jones, Rod Steiger, Hugh Mc Ilvanney, Jose Torres and Hana Ali... Everyone has a story about Muhammad Ali, the boxing legend who touches the lives of millions. Muhammad Ali: Through The Eyes Of The World also features never-before-seen personal memorabilia, courtesy of the Muhammad Ali Center archives and many previously unseen photos. Muhammad Ali: Through The Eyes Of The World is the book of the 90 minute eponymous documentary, produced by award winning global TV film company Transworld International and released on video and DVD by Universal Pictures International. Proceeds from the book will go to the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, a charity dedicated to enriching the lives of socially disadvantaged people throughout the world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #583002 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 300 pages

About the Author
Born in Manchester, boxing expert, amateur boxer and boxing coach Mark Collings has written for leading UK magazines since 1994 as well as authoring 100 Greatest Boxers of the Century.

Excerpted from Ali: Through the Eyes of the World by Mark Collings. Copyright © 2001. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Lennox Lewis - Former Heavyweight Champion Of The World

The first Ali fight I saw was the “Thrilla In Manila”, against Joe Frazier. Me and my mother watched it on TV. There was a lot of hype surrounding this fight so I was particularly excited. I just loved his showmanship, and I said to my mum that I was going to emulate him one day. And I’m trying to do that today.

It wasn’t easy growing up a black kid in the East End of London, but Ali gave us a sense of pride. He was a black man and he was heavyweight champion of the world, and his success gave young, black kids, unfortunate kids, something to look up to, something to go for. It gave them hope, faith and strength.

He was all around, in the sense that he was involved with the kids, helping people. He started by winning the Olympic gold medal, which is a great achievement, and then he lost the title three times. But he was able to come back all three times, like he said he would, so he’s a man of good ethics, a man of honour. He wants you to believe he can do whatever he says he can do, because he believes it.

I liked all of Muhammad Ali’s fights, because they were all different. I liked his last couple, because those are the fights that really showed the spirit of a true champion, to be able to come back after being beaten like that. A lot of people come to his fights to see him lose, so it was great to see him come back and actually win, because a lot of people didn’t think he could do that. The Leon Spinks fight was one of the favourite fights for me. He actually came back and beat him mentally, used his ring science to win, using the rope-a-dope in that fight and showing how effective it was. It was a different spin on the sports-science aspect of boxing. This was something new. Nothing that I would do! But it showed that Muhammad Ali had invented a new style of boxing that worked for him.

That was one of the things that really stood out for me, the sweet science of the sport. Sweet science to Muhammad Ali and me is hitting without being hit. That involves good movement; good, fast hands; and being able to not get hit. He was great for those things.

The first time I actually met Muhammad Ali, I was at the North American Games in Indianapolis and he actually came down to watch the American team - I was boxing for the Canadian team at that time - and he was watching at the ringside. I remember I just wanted to make a good fight of it. I wanted to show off the fact that my style is like his style. In the back of my mind, I was kind of emulating him. This man that I respect so much is at the ringside, so I wanted to do good. So I went out there and I won that fight. It felt great.

When I won Sports Personality Of The Year, I was standing beside Muhammad Ali, who won Sports Personality Of The Millennium. That was a great moment for me, because I’m there sitting with the man that I look up to, and we’re both in front of the world with great awards.

Ali is a great icon. Somebody that has gone through trials and tribulations and achieved things through his whole career. He remained a character and remained himself and stayed true to his beliefs through all of this. He’s a showman: he transcended his sport.

Customer Reviews

Through the eyes of ME
I haven't long finished reading this book but i thought it was a great book about a great man. I enjoyed this book very much beacuse it wasn't just one person view about Ali but it was a whole bunch of differnet people's thoughs and memories of Muhammed Ali. When I first saw the book I thought there would of only been boxer's accounts of Ali in the book but because of the differnet people, it made u want to read about what they had to say about the man. While reading this book i discovered a lot of things i had no idea about in the book. I'm only 16 and i've read a lot about Ali which people find strange because i'm only 16 but this was probably the best one i've read thanks to

Muhammed Ali: Through the eyes of the World
I haven't long finished reading this book but i thought it was a great book about a great man. I enjoyed this book very much beacuse it wasn't just one person view about Ali but it was a whole bunch of differnet people's thoughs and memories of Muhammed Ali. When I first saw the book I thought there would of only been boxer's accounts of Ali in the book but because of the differnet people, it made u want to read about what they had to say about the man. While reading this book i discovered a lot of things i had no idea about in the book. I'm only 16 and i've read a lot about Ali which people find strange because i'm only 16 but this was probably the best one i've read thanks to