A review by oboreads
Ali: A Life by Jonathan Eig
3.0
Quite a long narrative of one man's life! I enjoyed being able to read the about a boxer's life, and follow the techniques he was using in the sport to improve. Although it was interesting to read about Ali's life, there were times where I wish the author would have wrapped things up a bit faster. It was a little too long for my taking, especially by the end where it was frustrating to read about how he spent his last days not doing too much.
Now in relation to Ali as a person himself - yes, he had a lot of dedication to the sport and supported social justice causes, but my overall impression of him was not favorable. From the start his passion for boxing stemmed from a desire to garner attention and fame. He was driven to training for the pure pleasure of getting fans in the ring. It brings into question how much do athletes really love their sport and how much are they doing it for attention. Only Ali's attitude (or at least how the author painted him) made it seem, as if his sole driving force was the fame. This type of attitude disgusted me and by the end I was so exhausted of following a character's ambitions that revolved around himself.
I must admit he did get good at his craft, but his pride got in the way too much. At the end of his career he just could not let go of boxing to the point where he caused himself permanent brain damage from the amount of punches being thrown at his head. His unwillingness to retire and stop taking the money from matches pissed me off, and it didn't even motivate me to "work harder" because he was acting out of stupidity.
Another source of his own ego got in the way of his way with women. He treated them like second class citizens, had a myriad of affairs whilst being married, and treated them as sex objects and care givers to his children. It was hard for me to grow to admire him after reading about the emotional abuse he caused his wives, and many other women with whom he would birth children and drop responsibility. I was disgusted by his lack of recognition for the opposite sex and could not get over his misogynistic actions that he displayed to each woman that crossed his path.
I guess then the question is why was he so famous if I just portrayed him as a complete a**hole? The answer lies in his ability to rile up a crowd, garner attention by saying ridiculous things, and giving individuals a distraction to pay attention to. So many individuals looked up to him and still do for all he has done, but after reading about his true personality and full life it becomes hard to idolize someone as a role model. Of course I can't end this review without acknowledging the ways in which he contributed to the civil rights movement and uplifting black people as a whole in trying times. Even Obama attributed his work with his political risings, and stance on practicing his own religion of Islam. Only to be honest, he did not do much with this line of work, which may be a controversial opinion .... A lot of the time the pronouncements he made in his speeches on supporting black lives were quotes from other leaders of the time. Ali himself was not an eloquent speaker and did not rile up crowds of his own volition. He would just copy and do what others told him to do, in order to keep the movement going.
Now in relation to Ali as a person himself - yes, he had a lot of dedication to the sport and supported social justice causes, but my overall impression of him was not favorable. From the start his passion for boxing stemmed from a desire to garner attention and fame. He was driven to training for the pure pleasure of getting fans in the ring. It brings into question how much do athletes really love their sport and how much are they doing it for attention. Only Ali's attitude (or at least how the author painted him) made it seem, as if his sole driving force was the fame. This type of attitude disgusted me and by the end I was so exhausted of following a character's ambitions that revolved around himself.
I must admit he did get good at his craft, but his pride got in the way too much. At the end of his career he just could not let go of boxing to the point where he caused himself permanent brain damage from the amount of punches being thrown at his head. His unwillingness to retire and stop taking the money from matches pissed me off, and it didn't even motivate me to "work harder" because he was acting out of stupidity.
Another source of his own ego got in the way of his way with women. He treated them like second class citizens, had a myriad of affairs whilst being married, and treated them as sex objects and care givers to his children. It was hard for me to grow to admire him after reading about the emotional abuse he caused his wives, and many other women with whom he would birth children and drop responsibility. I was disgusted by his lack of recognition for the opposite sex and could not get over his misogynistic actions that he displayed to each woman that crossed his path.
I guess then the question is why was he so famous if I just portrayed him as a complete a**hole? The answer lies in his ability to rile up a crowd, garner attention by saying ridiculous things, and giving individuals a distraction to pay attention to. So many individuals looked up to him and still do for all he has done, but after reading about his true personality and full life it becomes hard to idolize someone as a role model. Of course I can't end this review without acknowledging the ways in which he contributed to the civil rights movement and uplifting black people as a whole in trying times. Even Obama attributed his work with his political risings, and stance on practicing his own religion of Islam. Only to be honest, he did not do much with this line of work, which may be a controversial opinion .... A lot of the time the pronouncements he made in his speeches on supporting black lives were quotes from other leaders of the time. Ali himself was not an eloquent speaker and did not rile up crowds of his own volition. He would just copy and do what others told him to do, in order to keep the movement going.