Muhammad Ali: Ringside - Hardcover

After an introduction by veteran black actor James Earl Jones, a friend of the boxer, the book takes us through Ali's turbulent career as a hot-headed young fighter who threw just as many verbal punches as he did physical ones. In fact his early demeanour bears a striking parallel to Sheffield star Prince Nazeem, who has, quite understandably, been compared with Ali on more than one occasion. Ali's boasting and "I am the greatest!" claims won him criticism and adulation in equal measure, but it seems from the lightweight yet revealing interviews throughout the book that this mindset was not so much a choice but a necessity, given his upbringing and colour. What this book attempts to show us is that throughout his career, Ali was an inspiration to people all over the world, regardless of their colour, because of his sheer will to succeed in whatever he did, from punches to poetry (a hobby that was lambasted by critics).

Those looking for an in-depth personal biography will be disappointed; it doesn't tread any new ground but it does offer a fresh and well put together analysis of the boxer, complete with details of his fights and many reproduced posters for all his bouts. As an overview of a career in boxing it does the job well, but what it really serves to highlight is the lasting endurance of Ali's fighting spirit . Despite succumbing to Parkinson's disease which has since, physically at least, reduced him to a shadow of his former self, it is clear that he is man with a few rounds left in him yet and can still float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. --Jonathan Weir