Great Lives in Graphics: Muhammad Ali

Great Lives in Graphics has been created by Button Books' team of writers, editors, specialist historians and designers, who have collectively worked across a wide range of media including: books, magazines, newspaper, TV and radio. The design team have also worked for worldwide brands including: Nickelodeon, Penguin Books, Renault, MTV, Virgin and Levis.

An excellent biography of Muhammad Ali – Olympic gold medallist and three-time world heavyweight champion and one of the greatest sports personalities of all time. It starts with key world events during Ali’s life. Then we learn about his poor upbringing and the treatment of Black people in the American South, which eventually motivated him to join the Civil Rights movement. The book charts the highs and lows of his career, including Olympic achievements and his fights with Sonny Liston. Ali became known for his colourful vocabulary such as ‘Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.’ Then he became Muslim and changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali. He almost went to jail for refusing to fight in the Vietnam War and could not box for three and a half years. Lastly, we see his later years, including his charity and humanitarian work and having Parkinson’s disease. We learn about the history of boxing and some boxing legends. I am most impressed by this book because a huge amount of information is conveyed in an accessible graphic style.