Happy Birthday Muhammad and George - Part III
by
Buster Paris
1/17 - Looks like we’re here, the final installment of the 3 part series for honoring the birthday’s of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. My two suggestions so far have been watching “When We Were Kings” and reading George Foreman’s autobiography “By George”. This installment is strictly for celebrating the life of Muhammad Ali.
There are a ton of things to chose from and activities to do to honor Ali. He himself would tell you to be kind to each other, to pay attention to God and other unselfish acts to better the world we live in.
While those are all great suggestions I have some others.
DVD’s to watch:
Muhammad Ali – The Whole Story
This is by far the greatest DVD I have ever seen! It’s 3 DVD’s jam-packed with hours of some of the greatest interviews and greatest fights. It’s amazing. It’s the definitive work on Ali. There is nothing better out there.
Muhammad Ali – Through The Eyes Of The World
I was skeptical at first. I figured nothing could be nearly as good as Muhammad Ali The Whole Story, but this one was fun. There are lots of great, fun and rare footage as well as some great interviews and thoughts and memories from some pretty interesting people and a hilarious story from Billy Crystal in the Special Features section.
Books to Read:
The Muhammad Ali Reader by Gerald Early
Simply the best book I’ve ever read about Ali and I’ve read a lot. The book is brilliantly organized, it’s divided by decades - and you're given insights and perspectives of Muhammad Ali from some pretty impressive folks.
You travel through time and space with each page, with each chapter. You go through the 1960's, 70's, 80's and 90's with the Champ - it's incredible - I'm at a loss for words to describe what it's like to spend time here. You get this opportunity to travel 30 years with Muhammad Ali - to get different insights and looks at Muhammad Ali. You get to enjoy his youthful energy and watch him dance and you get to sit next to him and count the grays in his hair and watch his hands shake and just when you even think of feeling sorry for him he levitates off the ground or makes a hanky disappear.
I’m a Muhammad Ali fanatic and worshipper and this book is a must have for any Ali fan. This book has been like several books combined and has given me a full experience like nothing else out there.
Muhammad Ali: His Life And Times by Thomas Hauser
Thomas Hauser is one of my favorite authors. I’ve read almost all of his books and he’s an amazing talent and one of the pillars of boxing writing. The AJ Liebling of our times.
This is a wonderful and in-depth look into Muhammad Ali's life as told by those closest to him, the chapters are told to you by Ali's friends, family, contemporaries and the man himself.
You really get a feeling for Muhammad - the person not just the boxer. I put the book down feeling closer to Muhammad Ali and I walked away from this book with such great feelings for Ali. I felt as if I'd laughed alongside with him and that alone is worth reading this book.
Those are my suggestions for ways to celebrate and reflect on Muhammad Ali as he turns 63 this year.
On behalf of all of us here at TalkingBoxing.com: Happy Birthday Muhammad.
I hope that this birthday finds you well. Thank you for all the years of inspired, brilliant and dazzling boxing that you gave us. Thank you for profoundly changing the sport for the better. Thank you for conscientiously impacting the world around you and defining a generation. Thank you for being a power of example to every living being. Thank you for being my hero.
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