The Fight by Norman Mailer Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Fight
Book Review: No mangled ears here
Summary: 5 Stars
No single personality in the history of sport has captivated, enthralled, and enraged the American population more than Muhammad Ali. An Olympic champion out of Louisville, Cassius Clay "shook up the world" with his defeat of Sonny Liston; he polarized the world when he joined the Nation of Islam, renouncing his "slave name;" and what Mailer describes in this vivid tale is how Ali captured the hearts and imagination of the world population. For this story is not set in Chicago or Las Vegas. It's the "Rumble in the Jungle" in Kinshasa, Zaire, in the heart of Africa.
Mailer, one of the renowned geniuses of American letters, and a commentator in the excellent film "When We Were Kings" about the same event, takes us with him as he covered the fight over 20 years ago. He mirrors Ali and his opponent, the ferocious George Foreman (a few cheeseburgers ago). He reveals the place of Zaire and Africa in the world, telling much of Mobutu Sese Seko's policies (all the more relevant in terms o
Book Review: Not just about two men hitting each other
Summary: 5 Stars
The previous reviewer, "A reader from River Forest, IL USA" appears to have been reading a different book! He/she writes that Mailer "either did not know or could not write that the stadium...was a killing field for criminals". In fact this fact is well covered in the book. Rather than hero-worshiping Ali, the book deconstructs his myth fairly comprehensively. I've never stepped into a ring, but the book seems to cover very well what it was like to WATCH the match as well as painting a backdrop to the event.Book Review: Not only for boxing fans
Summary: 3 Stars
This book is about an event that has always interested me, and as such I enjoyed it. It is filled to the brim with fascinating, larger-than-life characters, with the hangers-on almost as interesting as the pugilists. But I found Mailer's writing too self-consciously complex and clever at times (probably a sacrilegious thing to say), which detracted from my enjoyment of the book, and cost it a fourth star. It is, however, still well worth a read for people interested in boxing, Ali, African dictatorships and this bout in particular. Such people must also watch When We Were Kings (I am probably the umpteenth person saying this), a marvellous documentary about this bout and all the hype and happenings preceding it. Ali is at his hysterical best in the documentary, funnier than anybody in the world of comedy.Book Review: Re-Print from Life Mag
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first read this years ago in Life, I thought it was simply the most amazing writing I had ever encountered; Mailer is extra-ordinary and again established himself, in my mind, as our greatest living writing talent. He took a "boxing match" and transcended it to orbits to which one would never have ascended. Now, if I can obtain that in re-print form,, I will again be excvited by the writing and have a master piece on my shelf. Martin J. Kaplan, Ph.D.Book Review: Right Hand Jab...
Summary: 5 Stars
Kinhasa Zaire...1974...One of the most publicized and adored fights of the 1970s, and what better writer to depict the settings than Mailer. This book was a tough find until '96 when the legendary documentary, "When We Were Kings" was released. Mailer's descriptions of the fight throughout the film were compelling enough to make me search out his read.
Many people forget that the fight was postponed for two weeks by Foreman's camp, and the fight almost didn't go off, which leads to chaotic story. Mailer's settings in the Zaire heat and his descriptions of icons such as Hunter Thompson, George Plimpton, Jim Brown, and Don King roaming the lobby of Zaire's Inter-Continental Hotel are so good that you'll feel as if you've been thrown back for two weeks through a time-machine to 1974. A true time period when sports was straight-up for men's men
Now, I'm not so into the romaticized Ali depictions seen through the eyes of Michael Mann, 'limo liberals' and other misinformed academians, and I will never adopt the modern day pre-fabbed tributes to Ali. Accompany this read with a viewing of "When We Were Kings" or with a read of Thomas Hauser's "King of the World" and Mark Kram's "Ghosts of Manila", and you'll catch my drift.
Avoiding a Ali tribute, Mailer loves the sport of boxing, and it shows throughout the book. "The Fight" is a great read that depicts a chaotic time, Zaire, the characters and the life surrounding the classic fight.. Lead with a right-hand jab, and pick this read up. -BD 5/03