Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties

By Elizabeth Garrett

A classic book that traces Muhammad Ali’s political development in the sixties

When Muhammad Ali died, many mourned the life of the greatest sportsman the world had ever seen. In Redemption Song, Mike Marqusee argues that Ali was not only a boxer but a remarkable political figure in a decade of tumultuous change. Playful, popular, always confrontational, Ali refashioned the role of a political activist and was central, alongside figures such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, to the black liberation and the anti-war movements. Marqusee shows that sport and politics were always intertwined, and this is the reason why Ali remained an international beacon of hope, long after he had left the ring.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jul 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781786632067

Elizabeth Garrett

Mike Marqusee (1953–2015) was a journalist, political activist and author who was born in New York City, and who emigrated to Britain in 1971, where he developed a love of cricket. As well as his many books, Mike published articles in the Guardian, the Independent, the Daily Telegraph, the Observer, BBC History Magazine and India Today. He also was a columnist for the Indian newspaper The Hindu and for the British left-wing magazine Red Pepper. In 1995, Mike helped set up 'Hit Racism for Six', a campaign against racism in cricket and in 2005 was named an Honorary Faculty Fellow by the University of Brighton in recognition of his 'contribution to the development of a critically-based form of journalistic scholarship in the social, cultural and political nature of contemporary global sport.'

Reviews for Redemption Song

[kcshankd · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There aren't enough stars. An honest look at one of the most incredible individuals of the 20th Century. Terrific.