King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero

Overview

David Remnick offers a vivid portrait of Muhammad Ali's ascent from Cassius Clay to global celebrity, framing the boxer as a central figure in the social and cultural upheavals of 1960s America. The narrative concentrates on the years that transformed a brash young athlete into a polarizing public figure whose persona and convictions challenged prevailing ideas about race, religion, patriotism, and celebrity. Remnick balances serialized reportage with literary biography, reconstructing moments inside and outside the ring to show how Ali became both a sporting icon and a symbol of a changing nation.

Rise to Fame and the Ring

The account opens with Clay's rapid rise through amateur ranks to Olympic gold and then to the professional heavyweight title, emphasizing his charisma, speed, and trash-talking flair. Remnick dissects key fights, especially Clay's upset of Sonny Liston, and the showmanship that captivated television audiences. The book conveys the drama of training camps, promoter politics, and the physical poetry of Ali's style, while also capturing how his public persona was constructed and performed. Remnick shows that Ali's ring accomplishments were inseparable from his capacity to entertain, provoke, and dominate media attention.

Politics, Religion, and Identity

Remnick places Ali's conversion to Islam and his association with the Nation of Islam at the center of his metamorphosis. The narrative follows Ali's growing willingness to assert a Black identity distinct from mainstream expectations, and his refusal to be drafted for the Vietnam War becomes a defining moment. Coverage of the legal battles and public vilification that followed illustrates the personal cost of dissent, including the stripping of his title and the loss of crucial boxing years. Remnick presents Ali's decisions as both personal convictions and calculated acts that amplified broader debates about civil rights, antiwar sentiment, and African American empowerment.

Public Reception and Cultural Clash

The book chronicles the polarized reactions Ali provoked: adoration from many Black Americans and youth, and hostility from establishment figures and segments of white America. Remnick explores how race, religion, and media shaped public perception, and how Ali's provocative rhetoric exposed fissures in American civic life. The narrative links Ali's celebrity to the era's shifting values, showing how his braggadocio and moral stands forced a reconsideration of who could claim the mantle of national hero and how heroism might look when it resisted conventional authority.

Relationships and Personal Portrait

Remnick humanizes Ali by showing his relationships with trainers, managers, rivals, and friends. Portraits of figures like Angelo Dundee, Malcolm X, and Clay's opponents illuminate the networks that influenced his choices and sustained his career. Remnick conveys Ali's contradictions, confidence and vulnerability, showmanship and seriousness, faith and occasional doubt, without flattening him into a single type. These intimate sketches reveal how personal loyalties and betrayals played into public drama.

Style and Judgment

Remnick's prose blends journalism and literary observation, often using scenes and dialogue to recreate moments with immediacy. He does not idealize Ali but portrays him as a complex, sometimes difficult figure whose life intersected with major historical currents. The reporting relies on interviews, contemporary media, and archival materials to trace both the theatricality and the gravitas of Ali's early career. The result is a compelling narrative that situates a singular athlete within the turbulent politics and cultural transformations of mid-20th-century America, presenting Muhammad Ali as a mirror for the nation's struggles and aspirations.