Muhammad Ali: The Greatest of All Time!

Show Me History

by James Buckley Jr., Andy Duggan (Illustrations)

The life story of Muhammad Ali—boxing champion, humanitarian, civil rights activist, and philanthropist—in graphic novel format.

Muhammad The Greatest of All Time!  introduces young readers to a sporting icon who was larger than life. Considered to be one of the greatest boxers in history, Muhammad Ali went from a rough childhood in Kentucky to an Olympic gold medalist and world heavyweight boxing champion. Known for his outlandish verbal sparring with opponents, Ali was also a civil rights activist, humanitarian, and philanthropist who spent much of his post-boxing career helping others despite being affected by Parkinson’s disease. With colorful illustrations and historically accurate text, this entertaining account of Ali’s life will inspire a new generation of readers with the true story of one of America’s greatest athletes.
 

Genres: Nonfiction, Graphic Novels

96 pages, Hardcover

Published November 10, 2020

About the author

In addition to his work as a professional editor, James Buckley, Jr., is also the author of many books on American sports that are geared toward young fans and budding athletes.

Buckley, who has founded a company called Shoreline Publishing Group to produce books for reluctant readers, maintains that sports are far more than simple hobbies or ways to burn off excess energy.

Reviews

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I thought this was a little less successful than Anne Frank: Witness to History!, it was captivating, reasonably accurate, and provided some context for young readers trying to place a unique individual into a specific historical period.

Although the scenes of Muhammad Ali/Cassius Clay's young life show plenty of contextual visual images of the segregation in the South, once Ali/Clay starts boxing, the focus becomes tighter - almost every image is of Clay/Ali himself, or a scene he is in. (...contrast this with the Anne Frank Show Me History in which there are more images of her neighborhood, and scenes that she may or may not have seen or heard about, but which were happening around her.)

I was also a little less impressed by the illustrations, which are more cartoonish and exaggerated, appearing more "invented" than derived from photo references. Small errors in the images give a feeling of distance from reality - for example, when shadows are missing, or when Ali/Clay's boxing shorts are white with a blue waistband on the left-hand page, but are plain white on the right-hand page (see pgs 32, 50, 53, 56). Minor typos will probably not be noticed by most readers.

There was also a little less blunt honesty in this one; in this case, the significance of his traumatic brain injuries and the very likely connection to Parkinson's. Also, the transition from his boxing career to retirement - when he devoted himself full-time to philanthropic works - is not given a new chapter heading or even a pause in the comic-strip format...thus implying that everything else in his life was a secondary afterthought - even though the text and the facts do indicate his strongly held commitment to working toward a more ethical and equitable society.

It's serviceable, but not quite as impressive as the other one in this series that I happened to read first.

[Jennybeast · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid graphic novel biography of the life of Muhammad Ali. I'm not really in love with the narrators, child versions of uncle sam and lady liberty, but I did like that they stayed solidly in Ali's corner, even when he was fighting for his right to conscientiously object to Vietnam. It's a fairly complicated story, explained well, with a lot of respect for Ali throughout. I loved that as much as his story centers on fighting, he's also clearly a person of integrity, which was a consistent message.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first title of this series I’ve read, and I really enjoyed it- I’ve always been a huge fan of Muhammad Ali, in and out of the ring he’s fought hard. He was the epitome of strength, whether fighting for justice and world peace for others or gracefully fighting Parkinson’s. I love how these graphic novels accurately depict the figure, especially writing it in text that’s relatable to kids. We’ve come a long way since the average, boring textbook.

[Summer Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book was really fun to read. It was easy and smooth. I think that my favorite part was probably when use a parachute to jump out of the airplane instead of just riding all the way that was very interesting to me. I thought I think my least favorite part was probably when he threw his gold medal in the river because of racist words that was very, very sad to me. This was a pretty nice book to learn history l enjoyed reading it so until the next book bu-bye👋

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this for my reluctant readers; I am a skosh too young to know a lot about Muhammad Ali, but after reading this, he seems fascinating. I think he may have come off as too confident at times, but I do think that he was an incredible humanitarian.

3.5 stars -- not because of any reason other than I am not a fan of graphic novels (and I didn't love the narrators -a young Uncle Sam and the Statue of Liberty- though I understand why they are needed for younger readers).

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid, kid-friendly, accessible overview of his life and career.

[wildct2003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Ali intro