AT HOME WITH MUHAMMAD ALI :: Hana Ali

A version of this review previously appeared in Shelf Awareness and is republished here with permission.

There may be no more recognizable person than three-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali, "The People's Champion." Ali's persona is highlighted by his feats in the ring, quick wit, religious conversion and stance against the Vietnam War. Many books have been written about Ali, including three by his second-youngest daughter, Hana (Ali on Ali). In At Home with Muhammad Ali: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Forgiveness, Hana Ali changes focus and shares an intimate look at Ali's private moments with his family and what it was like to be the child of The Greatest.

A sentimental softy, Muhammad Ali recorded the goings-on in Hana's childhood home, the tapes part of the legacy he left for his children. Shared at length, transcripts include him "messin' " with his kids, prank calling friends and participating in various political causes, including trying to resolve the Iranian hostage crisis. A practicing Muslim, Muhammad Ali believed that by helping one person he was helping hundreds, and he was known to invite strangers from the street to the house.

A loving family man and father, Ali doted on his kids, making sure all seven of them (from multiple wives and mothers) grew up knowing each other. Hana is open about her father's professional pressures and romantic complications, but also his true love with her mother, Veronica, and the later-discovered letters that shed light on their sad parting. A beautiful, in-depth look at a complex and beloved man, Hana Ali's memoir is also a personal journey of forgiveness and the incredible bond between father and daughter.

STREET SENSE:  Ali has always fascinated me, and this intimate portrait gave me great insight into the true person behind the flash. It's not all peaches and cream, and Hana thankfully does not shy away from the difficult issues, mistakes and sometimes troubling beliefs that made Ali the imperfect, compelling individual he was.

A FAVORITE PASSAGE:  My father once said, "It is an expensive price I have to pay to be the most famous man on earth." The price he was referring to was lost time with his children. Like most kids, when I was a little girl I only thought about my own sorrow--my own pain. But now, as an adult, knowing all that I do, I can finally see his. For all he had, my father did not have everything he wanted. He suffered too.

Some of the recorded tape transcripts show just how much Ali treasured time with his kids and doted on them. I loved this one:

"Hana, it's 10:30 p.m. You just woke me up, asking for a popsicle. I went downstairs to get you one, but there were not popsicles left. Now you sent me back down to get you a pickle This is December 24, 1979, at the house on 55 Fremont Place--Signing off."

COVER NERD SAYS:  This is one of those books where the cover doesn't really matter unless they truly fuck it up. They didn't. Black and white portrait of Ali? Check and done. They picked a great picture, too, a pensive shot of Ali that lets you know the wheels are turning inside. Props to the text fonts and color scheme, they play well with, yet don't distract from, The Greatest. Classy and thoughtful.