The Greatest, Muhammad Ali by Walter Dean Meyers

The Greatest, Muhammad Ali by Walter Dean Meyers is one of the best books I have ever read. If you like to read biographies like I do, you should read this one. I like this book a lot because you do not only learn about his boxing career, but about his life. You learn about his childhood, why he got into boxing, his stand against the Viet Nam war, and the problems he had to face in his life. One of his biggest problems was dealing with racism. Even though he won the gold medal in the Olympics for boxing, he was not allowed to eat in some restaurants in the South because he is Black.

Muhammad Ali is one of my heroes because he has done a lot of great things even though it was very difficult for African Americans to live in the United States when he was growing up. The way Walter Dean Meyers describes Muhammad Ali’s life is very believable. It almost feels as if you are experiencing his life along with him. The author’s writing style flows easily and keeps you interested. There are many actual photographs of Muhammad Ali from when he was a teenager all the way through his fighting career.

I thought that the book was believable because the book is a biography. I had huge connections with the book because Muhammad Ali is one of my heroes. He is my hero because I am Black and when he was famous there were still a lot of racist things going on. I am interested in knowing the kinds of things Black people went through back then. He is also my hero because he got drafted to the army and he did not want to kill anybody or shoot a gun. I agree with his decision to face jail instead of going to war. I would recommend this book to whoever likes boxing and whoever likes Black history. The reason why I would like to recommend this book is because this is the only book that I have read and wanted to read again.