num_pages: 271
description: In 1966, Muhammad Ali announced his intention to refuse induction into the United States Army as a conscientious objector. This set off a five-year battle that would strip him of his world heavyweight title, bar him from boxing, and nearly send him to prison--all at the peak of his career as the greatest boxer in history. Ali defiantly proclaimed his refusal to go to war with the assertion that it violated his beliefs as a Black Muslim. The subsequent legal battle proved to be a test tougher than fighting Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, and George Foreman combined. The struggle that followed Ali's principled stand, one of the pivotal moments of the Sixties, reverberated across lines demarcated by generation, class, race, and religion. This was the beginning of a divided and controversial period in American history, one that would mobilize young and old, blacks and whites, liberals and conservatives. At the forefront of this era, Ali's decision to fight the draft was a challenge not only to the status quo, but a catalyst for those who wished to change the system. Set against the dramatic backdrop of these turbulent times, the book's fascinating cast of characters includes such names as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, and J. Edgar Hoover.
language: English
title: Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight : Cassius Clay Vs the United States of America
titlecomplete: Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight : Cassius Clay Vs the United States of America
genres: Sports, Nonfiction
ratings_count: 55
publisher: Robson Books