The Fight (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics)

In 1974 in Kinshasa, Za•re, two African American boxers were paid five million dollars apiece to fight each other. One was Muhammad Ali, the aging but irrepressible Òprofessor of boxing.Ó The other was George Foreman, who was as taciturn as Ali was voluble. Observing them was Norman Mailer, a commentator of unparalleled energy, acumen, and audacity. Whether he is analyzing the fightersÕ moves, interpreting their characters, or weighing their competing claims on the African and American souls, MailerÕs grasp of the titanic battleÕs feints and stratagemsÑand his sensitivity to their deeper symbolismÑmakes this book a masterpiece of the literature of sport.