04/08/2019
Ali (Ali on Ali) crafts a compassionate and intimate memoir of life with her father, championship heavyweight boxer Muhammed Ali (1942–2016). In her telling, Muhammad was the epitome of a doting father to his nine children— especially the outspoken, determined Hana, who was born to Muhammad’s third wife, Veronica Porche. Ali depicts her father as a deeply religious Muslim who was dedicated to helping those he encountered—whether it was a man he didn’t know who was contemplating leaping out of a ninth-floor window, or a friend and minister advocating for the release of American hostages in Iran in the 1980s. A family man who grew up in Louisville, Ky., during the height of segregation, Muhammad kept extensive audio diaries throughout his life, as well as tapes of his daughters’ lighthearted giggles and his buoyant phone calls to friends like fellow fighter George Foreman. Ali, however, doesn’t shy from discussing her father’s Achilles heel—women—a subject he didn’t talk about on the recordings. Through frank talks with her mother, Ali learned of their courtship and the events that led to their divorce (“Listening to my mother, I felt like a whole new world was revealed to me”), and it is through her mother that she relived the early stages of her father’s Parkinson’s disease. Ali’s tender memoir is a heartfelt tribute to her father. (May)
Muhammad Ali was one of my greatest inspirations. This outstanding, compelling work shows that family is a man’s most important asset, while revealing the power of familial love—and a beautiful, special relationship between father and daughter.” — Steve Harvey
“Muhammad Ali was a gift to the whole world because he celebrated everyone’s humanity. During my boxing career, I fought him like a devil. But to this day I love him as a brother. In At Home with Muhammad Ali, page after page I’m reminded of his greatness and his love for all.” — George Foreman
“How wonderful, after decades of thoughtful but at-a-distance portraits of Muhammad Ali, we have this exquisite and movingly intimate one. His daughter Hana has permitted us all to fill out—with love—our own sense of the real man behind all the mythology. This is a hugely important addition to our understanding of the Greatest of All Time.” — Ken Burns
“A famous man will be viewed one way by the public. Another by his wife. Another by his children. Hana brings together these vantage points—and allows everyone to see Muhammad Ali in a new light.” — Larry King
“Only Hana could have written this extraordinary memoir. She had a special bond with our father, unlike anyone else. People always think that I was daddy’s girl because I followed him into the boxing ring, but she was actually the one! This book is one of a kind, full of wisdom and heart which comes to life on these captivating pages.” — Laila Ali
“Hana Ali adds a new leaf to the tree of remembrance for Muhammad Ali.” — Thomas Hauser, author of Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times
“This book is filled with golden nuggets about this great man that you could never find anywhere else because only Hana Ali is in the position to share them— and she does with all her heart. What an emotional undertaking, in which Hana rose to the challenge.” — Cal Fussman, author of After Jackie
“Hana has brought to life all of the love, joy, and complexities of our lives at our home on Fremont Place. Her moving words made me laugh and cry. Her father would be as proud of her as I am.” — Veronica Porche
“Hana Ali has authored a unique and precious view of her famous father, an intimate and revealing portrait that complements all we know of the “greatest.” Flashbacks to her childhood with her father and a narrative of their later years are deftly interwoven. A delightful read that exceeds her promise to present a candid, untold family legacy. — Herb Boyd, author of Black Detroit
Hana Ali has authored a unique and precious view of her famous father, an intimate and revealing portrait that complements all we know of the “greatest.” Flashbacks to her childhood with her father and a narrative of their later years are deftly interwoven. A delightful read that exceeds her promise to present a candid, untold family legacy.
Only Hana could have written this extraordinary memoir. She had a special bond with our father, unlike anyone else. People always think that I was daddy’s girl because I followed him into the boxing ring, but she was actually the one! This book is one of a kind, full of wisdom and heart which comes to life on these captivating pages.
Muhammad Ali was one of my greatest inspirations. This outstanding, compelling work shows that family is a man’s most important asset, while revealing the power of familial love—and a beautiful, special relationship between father and daughter.
A famous man will be viewed one way by the public. Another by his wife. Another by his children. Hana brings together these vantage points—and allows everyone to see Muhammad Ali in a new light.
Hana has brought to life all of the love, joy, and complexities of our lives at our home on Fremont Place. Her moving words made me laugh and cry. Her father would be as proud of her as I am.
How wonderful, after decades of thoughtful but at-a-distance portraits of Muhammad Ali, we have this exquisite and movingly intimate one. His daughter Hana has permitted us all to fill out—with love—our own sense of the real man behind all the mythology. This is a hugely important addition to our understanding of the Greatest of All Time.
Hana Ali adds a new leaf to the tree of remembrance for Muhammad Ali.
This book is filled with golden nuggets about this great man that you could never find anywhere else because only Hana Ali is in the position to share them— and she does with all her heart. What an emotional undertaking, in which Hana rose to the challenge.
Muhammad Ali was a gift to the whole world because he celebrated everyone’s humanity. During my boxing career, I fought him like a devil. But to this day I love him as a brother. In At Home with Muhammad Ali, page after page I’m reminded of his greatness and his love for all.
Only Hana could have written this extraordinary memoir. She had a special bond with our father, unlike anyone else. People always think that I was daddy’s girl because I followed him into the boxing ring, but she was actually the one! This book is one of a kind, full of wisdom and heart which comes to life on these captivating pages.
Muhammad Ali was one of my greatest inspirations. This outstanding, compelling work shows that family is a man’s most important asset, while revealing the power of familial love—and a beautiful, special relationship between father and daughter.
How wonderful, after decades of thoughtful but at-a-distance portraits of Muhammad Ali, we have this exquisite and movingly intimate one. His daughter Hana has permitted us all to fill out—with love—our own sense of the real man behind all the mythology. This is a hugely important addition to our understanding of the Greatest of All Time.
Hana has brought to life all of the love, joy, and complexities of our lives at our home on Fremont Place. Her moving words made me laugh and cry. Her father would be as proud of her as I am.
Muhammad Ali was a gift to the whole world because he celebrated everyone’s humanity. During my boxing career, I fought him like a devil. But to this day I love him as a brother. In At Home with Muhammad Ali, page after page I’m reminded of his greatness and his love for all.
A famous man will be viewed one way by the public. Another by his wife. Another by his children. Hana brings together these vantage points—and allows everyone to see Muhammad Ali in a new light.
05/01/2019
What was boxing's "The Greatest" like when he was out of the ring or the cameras weren't rolling? The answer according to daughter and author Hana Ali is simply and unquestionably: the greatest. Here, the third youngest child of Muhammad Ali (1942–2016) draws from a treasure chest of previously unseen material to paint a picture of the private Ali. Included are extensive audio tapes he made in the late 1970s and early 1980s of himself interacting with Hana, her sister Laila, and his third wife, Veronica, at their Los Angeles home. There are also published and unpublished photos; journals, poems, and notes; undelivered love letters from Muhammad to Veronica, written even as their marriage was slipping away; and memories from the time the family broke apart until Ali's death. VERDICT Scholars of the sweet science won't find much new here, but Ali's fans and general readers will enjoy a charming glimpse into the private life of one of the most public of men (and few will come away from the author's description of her last visit to their old home with dry eyes).—Jim Burns, formerly with Jacksonville P.L., FL
Kim Staunton’s narration of this audio memoir is impressive. She delivers all the power of boxer and legendary public figure Muhammad Ali, as told by his daughter. Hana Ali’s audiobook recounts her father’s life, beginning with the love letters he wrote to his estranged wife. Listeners hear Hana’s memories of a loving family man who was seeking a higher purpose, a man who acknowledged that boxing “paid the bills.” Ali’s declaration of being “the greatest of all time” is legendary; his daughter recalls a father who faced every challenge and was the “measure of greatness." Staunton skillfully voices both father and daughter. The result is moving, emotional, and at times funny and thrilling—like the man the public knew, but so much more. S.P.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kim Staunton’s narration of this audio memoir is impressive. She delivers all the power of boxer and legendary public figure Muhammad Ali, as told by his daughter. Hana Ali’s audiobook recounts her father’s life, beginning with the love letters he wrote to his estranged wife. Listeners hear Hana’s memories of a loving family man who was seeking a higher purpose, a man who acknowledged that boxing “paid the bills.” Ali’s declaration of being “the greatest of all time” is legendary; his daughter recalls a father who faced every challenge and was the “measure of greatness." Staunton skillfully voices both father and daughter. The result is moving, emotional, and at times funny and thrilling—like the man the public knew, but so much more. S.P.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
