How Ali turned himself into a political heavyweight

IN STING Like a Bee, Leigh Montville focuses on a transformative five-year period in the life of Muhammad Ali when the heavyweight champion struggled as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War; lost his boxing licence; rejected his “slave name”, Cassius Clay; and pledged himself to the Nation of Islam.

The book begins in 1966, two years after Ali snatched the heavyweight title from Sonny Liston, and takes readers through the 1971 Supreme Court decision reversing his draft-dodging conviction.

Montville does an excellent job of capturing the changing mood of the times, from the American public’s support of the Vietnam War, fear of the Nation of Islam and vilification of Ali to its gradual shift against the conflict and subsequent acceptance of him as a martyr and hero.

The author relies on a range of sources, including the vibrant black press of the time, with publications such as Ebony magazine and The Chicago Defender. The result is a balanced narrative that encompasses the civil rights movement, its Black Power offshoot and the growing antiwar movement.

Montville delves into court documents and FBI files to recount Ali’s often convoluted legal battle conviction.

Readers also get rare glimpses into Ali’s private life, much of which has previously been glossed over or ignored. The most valuable insights come from his second wife, Belinda Boyd, who changed her name to Khalilah Camacho-Ali, who married Ali at the age of 17, shortly after he was stripped of his boxing licence. – The Washington Post and appeal of his