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'Probably no one has written better about boxing than Mailer has' Guardian '"If ever a fighter had been able to demonstrate that boxing was a twentieth-century art, it must be Ali," says Norm, and his achievement in this masterly book is of a similar order, demonstrating that writing about sport can also be a twentieth-century art' - Geoff Dyer, New Statesman
--This text refers to an alternate
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Norman Mailer's The Fight focuses on the 1975 World Heavyweight Boxing Championship in Kinshasa, Zaire. Muhammad Ali met George Foreman in the ring. Foreman's genius employed silence, serenity and cunning. He had never been defeated. His hands were his instrument, and 'he kept them in his pockets the way a hunter lays his rifle back into its velvet case'. Together the two men made boxing history in an explosive meeting of two great minds, two iron wills and monumental egos.
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There is always a shock in seeing him again. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
There is always a shock in seeing him again. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Not so much a book about the Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire, but rather a book about Norman Mailer 'at' the Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire. Pretentious, indulgent, long and rambling steam-of-conciousness writing reluctantly interrupted on occasion by Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. The writer's inferiority complex in 'The Fight' gives many passages an unpleasant, slightly bitter air. No'min famously saw himself as a tough guy, and never must this notion have seemed more ludicrous to him than when he was around professional boxers, which may be why he enjoys subtley belittling them, their intelligence (Imagine! A poor uneducated man from the ghetto not being as intelligent academically as Norman, the writer socialite born into privilege and given the best education money can buy!), and even their taste (He calls the décor in his 'friend' Ali's quarters "high shlock").
Mailer takes a real dislike to promoter Don King, who was handling himself around the sort of bad guys on the street and in prison that Norman Mailer always imagined himself to be able to handle. Harvard boy Mailer is offended by King's educating himself in prison, and goes to great lengths to lampoon him, revelling in King's mispronounciation of great writer's names, and making a point of quoting his long, colourful sentences word for word to try make him sound like a buffoon - the problem being that if you remove the quotation marks from King's words they become indistinguishable from Mailer's own verbose and seemingly endless sentences.
Despite all this there is good stuff to be found. Norman was 'there', so if you have to suffer ten pages of him writing about himself in order to get to Larry Holmes and Roy 'Tiger' Williams sparring sessions with Ali, or Bundini's gambling with Stan Ward, and Henry Clark's take on Foreman's power, then for me it was worth it as this was new and interesting info. Mailer was also, incredibly, in Ali's dressing room immediately prior to the fight ("What's the matter? It's just another crazy day in the life of Muhammad Ali" - Ali), and the passages here make the long slog of Mailer's writing worthwhile. Another plus is that he also covers the often ignored George Foreman, who in the 1970s was every bit as compelling as Ali, with his dark, menacing role as a sort of Zombie Sonny Liston, resurrected to resume terror in the heavyweight division. So, if you've collected all the fights on tape, read Hauser's definitive book 'Ali', David Remnick's incredible 'King of the World', and the engrossing 'Facing Ali', and still you need more, you could certainly do worse than 'The Fight', but it really doesn't come recommended.
Mailer takes a real dislike to promoter Don King, who was handling himself around the sort of bad guys on the street and in prison that Norman Mailer always imagined himself to be able to handle. Harvard boy Mailer is offended by King's educating himself in prison, and goes to great lengths to lampoon him, revelling in King's mispronounciation of great writer's names, and making a point of quoting his long, colourful sentences word for word to try make him sound like a buffoon - the problem being that if you remove the quotation marks from King's words they become indistinguishable from Mailer's own verbose and seemingly endless sentences.
Despite all this there is good stuff to be found. Norman was 'there', so if you have to suffer ten pages of him writing about himself in order to get to Larry Holmes and Roy 'Tiger' Williams sparring sessions with Ali, or Bundini's gambling with Stan Ward, and Henry Clark's take on Foreman's power, then for me it was worth it as this was new and interesting info. Mailer was also, incredibly, in Ali's dressing room immediately prior to the fight ("What's the matter? It's just another crazy day in the life of Muhammad Ali" - Ali), and the passages here make the long slog of Mailer's writing worthwhile. Another plus is that he also covers the often ignored George Foreman, who in the 1970s was every bit as compelling as Ali, with his dark, menacing role as a sort of Zombie Sonny Liston, resurrected to resume terror in the heavyweight division. So, if you've collected all the fights on tape, read Hauser's definitive book 'Ali', David Remnick's incredible 'King of the World', and the engrossing 'Facing Ali', and still you need more, you could certainly do worse than 'The Fight', but it really doesn't come recommended.
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A superb snapshot of a particular time and place; this is written in typical Norman Mailer style -allowing the reader amazing insight at times and a very personal, distanced view at others. Ali comes across as the great figure his reputation implies -even Mailer is humbly respectful in his presence. I would suggest reading David Remnick's equally impressive 'King of the world' first, as Remnick's book charts the 'back story' of how the heavyweight belt passed from Floyd Patterson to Sonny Liston and finally Ali. Then finish by watching the Oscar-winning documentary 'When we were Kings' -which of course, features Norman Mailer himself (Ideally, get the DVD, which features the entire Rumble In The Jungle fight as a bonus).
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
One of the greatest sportsmen of our world, and this was possibly one of the greatest moments of his sporting career. This book is not just about a fight but about Africa, the nature of men, race and racism and superhuman achievement.
Mailer is completely honest throughout the book, and sometimes what he says, particularly about race, can be a little shocking. But the author is being honest with us about what he thinks, and his thoughts are interesting and thought-provoking.
The image of Ali, bouncing off the ropes for the first 6 rounds despite promising the world he was going to dance is vividly painted. The description of Foreman's training on the heavy bag, which he hit so hard he left dent in it, is close to mind when in the later chapters ali is absorbing those same punches.
The book also deals with the author's own celebrity, and makes this a very personal account of a great moment.
I left this book with one overpowering feeling - i wish i had been there.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great journalism.
Great journalism by Mailer on one of the greatest sporting contests of all time. A must for fans of quality reportage, sports writing or boxing history.
Published 20 months ago by Paul Harris
Worth reading
Although Mailer's 3rd person treatment of himself is clearly the product of an explosive and gluttonous ego, it does, in parts, allow him to also speak about himself with more... Read more
Published 22 months ago by L
Hard work to start with, but perservere
You need to concentrate a bit, but well worth it. Hard work to start with, but it is well worth it in the end. The observations during the fight itself are fantastic. Read more
Published on 11 April 2010 by Dennis King
Brilliant...
Having watched the dvd When We Were Kings and having enjoyed in particular the verbal contributions from Norman Mailer, I had to buy this book. I wasnt disappointed.... Read more
Published on 2 Nov 2009 by Roberto
Certainly not 'the Greatest'
I was really looking forward to this book as I've started to read up on the life and career of Muhammad Ali. Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2009 by A. J. Bradley
Entertaining
This was the first Norman Mailer book I read, and as such did not really know what to expect. It is certainly clear right from the start that he has a very keen eye on the sport. Read more
Published on 19 Oct 2009 by Treefingers
Pleasantly surprised
I bought the book afetr having read several Ali biographies, and din't realise this concentrated only on the Rumble in the Jungle. Read more
Published on 24 Sep 2009 by Mr. Martin Heppenstall
So much narcissism!
This book documents a rightly revered moment in boxing history. Mailer's blow-by-blow account of the fight itself is exhilarating and works as a great companion piece for all eight... Read more
Published on 14 Sep 2009 by Rusty
A bit poetic and rambling for my taste but brilliant in parts
A bit poetic and rambling for my taste but brilliant in parts - at times Mailer is more apt to put himself at the centre of the story and be a bit self absorbed - going off on a... Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2009 by Asmodeous
Passionate and detailed
This is the first Mailer I've read so I have nothing to compare it to. I was surprised by how readable it was and how much reportage there was with novelish aspects thrown in. Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2009 by Mrs. K. A. Wheatley
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