Blood Brothers, Randy Roberts
Blood Brothers, Randy Roberts
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
Club: $15.99

Blood Brothers
The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X

Author: Randy Roberts, Johnny Smith

Narrator: David Drummond

Unabridged: 13 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 03/14/2023


Synopsis

An “engrossing and important book" (Wall Street Journal) that brings to life the fateful friendship between Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali

In 1962, boxing writers and fans considered Cassius Clay an obnoxious self-promoter, and few believed that he would become the heavyweight champion of the world. But Malcolm X, the most famous minister in the Nation of Islam, saw the potential in Clay, not just for boxing greatness, but as a means of spreading the Nation’s message. The two became fast friends, keeping their interactions secret from the press for fear of jeopardizing Clay’s career. Clay began living a double life—a patriotic “good negro” in public, and a radical reformer behind the scenes. Soon, however, their friendship would sour, with disastrous and far-reaching consequences.

Based on previously untapped sources, from Malcolm’s personal papers to FBI records, Blood Brothers is the first book to offer an in-depth portrait of this complex bond. An extraordinary narrative of love and deep affection, as well as deceit, betrayal, and violence, this story is a window into the public and private lives of two of our greatest national icons, and the tumultuous period in American history that they helped to shape.

About Randy Roberts

Randy Roberts is a distinguished professor of history at Purdue University. An award-winning author, he has written biographies of iconic athletes and celebrities, including Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Bear Bryant, and John Wayne. He lives in Lafayette, Indiana.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Carol on March 23, 2016

This is a classic story about a revolution in American sports. It's about how young Cassius Clay became Mohammed Ali and completely changed how America looked at black men and black athletes in particular. But this is more than just an important story about race. These two authors have created a lit......more

Goodreads review by Joseph on September 29, 2016

Someone once said words to the effect of "Show me someone with heroes, and I'll show you someone in the third grade." That's a bit harsh, but there's more than a kernel of truth to the statement. For the last thirty years or so (since pugilistic dementia/Parkinson's had him in its grip), Muhammad Al......more

Goodreads review by Don on August 19, 2016

(2) Many years ago, I read the wonderful Alex Haley book, "the Autobiography of Malcolm X." This book recounts a great deal of that information but offers more as well. Some of the new insight into the career of Muhammad Ali and his involvement with the Black Muslim movement seems more pertinent due......more

Goodreads review by Jeffrey (Akiva) on June 13, 2016

I picked this up in the wake of Ali's death; so many great writers spoke of the complexities of Ali's life likely to be glossed over in the deluge of encomiums which follow the death of someone so great. Such is the case with almost any person. This phenomenon is even more pronounced when the deceas......more

Goodreads review by Ian on January 28, 2018

Great book about two historic and mysterious guys. Didn't know much about them, about Nation of Islam and the life in sixties in the U.S. where black people were truely repressed. U.S. has gone a long way since then. It was a really interesting reading, kind of a history book in its own way.......more


Quotes

Winner of the 2017 North American Society for Sport History Book Award

"[An] absorbing and provocative new book... An engrossing and important book."—David Margolick, Wall Street Journal

"A rigorously researched book that gracefully pivots between the world of the ring and the racial politics of the early '60s."
New York Times Book Review

"Earnest and...smartly constructed."
Washington Post

"Exhaustively researched and tautly written.... The authors unearth reams of new evidence, shine light on long-overlooked episodes, and hack away at the barnacles of mythology, thereby giving us the finest portrait yet of the doomed relationship that transformed Cassius Clay into Muhammad Ali."—James Rosen, National Review

"Though their individual lives have been explored through previous books and movies, Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X delves into the close kinship these men shared, and the reasons it ultimately fell apart."—Economist

"This book offers a significant contribution to serious studies of Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, and the Nation of Islam."
Library Journal

"The authors give us a thorough examination of the relationship between the two icons in the context of the black experience and the turbulent 1960s.... We're brought back to the champ's early boxing days and see how the brash Ali whom America came to know developed."—New York Post

"The broad outlines of the Ali/Malcolm drama are well known, but Roberts and Smith emphasize how crucial each was to the other's destiny: Ali's as a global figure of black pride and Malcolm's as a martyred black visionary. They provide more exhaustive detail than previously available, aided by newly released FBI files and personal papers. And they infuse the tale with sharp insights and an impending sense of tragedy."—City Journal

"[A] provocative history.... Roberts and Smith map the relationship between the troubled icons in painstaking detail and debunk long-held assumptions about their break.... Roberts and Smith bring a fresh perspective to the story in the civil rights movement, and capture the ferment of the broader era."—Publishers Weekly