Sideline Sid Sports correspondent & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

A recent birthday present was the introduction to the best sports book Sideline Sid has read for a long time.

While there has been a industry built around the life and times of Muhammad Ali - the book called simply Ali - A Life, is set to join the best literature written about the most recognisable figure in the world over the last half-century.

The first thing that interested this writer was the sheer size of the book, which runs to more than 600 pages.

The dust-cover of a photo of a young Ali with a fist raised, grabs the readers attention from the outset.

A big challenge with such a large volume of words, is to take the readers attention from the start and hold it throughout, in what is a chronicle of Muhammad Ali's life from birth to death.

Written by acclaimed American sports journalist Jonathan Eig, the latest Ali chronicle was published during 2017.

The author conducted some 600 taped interviews with more than 200 individuals, many of them confidants of "The Greatest".

A few of the people close to Ali, who talked to the books author, include younger brother Rudy (who later took the Muslim name of Rahman Ali), three of his four wives, Bundini Brown a permanent fixture in and out of the ring in the Ali camp and many of the boxers he engaged with in combat.

Born Cassius Marcellus Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, his great-grandfather was a slave, with Part One of the Ali journey concentrating on his early life and fights, his acceptance of the Muslin faith and taking the name of Muhammad Ali.

Part Two starts with his exile from boxing due to refusing the Vietnam war draft, with Part Three including the classic "Rumble in the Jungle" and the "Thriller in Manila" super bouts that grabbed world-wide attention.

Controversial American promoter Don King, who jumped on the Ali gravy-train when he took the the "Rumble in the Jungle" to Zaire in 1974, receives little praise in his grip on Ali during the super fights times.

Muhammad Al was a simple but complex man which Ali - A Life picks up to a tee. His trusting nature where he simply gave away many of the millions he earned in the ring, his love of woman and his trash talking - were made up for with his humility displayed to his millions of fans.

Where this Ali book differs from its numerous predecessors is that it is finished after his death (3 June 2016) and completes his life story.

There is sadness for this boxing fan, with the documentation of of his decline in fighting ability from his peak against Joe Frazier and George Foreman.

The author viewed all his fights from the archives and counted the punches scored and taken.

While the victories were still coming, until his last two fights against Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick, the 'float like a butterfly - sting like a bee' had faded away to be replaced by standing in the centre of the ring in all-out war.

Retirement brought another chapter in the life and times of Muhammad Ali, with "The Greatest" still drawing his fans wherever he went.

Who can forget the frail, trembling figure of Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame at the 1996 Atlanta Games watched by a TV audience of some three billion viewers.

Such has been the impact of Ali - A Life, that it received the 2018 PEN/ESPN Award for literary sports writing.

The book was also named best book of the year by Sports Illustrated and the best book of the year at the British Sports Book awards.