Marqusee's elegant and forceful narrative explores the origins and impact of Ali's dramatic public stands on race and the draft, and reinterprets the “Rumble in the Jungle,” shedding new light on its triumph and tragedy. Above all, he imbues Ali's story with a long-neglected international dimension, revealing why he was embraced with such warmth by diverse peoples across the globe. This timely antidote to the apolitical celebration of Ali as “a great American” revisits the man and the period with a fresh eye, casting new light on both his courage and his confusions.

“Among the slew of recent Ali books, here’s one that returns the political sting to ‘The Greatest.’” — Time Out

“As Marqusee charts how Ali helped create a global consciousness, he succeeds in knocking Ali off the respectable pedestal on which American culture had placed him, resurrecting him as the radical figure he truly was ? a vibrant historical essay.” — Publishers Weekly

“Fascinating, well-written, entertaining and significant. Redemption Song provides rare and important insights into Muhammad Ali and his immense global impact on a turbulent and ground-breaking era.” — Leon Gast, director of When We Were Kings

“Elegantly setting his subject in an international context, Mike Marqusee widens and enriches our appreciation of Ali, allowing us to see the great boxer in an entirely new light.” — Manning Marable, Director, Institute for Research in African and American Studies, Columbia University

Mike Marqusee was born in the United States and emigrated to Britain in 1971. He is the author of a novel, Slow Turn, and three nonfiction books: Defeat from the Jaws of Victory (with Richard Heffernan), Anyone But England and War Minus the Shooting. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Sport Development Research at Roehampton Institute, London. His If I Am Not for Myself: Journey of an Anti-Zionist Jew is also available from Verso.