The most colorful member of Kentucky's most illustrious family, Cassius Marcellus Clay is a legendary figure in the Bluegrass. This lively biography records both the traditions surrounding Clay and the historical facts of his life, which are themselves the stuff of legend. Although Clay was a dedicated emancipationist, his real interest lay in broad issues of human freedom. The story of Clay's True American, his service in the Mexican War, his accomplishments as Lincoln's minister to Russia, and his active post-Civil War political life are all told against the background of the climactic events of a lifetime that spanned almost a century of American history.

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.

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Although perhaps the world's best known athlete, Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) was far more important as an American phenomenon of the 1960’s than as a prizefighter. In his career as a boxer, he followed a traditional, even a stereotyped road to the top for an African American, but his distortion of the American rags-to-riches story is peculiarly his own. When he defeated Sonny Liston for the world's heavyweight championship in 1964, he was hailed by press and public alike as the clean-cut kid who would, by his exemplary life, restore wholesomeness to the tainted world of boxing. Three years later, he has made a hash of these earlier impressions. His affair with the Black Muslims, his outspoken support of black power, his inflammatory statements about Vietnam and his controversial draft status have all contributed to the vilification to which he is currently subjected. Olsen talked at length with those who surrounded Clay – his family, his first boxing coach, his trainer, his physician, the group of white businessmen who gave him his start and dozens of others, thereby allowing those closest to the champion to offer, through observation and anecdote, their own interpretations of what makes Cassius run. Even more to the point, the author dogged Clay's footsteps and his own account of what he saw and heard, including Clay's extensive conversations, presents a firsthand record of the life of a truly puzzling personality. A classic sports biography.