Sting Like a Bee Muhammad Ali vs. the United States of America, 1966-1971

A PEN/ESPN AWARD FOR LITERARY SPORTS WRITING FINALIST

A tremendous new biography of Muhammad Ali that zeroes in on the moment Ali turned from an athlete to an activist-icon.

Muhammad Ali: heavyweight champion, Olympic gold medalist, and cultural icon. In Sting Like a Bee, bestselling author Lee Montville takes a close look at the famed boxer, whose bombastic persona was rivaled only by his athletic performance. But Ali was more than just a boxer. He renounced his "slave name," joined the Nation of Islam, and refused to join the military. His story is the story of America in the late sixties, his life intersecting sports and pop culture, politics and the people. Sting Like a Bee zeroes in on five important years of his life, putting the legend in context. It's a portrait of an athlete and a portrait of America during a time of social unrest and earth-shaking change, a must-read for anyone looking to get a clear view of the man and his country.

Three-time New York Times bestselling author Leigh Montville is a former columnist at The Boston Globe and former senior writer at Sports Illustrated. He is the winner of many sports journalism awards, including the 2016 Red Smith Award, and was inducted into the Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame in 2009. Montville is the author of Evel, The Mysterious Montague, The Big Bam, Ted Williams, At the Altar of Speed, Manute, and Why Not Us? He lives outside of Boston, Massachusetts.