"An insightful portrait of Muhammed Ali from the New York Times bestselling author of At the Altar of Speed and The Big Bam. It centers on the cultural and political implications of Ali's refusal of service in the military--and the key moments in a life that was as high profile and transformative as any in the twentieth century. With the death of Muhammad Ali in June, 2016, the media and America in general have remembered a hero, a heavyweight champion, an Olympic gold medalist, an icon, and a man who represents the sheer greatness of America. New York Times bestselling author Leigh Montville goes deeper, with a fascinating chronicle of a story that has been largely untold. Muhammad Ali, in the late 1960s, was young, successful, brash, and hugely admired--but with some reservations. He was bombastic and cocky in a way that captured the imagination of America, but also drew its detractors. He was a bold young African American in an era when few people were as outspoken. He renounced his name--Cassius Clay--as being his 'slave name, ' and joined the Nation of Islam, renaming himself Muhammad Ali. And finally in 1966, after being drafted, he refused to join the military for religious and conscientious reasons, triggering a fight that was larger than any of his bouts in the ring. What followed was a period of legal battles, of cultural obsession, and in some ways of being the very embodiment of the civil rights movement located in the heart of one man. Muhammad Ali was the tip of the arrow, and Leigh Montville brilliantly assembles all the boxing, the charisma, the cultural and political shifting tides, and ultimately the enormous waft of entertainment that always surrounded Ali. Muhammed Ali vs. the United States of America is an important and incredibly engaging book"--

A fascinating and revealing look at the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. filtered through the prism of three major conflicts: the struggle between black and white America, divisiveness with the civil rights movement itself, and an undeclared war in Vietnam. A salute to a man who remains an inspiration and a force for social change nearly forty years after his death at age 39.

Looks at Muhammad Ali's historic Supreme Court battle from behind closed doors. When Ali was drafted into the Vietnam War at the height of his boxing career, his claim to conscientious objector status led to a controversial legal battle that rattled the U.S. judicial system right up to the highest court in the land. This HBO movie is a look at Muhammad Ali's historic Supreme Court battle for Conscientious Objector status to the Vietnam War, and a portrait of the changing tides of this country during that turbulent time. Guided by his principles, Ali refused induction into the Army, enduring a protracted legal battle that saw him convicted of draft evasion, stripped of his boxing title, and banned from the sport. Meanwhile, as anti-war sentiment grows across America, Chief Justice Warren Burger (FRANK LANGELLA) ushers in the dawn of a new conservative era on the Court. At the start of the 1970-71 term, his conservative compatriot, Justice John Harlan II (CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER), interviews left-leaning, anti-war Kevin Kennedy (BENJAMIN WALKER) to serve as his clerk. But for Harlan, a rigorous and fair-minded jurist, politics and personal opinion have no place in the law, and he hires Kennedy for his substantial intellect. When the Court hears Ali's case, the majority votes to deny Ali. Burger assigns Harlan to write the opinion, a task that Harlan passes along to Kennedy. Kennedy struggles with the decision, and in researching Ali's beliefs, Kennedy realizes that Ali does fulfill all the conditions for Conscientious Objector status. But when he presents his findings to Harlan, the Justice rejects his opinion. Unable to support what he feels is an unjust decision, Kennedy writes it as he is told but agonizes over his resignation letter. Harlan, recently diagnosed with cancer and facing the end of his career, is convinced to read the Black Muslims' leader Elijah Muhammad's book Message to the Blackman in America and subsequently reconsiders his passionate young clerk's recommendation. The usually stoic and careful Harlan flips his vote, creating a 4-4 tie. Knowing a tie vote will still result in Ali going to jail, Harlan lobbies the other Justices to find the decisive fifth vote. After Harlan's friend, Justice Potter Stewart, helps form a narrower opinion, the Justices, Warren Burger included, change their votes in order to overturn Ali's conviction. Ali goes on to win the World Champion title for the second time.

The courage and charisma of boxing legend Muhammad Ali are witnessed through the unlikely bond he formed with TV host Dick Cavett. Interweaving archival footage of Ali's many appearances with insights from authors, sports commentators and others, the film paints an illuminating portrait of a man whose impact on the civil rights movement rivals his feats in the boxing ring.