The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey

by Muhammad Ali and Hana Yasmeen Ali

Book Overview

"During my boxing career, you did not see the real Muhammad Ali. You just saw a little boxing. You saw only a part of me. After I retired from boxing my true work began. I have embarked on a journey of love."So Muhammad Ali begins this spiritual memoir, his description of the values that have shaped and sustained him and that continue to guide his life. InThe Soul of a Butterflythe great champion takes readers on a spiritual journey through the seasons...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743255690
• ISBN13: 9780743255691
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 221 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Still "The Greatest" Hero the Modern World has Known

This beautiful summary of Ali's life is not just a gift to his kids but to all of America as well. In his own simple words, Ali shares with us his greatest triumphs and his worse agonies. It is all done with the same Ali, verve, upbeat spirit, and of course with smatterings of his homespun poetry. It is a superb collection of wisdom and witticisms that greatly enriches all who read them. The arc of the amplitude of his life is breathtakingly wide in scope. And I am fortunate in having had the good luck to have met him on three different occasions, and to have been touched by his style, grace and confidence on many others. All have been memorable experiences for me personally. Some of the things he shares in this short volume come as a surprise even to me, one who kept up with his career almost religiously. For instance, I never knew that the Nation of Islam was against his refusal to go to Vietnam, and that he was expelled from the sect as a result of it? Nor did I know that he was refused a seat in a Louisville restaurant in 1960 while holding both the key to the city and while wearing his Olympic Gold Medal? Nor did I even know that he had actually denounced Malcolm X and "sided" with Elijah Muhammad in the feud between his two spiritual leaders: the feud that ended in Malcolm's death? Nor did I know that he was a Sunni Moslem? Or that he had thrown his Olympic Gold Medal into the Ohio River? Although the book only reflects it indirectly, Ali is proof, that, whether black or white, we are all still part of the "American racial holocaust": A part of the Big American racial lie. The truths that Ali could not reveal directly in this book is common knowledge to all the world, that: America hated Ali the same way it hated Dr. Martin Luther King, not for his arrogance, nor for his refusal to go to the war, but for being a proud black warrior in a "white only world." And then he used his pride and his boxing skills to take over the stage of America's drama of heroism, formerly reserved for white males only (or occasionally for others designated American "sanctioned Heroes," of which Ali clearly was not one). America's highly touted religion freedoms ceased to apply when this "proud black warrior" at center stage in the American drama, where he was not supposed to be, chose to exercise that freedom to, first become a Muslim, and then to refuse to go to war to kill others at the U.S. behest. For exercising his religious freedom in these two ways, many interpreted both of his actions as the supreme insult to the nation's sensibilities. As a result, America tried to take away everything he had: his livelihood, his title, his fame, his money, the best years of his youth, his pride, his confidence: I know, I visited him in his home in Chicago during the Christmas of 1969 when he was in the deepest part of his "in country exile." But even though they took away everything else, they could not take away his pride or his confidence or his belief in his new

The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on a life's journey

It is very heartening to feel the gentleness and deep caring for humanity from such a powerful man like Mohamed Ali. Reading of this book fills you with hope, love and light.

Great Read

It is a wonderful book to read, it brings into context the man behind that face that shook the world. It is a spiritual journey into Muhammad's soul, a man that has devoted his life to helping others and to standing behind what he believed in. A great book to make you feel good about the world.

A quick, revealing and moving read

I bought this book because I was a big Muhammad Ali fan--not only of his boxing, but of his life--and found that I am a bigger fan for having read it. There are great messages spread like little nuggets of knowledge throughout the book. Ali says the way he judges if he's doing and good with his life is by asking himself if he would be happy with the way he lived today if he died tonight? His life story is broken up with mini lessons from Sufi wisdom and other teachings that apply to his life. Ali speaks with great depth about his relationship with God and elaborates his thoughts on the role of religion in our lives. One of his great messages is a message of tolerance (he says no one religion is better than the other and they all have the same basic messages, to love our fellow humans). And while this book is not written with the hand of a literary pro, that might be what's best about it. It's a simple read from a complex man. The book is moving and worth a little time and thought.

We can learn a lot from this man

I have always been curious about the man who calls himself Muhammad Ali. Curiousity then turned into fascination when I saw Will Smith's fantastic portrayal of Ali. And then finally, When I saw this book I felt the urge to read it. The book is nothing short of fantastic. It takes you on a journey through the remarkable learnings of this great man and moves you to tears at some points. It's not a very intense read and as the publisher mentions, its more of a compilation of abstract values Ali has learned and picked up over his life. He talks about these values and peppers them with anectodes and incidents in his life. Whatever you may think of this man, this books is as close to heart as it gets. I was touched by his honesty and and simple logic to life. It will show you a man who is a giant. A giant with the soul of a butterfly. No matter who you are or where you are from or what you think of Ali, you can benefit from this book. If only to show you a side of Ali you never saw or (like me) be taken through a powerful journey, this book will be a great read for you.