The Fight

From one of the major innovators of New Journalism, Norman Mailer's The Fight is the real-life story of a clash between two of the world's greatest boxers, both in and out of the ring, published in Penguin Modern Classics. Norman Mailer's The Fight focuses on the 1974 World Heavyweight Boxing Championship in Kinshasa, Zaire. Muhammad Ali met George Foreman in the ring. Foreman's genius employed silence, serenity and cunning. He had never been defeated. His hands were his instrument, and 'he kept them in his pockets the way a hunter lays his rifle back into its velvet case'. Together the two men made boxing history in an explosive meeting of two great minds, two iron wills and monumental egos. '"If ever a fighter had been able to demonstrate that boxing was a twentieth-century art, it must be Ali", says Norm, and his achievement in this masterly book is of a similar order, demonstrating that writing about sport can also be a twentieth-century art' Geoff Dyer, New Statesman 'Probably no one has written about boxing better than Mailer has' Guardian

From one of the major innovators of New Journalism, Norman Mailer's The Fight is the real-life story of a clash between two of the world's greatest boxers, both in and out of the ring, published in Penguin Modern Classics. Norman Mailer's The Fight focuses on the 1974 World Heavyweight Boxing Championship in Kinshasa, Zaire. Muhammad Ali met George Foreman in the ring. Foreman's genius employed silence, serenity and cunning. He had never been defeated. His hands were his instrument, and 'he kept them in his pockets the way a hunter lays his rifle back into its velvet case'. Together the two men made boxing history in an explosive meeting of two great minds, two iron wills and monumental egos. '"If ever a fighter had been able to demonstrate that boxing was a twentieth-century art, it must be Ali", says Norm, and his achievement in this masterly book is of a similar order, demonstrating that writing about sport can also be a twentieth-century art' Geoff Dyer, New Statesman 'Probably no one has written about boxing better than Mailer has' Guardian

In 1974 in Kinshasa, Za re, two African American boxers were paid five million dollars apiece to fight each other. One was Muhammad Ali, the aging but irrepressible "professor of boxing." The other was George Foreman, who was as taciturn as Ali was voluble. Observing them was Norman Mailer, a commentator of unparalleled energy, acumen, and audacity. Whether he is analyzing the fighters' moves, interpreting their characters, or weighing their competing claims on the African and American souls, Mailer's grasp of the titanic battle's feints and stratagems--and his sensitivity to their deeper symbolism--makes this book a masterpiece of the literature of sport. Praise for The Fight "Exquisitely refined and attenuated . . . a] sensitive portrait of an extraordinary athlete and man, and a pugilistic drama fully as exciting as the reality on which it is based." -- The New York Times "One of the defining texts of sports journalism. Not only does Mailer recall the violent combat with a scholar's eye . . . he also makes the whole act of reporting seem as exciting as what's occurring in the ring." -- GQ "Stylistically, Mailer was the greatest boxing writer of all time." --Chuck Klosterman, Esquire "One of Mailer's finest books." --Louis Menand, The New Yorker Praise for Norman Mailer " Norman Mailer] loomed over American letters longer and larger than any other writer of his generation." -- The New York Times "A writer of the greatest and most reckless talent." -- The New Yorker "Mailer is indispensable, an American treasure." -- The Washington Post "A devastatingly alive and original creative mind." -- Life "Mailer is fierce, courageous, and reckless and nearly everything he writes has sections of headlong brilliance." -- The New York Review of Books "The largest mind and imagination in modern] American literature . . . Unlike just about every American writer since Henry James, Mailer has managed to grow and become richer in wisdom with each new book." -- Chicago Tribune "Mailer is a master of his craft. His language carries you through the story like a leaf on a stream." -- The Cincinnati Post

In 1974 in Kinshasa, Za re, two African American boxers were paid five million dollars apiece to fight each other. One was Muhammad Ali, the aging but irrepressible "professor of boxing." The other was George Foreman, who was as taciturn as Ali was voluble. Observing them was Norman Mailer, a commentator of unparalleled energy, acumen, and audacity. Whether he is analyzing the fighters' moves, interpreting their characters, or weighing their competing claims on the African and American souls, Mailer's grasp of the titanic battle's feints and stratagems--and his sensitivity to their deeper symbolism--makes this book a masterpiece of the literature of sport. Praise for The Fight "Exquisitely refined and attenuated . . . a] sensitive portrait of an extraordinary athlete and man, and a pugilistic drama fully as exciting as the reality on which it is based." -- The New York Times "One of the defining texts of sports journalism. Not only does Mailer recall the violent combat with a scholar's eye . . . he also makes the whole act of reporting seem as exciting as what's occurring in the ring." -- GQ "Stylistically, Mailer was the greatest boxing writer of all time." --Chuck Klosterman, Esquire "One of Mailer's finest books." --Louis Menand, The New Yorker Praise for Norman Mailer " Norman Mailer] loomed over American letters longer and larger than any other writer of his generation." -- The New York Times "A writer of the greatest and most reckless talent." -- The New Yorker "Mailer is indispensable, an American treasure." -- The Washington Post "A devastatingly alive and original creative mind." -- Life "Mailer is fierce, courageous, and reckless and nearly everything he writes has sections of headlong brilliance." -- The New York Review of Books "The largest mind and imagination in modern] American literature . . . Unlike just about every American writer since Henry James, Mailer has managed to grow and become richer in wisdom with each new book." -- Chicago Tribune "Mailer is a master of his craft. His language carries you through the story like a leaf on a stream." -- The Cincinnati Post