Valerie Jackson In Conversation with Jonathan Eig, Author of ‘Ali: A Life’

In this installment of “Valerie Jackson In Conversation,” we talk with New York Times best-selling biographer, Jonathan Eig, who has written on the lives of Lou Gehrig, Al Capone and Jackie Robinson.

His latest book is”Ali: A Life.”  Eig has worked with Ken Burns to produce a documentary of Ali’s politics, religion, and personal life.  His story of Muhammad Ali is unprecedented in its depth and truthful reveal of the whole man starting from his early years.

“We have a habit in this country of turning our heroes into saints and forgetting that they were human beings … and I think that’s a mistake,” Eig said. “I think when you do that to these figures, you lose touch with reality.  And Ali is great because anybody can imagine coming from the humble roots that he came from.  If you turn him into a superhero, then nobody can relate to him anymore.”