BLACK IS BEST

And the best one can expect from a book about a sports figure--this book delivers. It's the story of the young Greatest himself--Cassius Clay, and opens with a wild but friendly scene in the slums of Miami where Clay gathered the faithful together to ask again who the Greatest really is. Olsen offers an honest, well composed account that penetrates where the possibilities for depth exist but is lively and sure-footed where the going is gritty but superficial. He K.O.'s Clay's Muslim beliefs head on as well as some deadly truths about his intelligence, but he retains his affection for the Champeen: his childish wit, his cagey self-promotion, and his passion over the plight of the black man in America. You'll remember the trip up from the Southern training camp with Clay and Company and a diverting automobile ride through St. Louis (Home of the Greatest) with Cassius Clay, Sr. Up for the count.