SOUL OF A BUTTERFLY Reflections on Life's Journey

Muhammad Ali’s memoir focuses largely on his spiritual evolution from his childhood to his years as a boxing star, through fatherhood and into his role as a Parkinson’s disease advocate and peace activist. Ali shows a depth to his character that is not reflected well in the late Ossie Davis’s reading, which is largely one-dimensional in its portrayal of Ali as egocentric and a bit slow. Ali’s simple prose is sprinkled with his boxing poetry, some read by Davis and some read by Ali’s daughter Hana. Hana’s reading is a bit forced, with the exception of a heartfelt letter to her dad she reads at the book’s conclusion. Ali has a lot of interesting things to say and a solid philosophy toward life, but his ideas are diluted by a lackluster reading. H.L.S. 2005 Audie Award Finalist © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE/JULY 05]