BLOOD BROTHERS

The quiet convert Cassius Clay found strength in the magnetic Malcolm X, and each man helped one another ascend into the national spotlight. But, as Roberts shows, the connection between the two men could not survive the fraying of Malcolm X?s relationship with the Nation of Islam. In fact, Malcolm would not survive this fall-out at all.

Their story is told in three distinct scenes--first, the time leading up to the Sonny Liston-Cassius Clay fight of 1964, second, the middle of 1964 as they got ready to fight again, and finally the winter of 1965 when Liston fought Ali, who had converted to Islam and changed his name by that point.

Over this period of time we see not only a great change in each man, but a change in boxing forever. In truth, sports in general were never the same. Once Clay met Malcolm, the two great slogans of the second half of the American1960s---Black Power and Black is Beautiful--took shape in the relationship between Clay and Malcolm. From their initial meeting in a Detroit diner, the two men would quickly come to learn how much they needed, and could benefit from, one another’s friendship. But their closeness eventually devolves into Mohammed Ali's betrayal of Malcolm, which the authors argue led directly to Malcolm's murder.

Using a variety of sources--government documents, FBI files, new interviews, archival materials, the private papers of Malcolm, and the popular press—Roberts and Smith uncover a lot of fascinating new material in the story of a friendship that has only been written about briefly. The result is the fullest history of these two pivotal men and of the tumultuous 1960s in both sports and politics.

Randy Roberts is a historian who specializes in narrative writing and the role of sports in American society. His most recent book is Rising Tide: Bear Bryant, Joe Namath, and Dixie’s Last Quarter.

John Matthew Smith is an Assistant Professor of History at Georgia Tech. His work intersects the relationship between race, sports, and American culture. His first book is The Sons of Westwood: John Wooden, UCLA, and the Dynasty That Changed College Basketball.