Of those sports journalists who have covered Muhammad Ali throughout his turbulent career, Robert Lipsyte consistently has provided the most lucid and perceptive accounts. Neither siding with critics who castigated Ali during his exile from boxing, nor accepting without reservation the bombast of Ali's mythologizers, Mr. Lipsyte's portraits of the heavyweight champion have been both revealing and temperate. Its brevity notwithstanding, "Free to Be Muhammad Ali" adheres to those standards….

What one finally derives from this slim biography is a sense not only of Ali's mercurial personality, but also of the affection and respect the author feels for him as an athlete and as a man. Without suppressing Ali's largesse and athletic ability or his hucksterism, Mr. Lipsyte presents a thoughtful, complex portrait of one of America's greatest athletes. He does so with taste and an honest resolve to delve beyond the usual level of puffery and jock hype, which in his own field makes him almost as unique as Ali.