On One-Year Anniversary of Muhammad Ali’s Death, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Author Launches Podcast that Goes Behind-the-Scenes of His Forthcoming Ali Biography

BOSTON – Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is set to publish the definitive biography of boxing legend and American icon Muhammad Ali, ALI: A Life by best-selling author Jonathan Eig, on October 3. But for those who can’t wait until the fall, Eig is launching a podcast, “Chasing Ali,” on June 3, the one-year anniversary of Ali’s death. In the podcast episodes, Eig shares some of the amazing, sad, and funny stories from the making of the book, offering a glimpse into why it will be a must-read.

"Finally, after so many works focusing on this fight or that, the whole man, the whole life, is presented here. And what a revelation it is,” Ken Burns raves about the book. Eig breaks new ground with this comprehensive biography, radically reshaping our understanding of Muhammad Ali. Eig had access to all the key people in Ali’s life, including his three surviving wives and his managers. He also had access to thousands of pages of new FBI and Justice Department files, as well dozens of hours of newly discovered audiotaped interviews from the 1960s. Eig reveals Ali in the complexity he deserves, shedding important new light on his politics and his neurological condition. In one of the first podcast episodes, “A Blow to the Head,” Eig shares why his interview with ring doctor Ferdie Pacheco was like taking a punch to the kidneys—and what he learned about Ali’s early signs of traumatic brain injury.

The podcast will be available on Eig’s website and at ChasingAliThePodcast.com starting June 3. ALI: A Life will be available wherever books are sold on October 3.

About Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade Publishing

For nearly two centuries, HMH Trade Publishing has published some of the world’s most renowned novels, nonfiction, children’s books, and reference works. As part of a leading global learning company, it is uniquely positioned to offer educational and entertaining content for all audiences. Its distinguished author list includes ten Nobel Prize winners, forty-eight Pulitzer Prize winners, fifteen National Book Award winners, and more than one hundred Caldecott, Newbery, Printz, and Sibert Medal and Honor recipients. HMH publishes such distinguished authors as Philip Roth, Temple Grandin, Tim O'Brien, and Amos Oz, and a celebrated roster of children’s authors and illustrators including Kwame Alexander, Lois Lowry, and Chris Van Allsburg. HMH is also home to The Best American series®; The Whole30®, Weber Grill, Betty Crocker®, Better Homes and Gardens®, How to Cook Everything®, and other leading lifestyle properties; the Peterson Field Guides®; CliffsNotes™; books by J.R.R. Tolkien; and many iconic children’s books and characters, including Curious George®, The Little Prince, and The Polar Express. For more information, visit www.hmhco.com/popular-reading.