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I read Robin Elliot's commentary on the new Muhammad Ali book the day after I saw for the first time "When We Were Kings," the story of the Ali-Foreman match in Zaire, and a movie that won the Academy Award for Best Documentary a while ago. The movie is excellent, by the way; Ali is an inspiring individual. And there is a nice "making of the movie" trailer at the end of the film that is basically an interview with the director. But as Elliot notes of the Ali book, there was virtually no mention of Ali's Parkinson's in either the movie (which makes some sense, since the movie is not about that) or the trailier--except for an elliptical remark by the director that "Ali's impairment is not mental, it's a motor skills deficit." I thought, that's a weird comment--both because it reduces Parkinson's to a simplistic level that is inaccurate, and also because the name of the disease is not even mentioned. Do the filmmakers assume that everyone knows Ali has Parkinson's? Neither is the topic raised in the interviews within the film with Norman Mailer, who supplies some otherwise wonderfully insightful perspectives, and George Plimpton. Rick Hermann 47, about a year Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 14:21:43 EDT >From: Parkinson's Disease Foundation <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: new book on ali; proceeds of benefit to PD research > >New York, October 23 --The publishers of a new book on Muhammad Ali threw a >spiffy launch party at a trendy downtown restaurant here yesterday evening. >Both Muhammad and Lonnie Ali were there to sign copies of the book, as was >author David Remnick, who is the new editor of the New Yorker magazine, and a >host of journalists and literati. > >The nice touch for listmembers and PD activists generally: the Alis had asked >that all proceeds of the bash (including sales of signed copies at $100 >apiece) go to support Parkinson's research--specifically, for the world-class >center for PD research at Emory University that is directed by Dr. Mahlon de >Long. (Incidentally, Emory is one of APDA's centers for advanced research in >Parkinson's disease; they should be proud of what their support has >accomplished.) > >It was good to see PD so highlighted at an event that is on its face far >removed from our field. We are all grateful to the Alis for all they have >done to raise the profile of PD in the world and to those in the >movement--especially our friends at the NPF--who have contributed so ably to >bringing this about. > >The book--King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero--is >published by Random House and retails at $25. (A Barnes and Noble rep I >talked to at the party told me it would be subject to their 10 percent >discount, bringing the price down to $22.50). I should warn you, however, >that the book contains virtually no discussion of Muhammad's Parkinson's. > >Robin Elliott, Executive Director, Parkinson's Disease Foundation > >