TAO OF BRUCE LEE & TAO OF MUHAMMAD ALI: AUTOGRAPHED Bestselling Ali & Lee Books

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TAO OF BRUCE LEE & TAO OF MUHAMMAD ALI: AUTOGRAPHED Bestselling Ali & Lee Books :
$29.99

AUTOGRAPHED by the author Davis Miller for the person who buys these books. Companion #1 international bestsellers and fine, fun reads that have been beautifully well reviewed.

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REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS OF The Tao of Muhammad Ali AND OF The Tao of Bruce Lee:

Andrew Martin, (London)Independent(book of the week):

Ranks among the best of contemporary American writing.

Tim Kawakami,Los Angeles Times:

Nobody has ever written so purely about Ali before.Maybe no one has ever written so purely about anyone.

FHM:

An instant classic.

Joyce Carol Oates:

What brilliant stories these are!Davis Miller writes profoundly and beautifully.

Glenn Stout, Editor,The Best American Sports Writing:

The Tao of Muhammad Aliresonates with wisdom.This is the single best sports story I\'ve ever read.The book is a classic, part of the standard against which I\'ll measure all other sports writing.

Matthew DeAbitua,Esquire:

Miller\'s astounding book, more in the tradition of writers such as Tobias Wolff, Richard Ford and Tim O\'Brien than that of mere biographies, is a seminal interpretation of fame, how it affects both those who have it and those who live in its shadow.

Daily Telegraph:

Miller is Ali\'s spiritual Boswell.A compelling, strange and beautiful book.

Michael Mulhall,Times Literary Supplement:

Filled with the clarity of ordinary human experience.Miller\'s best writing occurs when he recalls periods of his life when Ali was not part of it, for example the buzz of early journalistic successes or the sudden illness that took his father\'s life.After all, the real Zen lesson to be learned from a man like Ali, Miller argues, has nothing to do with lionizing the mighty infallible heroes whom we aspire to be.It is, instead, about living with the potent fallibility of ourselves.

Tom Shroder, from theMiami Herald\'s Pulitzer Prize nomination:
When this manuscript arrived at our offices, we were floored by its extraordinary insight, unprecedented intimacy, and unexpected conclusions.Miller has elevated lowly celebrity journalism to the level of timeless literature.It is an honor to nominate his story for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing.

Simon Holt,Glasgow(Scotland)Herald:

It is rare that a book, especially a sporting book, can move a grown man to tears.In his quite wonderful story,The Tao of Muhammad Ali, Davis Miller finds inspiration and not distress in Ali\'s condition.You may rightly deduce that this is not your usual sporting book.The subject matter is altogether broader:it is the only sports book I\'ve ever read which seems important.

John Colquhoun,Scotland on Sunday:

My New Year\'s resolution:Do not leave mobile telephones on public transport.Do not purchase compact discs on the strength of one single.Do work hard to write a book that I can pretend is half as good asThe Tao of Muhammad Aliby Davis Miller.

Maxim:

(four-star review) Inspired by Ali, Miller began practicing martial arts, drove himself to become a writer and finally met, sparred and befriended his idol.Miller\'s tale is inspiring, beautifully written and keenly insightful about himself, Ali and the nature of hero worship.

Sharon Barnes,indublinmagazine, Dublin, Ireland (book of the fortnight):

The classification on the cover is \'Biography/Sport.\'I think the author might demur at this.In its painfully honest self-scrutiny, the story is also accomplished autobiography; and the moving portrait of Davis\'s father gives us at least one other hero.There is occasionally a Messianic tone to the writing, but this is nicely counterbalanced by the sheer sense of fun displayed by the Champ, and his willing playmate.

Playfulness becomes a serious issue here as life throws knock-out punches at all contenders and the late 20th century, here charted in all its fast-forward mayhem, is analysed for its lasting values.The sort of thinking which has other journalists regarding Ali as a mere has-been has galvanised an indignant Davis into proving that some heroes are greater than the sum of their parts; and in identifying the need -- at once human and transcendent -- to admire and emulate, (Davis) fights a corner for all of us.

Newcastle Upon Tyne(England)Journal:

(Ali\'s) charisma and achievements have inspired some of the finest writing by the likes of Norman Mailer and Hunter Thompson.The Tao of Muhammad Ali. . . easily earns Miller a place alongside these benchmark writers.This is more love story than conventional biography.It is impossible to imagine either a more intimate, revealing portrait of Ali or a better example of sports writing.

The Crack(England):
Written in pithy prose, this journey to enlightenment via friendship with Muhammad Ali is a moving reflection on the joy and pain of modern life, and what it costs to survive.Davis Miller\'sThe Tao of Muhammad Alihumanizes a modern hero and discovers how life can be stranger than fiction.(A new)Herman Hesse anyone?

Cork(Ireland)Examiner:

With its honest self-analysis, and the sublimity of Davis\' relationship with his own father, there is more than one hero in this story, just as the theme of fathers and sons underpins the whole.

Davis takes interesting risks with the fullness of the portrait he paints.We see Ali free, for precious moments, of debilitating tremors, playfully throwing punches, performing magic tricks, playing practical jokes.Children are often present when this transformation occurs:As Ali says, \"They\'re angels in exile.Children are so close to God, they haven\'t had time to separate from him.\"

Davis\' own young son Isaac swears he has seen Ali fly.Who are we to doubt an angel in exile?

Art Taylor,The Spectator:

The beauty of this daringly different book arises from the interconnectedness between Ali and the young man who chose to follow in the way of Ali.The heart of the book can be found in its lyricism, its spiritual sense of seeking and striving, its uncommon approach to the everyday questions of existence and its defiant originality.The Tao of Muhammad Aliis, in the best senses of the word, organic:It grows at a steady pace beyond the bounds of easy description, beyond classification, reaching for its own greatness.

H.A. Branham,Tampa Tribune:

The author tells us more about Ali than perhaps anyone ever has.Or ever will.In the process, Davis Miller also tells us much about himself.A funny thing happens while following Miller on his (journey):Miller\'s alignment with Ali makes you envious, but leaves you awed.And, at some point, Miller takes on a bit of an aura, as well.The book starts with one hero.It ends with two.Davis Miller?My man.

(London)Times:

Beautifully recalled, tenderly told meetings with Ali.Not Ali in his strutting pomp, but as the seraphic person he became in illness.Not a pitiable character, in Miller\'s view:but a saintly one.

Halifax(England)Evening Courier:

The best book on the subject -- and whole forests have died to publish material on Ali.

A beautiful, inspiring, and fantastically readable book.

Mel Christle,Dublin(Ireland)Evening Herald:

In beautifully written prose, Miller charts his life\'s progress, from childhood to his present day, through a series of epiphanies with Ali, his all time hero.This is one of the most intelligent publications of recent years.Neither a biography or an autobiography, it is an account of the intersection of two lives, one globally celebrated, the other more humble.I\'ve distributed about half a dozen copies (of the book) so far and received as many back as gifts.Spread the word.

Review Highlights ofInternational Bestseller

Tao of Bruce Lee:a martial arts memoir

Ted Leventhal,Booklist(starred review):
This fantastic second book by Miller runs deeper than an account of the author growing up as a \"karate kid\" in the 1970s.It is equally a study of the nature and role of the hero in popular culture, a poignant and unusual coming-of-age story, and an informative biography of Bruce Lee.

(London)Times:

A martial arts Nick Hornby (High Fidelity,Fever Pitch, About a Boy), Miller bulks up with a punishing regimen and reads everything he can by or about Lee, discovering a personal philosophy that allows him to grow as an adult and feel secure in himself.Miller is illuminating about the ability to transform oneself no matter what the circumstances.

San Francisco Chronicle(editors\' recommendation of the week):

Bruce Lee freed Miller to transform himself from someone his high school classmates called \"Fetus,\" and shut inside lockers for fun, into a sinewy, 140-pound kickboxer.

In the section solely about Lee, Miller usefully debunks numerous myths about the martial artist\'s life, and especially about his strange death with his mistress.(At the end of the book,) one gets the impression that, in future stories, Miller has lots more to say about his idols, who are always with him.

Richard Martyn,Toronto Star:

Quite inspirational . . . With the publication of his second book, Miller continues to invent a powerful new form of writing.

Tony Parsons, authorMan and Boy, (London)Daily Mail:

I loved Davis Miller\'sThe Tao of Bruce Lee, a book about hero worship.

Library Journal:

During his adolescent years, the diminutive, troubled Miller was probably the only guy on the planet who could have had the hurt put on him by the 98-pound weakling of Charles Atlas ads. Then came Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee.Miller devoted his life to the martial arts and in the process discovered that he did, indeed, have a life.After telling his own story, Miller attends to Lee\'s saga, gently debunking many myths.

Waikato(New Zealand)Times:
Part autobiography, part biography, part confession, part revelation.Miller details in compelling and tender fashion how his discovery of Lee, initially through the film \"Enter the Dragon,\" transformed him from a reclusive, hesitant 90-pound college student to a confident, successful adult.In doing so, Miller brilliantly shows why Lee and the mystique that still surrounds him became the prime factor in why there are now twenty million martial arts students in the U.S. alone.Yet, it\'s the first half of the book, the stories about Miller\'s own life, that makes this homage so noteworthy.

Ron Shelton, director and writer,Cobb, Blaze, Bull Durham:

Davis Miller is singlehandedly, brilliantly, and beautifully reinventing memoir, biography, and coming-of-age books.

Ed Bumgardner,Winston-Salem Journal:

The book -- part autobiography, part biography, part philosophical guidepost -- is an an often poignant, always potent narrative, a spiritual purging and rebirth.Miller has created the place where New Journalism comfortably collides with classic reporting and timeless storytelling.

From one perspective, the resulting tale extends, and brings into sharper focus, Miller\'s Everyman quest for identity and his odyssey toward enlightenment.

Times Literary Supplement:

A combination of memoir, essay and magazine feature.Miller\'s approach combines affection and iconoclasm.He is good on Lee\'s cross-cultural borrowings and the very American process of self-creation.Surprisingly engaging.

Sunday Telegraph(Sydney, Australia):

Miller writes with elegance, insight and beauty.

Terry Peters,Vancouver(Canada)North Shore News:

Miller tells of his own transformation from withdrawn weakling into martial art enthusiast.His story of growth with its own pitfalls makes for great reading.As we see the powerful effect of a contemporary icon on an obsessed fan, Miller\'s tale intertwines with Lee\'s -- one offering insight into the other.(One result) is a very fresh look at a man who will forever be the benchmark for martial actors.

Joe Tougas,Mankato(Minnesota)Free Press:

Unlike writers who make the readers do the work, Miller\'s nonfiction has a style that pulls the reader into the story in a way that seems automatic or to use his description, natural.He achieves this through the use of first-person narrative and without the use of literary snobbery.Lee Smith,Slatemagazine:

. . . a really interesting, beautifully written book with amazingly random but cool distinctions like:Lee was a Confucian in a Taoist\'s clothing.

Bill Ott,Booklist:

Whether describing how a viewing of Lee\'s \"Enter the Dragon\" changed his life or dispelling many of the myths behind the Lee legend, Miller manages to turn the story of two lives into a fascinating study of the nature of the hero in popular culture.