The Greatest brings together Chris Smith’s photographs of Muhammad Ali with the photographer’s short texts and essays by Alon Zakaim and Paolo Hewitt. It was first published in 2024 by GOST Books, London.
Photographs, recollections and essays
The book moves between the gym, the ring and Ali’s public life. Its photographic sequences allow readers to compare moments: the concentration of training, the performance of a press encounter and the quieter details around a sporting celebrity.
Smith’s recollections provide one kind of context; the essays provide others. These are separately credited contributions, not a single text by the photographer. The book’s caption index is also useful for researching individual images, although any inconsistent date should be checked against further evidence.
The book and the prints are different objects
A photograph appearing in a book does not establish the edition, dimensions, signature or availability of a separately offered print. For those details, consult the relevant print page and enquire before ordering.
Start with Ali and The Beatles, then compare the training photographs and street scenes in the Muhammad Ali print collection.
Publication and further reading
See GOST Books’ listing for The Greatest for publisher information. This website does not reproduce the book’s essays or scanned page layouts.
Read Chris Smith’s biography, Chris Smith’s photographs at the 5th Street Gym and Ali away from the ring to explore the photographs in their different settings.
Reference: The Greatest (GOST Books, 2024), photographs and short texts by Chris Smith, with essays by Alon Zakaim and Paolo Hewitt. This article is original editorial writing, not an extract from the book.