Originally a photojournalist, whose images went some way to defining the Civil Rights movement in American history, Bill Peronneau later began to work on large-scale projects, including a series of seascapes that arguably stand comparison with the finest works in photography. Self taught, his work is held in many collections, including the Brooklyn Museum, New York, and Washington’s Library of Congress.

This series of 26 previously unpublished, stunning, intimate portraits reveal an unfamiliar Muhammad Ali, one who had left behind the rage and the glory, the fast-talking megalomania. They were taken in 1974 at Deer Lake, Pennsylvania, while Ali was preparing…

Originally a photojournalist, whose images went some way to defining the Civil Rights movement in American history, Bill Peronneau later began to work on large-scale projects, including a series of seascapes that arguably stand comparison with the finest works in photography. Self taught, his work is held in many collections, including the Brooklyn Museum, New York, and Washington’s Library of Congress.

This series of 26 previously unpublished, stunning, intimate portraits reveal an unfamiliar Muhammad Ali, one who had left behind the rage and the glory, the fast-talking megalomania. They were taken in 1974 at Deer Lake, Pennsylvania, while Ali was preparing for his legendary world heavyweight contest with George Foreman in Zaire. Amazingly, the images have waited almost thirty years for publication in this limited edition book, exquisitely printed by Stamperia Valdonega of Verona at the photographer’s insistence.