The Time a Legend-to-Be Helped an Icon Produce an Autobiography

A true and little-known tale about Toni Morrison

By Andrew Sanger

When Random House scored the rights to Muhammad Ali’s autobiography in 1970, they knew they had struck gold. At that time, Ali held an unparalleled level of worldwide fame (or infamy, considering his conflicts with the U.S. government) and was already widely thought of as one of the greatest athletes of all time. The book was a surefire hit. All Random House had to do was find the right…