A really dense book and insightful book on what made Muhammad Ali, The Muhammad Ali.

On Ali during interviews - " In fact, I remember a fight we had here in the Garden; Ali against Zora Folley. Cosell was doing an interview: Ali was giving him a hard time; and finally Cosell accused him of being truculent. Ali just looked at him and it was a wonderful moment-Ali looked Cosell right in the eye, and said, 'I don't know what truculent means, but if it's good, that's me. Howard was just a supporting actor. Ali was the star, and he worked Cosell beautifully."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Muhammad Ali- "I remember being very flattered and proud to be invited to the meeting, because these were professional athletes and I was just in college. And I was a hundred percent behind Muhammad's protesting what I thought was an unjust war. Jim Brown took the lead in the discussion, but he kept it as an open forum. He told us that our stature as heroes in the black community could help gather support for Ali. But Ali didn't need our help. because as far as the black community was concerned, he already had everybody's heart. He gave so many people courage to test the system. A lot of us didn't think he could do it, but he did and succeeded every time.

"Several years after that, I converted to Islam. My own decision wasn't influenced by Ali. I knew a lot of people who were in the Nation, and it just didn't appeal to me. I thought that what Malcolm was talking about was a much purer ideal. I never met Malcolm; his autobiography was what turned me around. Still, there's no doubt in my mind that public acceptance of what I did was greater because Muhammad lay the groundwork before me. He was, and is, one of my heroes. To do what he did outside the ring, on top of being a brilliant one-of-a-kind athlete, that's a very hard hat to wear, and he wore it like he was born with it on."

Ali's Interactions with Children -"There was a boy, maybe twelve years old He was in one of the local hospitals, dying of leukemia, and he asked his father if it would be possible to visit Deer Lake to see Ali. The father told me later that he'd been reluctant to do it because he didn't like Ali, but this was his son and the boy was dying. I happened to be in the front of the camp when the man drove up. He left his boy in the car, came over to me and said, Pardon me, Mister 1 don't know whether this is possible, but I know the champ trains here. Do you think there's any way he could see my son? He's dying of leukemia. The doctors say he doesn't have long to live.' I said 'Sure, he'll see him.' Now, this boy, from the treatments, he'd lost his hair and he was like a rail, very thin. He looked like he was dying. I took him and his father into the gym. Ali had just finished training. He was in the dressing room, so I knocked on the door. went in, and explained the situation. And the champ told me, 'Bring the boy in. Well, he spent all afternoon, talking with that boy playing with him, joking with him. The boy went back to the hospital after that. But the father came to see me later, almost in tears. He told me, "Mister, I never liked Ali. I've hated him ever since 1 knew about him. I was always hoping someone would beat him, and beat him badly. But I'll never forget what he did for my son. He's a good man, and I'm sorry for the way I felt about him.'

"So that was Ali. He loved everyone. And for me, the time that showed it best was once they brought some children up to the camp, children who can't control themselves. They slobbered at the mouth; cerebral palsy, 1 think it was. Ali stopped training, got out of the ring, grabbed each one of those kids. And you know, if they tried to kiss me I'd probably have pulled away, but he kissed each one of them dead on the mouth, slobber all over him. The kids were laughing, waiting to be kissed by this man, and you could see how much they loved him."

Ali on People: "I like traveling because it gives me a chance to meet people and see different things. There are billions of people in the world, and every one of them is special. No one else in the world is like you. No one else looks the same. Everyone has two eyes and a nose and mouth and ears, but the way they're arranged makes their faces different. No two people are the same. Ain't that amazing? Billions of people, and every one of them is special."

Ramsey Clark(Boxing Critic) on how Ali was different than everyone else: "But Muhammad Ali made an enormous difference. There was a quality of pure goodwill about him. There always has been, and I believe, always will be. Here was a young black man from American poverty. He could very easily have been embittered, hateful, racist. But through all his trials and tribulations, he never manifested any of those qualities, and when he spoke, he said loving things. In his mind, wishes came true, and that's the way a good portion of his life has been. He meant different things to different strata of American society. But to the poor, he meant you can do what you will: anything is possible."