An Imaginary Conversation with Muhammad Ali

Disclaimer 1 (November 2015): I have never met Muhammad Ali and he probably does not know who I am. The contents of this book are, as the title says, purely imaginary - which is not to say fictitious, for Ali and I are real people, and there is no "story" here, only social, political, literary, and cultural criticism and commentary, presented as if it were a conversation between us two. The annotations are all editorial additions.

Disclaimer 2 (August 2016): Muhammad Ali died in June 2016 when this book was in the final stages of preparation. I would have liked to send him a copy. Even though I never met him, I miss him, and I hope his life was really as wonderful as I think it was. In his honor, nothing in our imaginary conversation has been changed from before he died. Let us not mourn his death, but celebrate his life, as if he would live forever, at least in the spirit of all that is truly decent and human.