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Kareem mainly wrote this book but others piRaymond Obstfeld contributed to the creation of this book. He is a writer of poetry, non-fiction, fiction, and screenplays as well as a professor of English at Orange Coast College. He was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on January 22, 1952 and graduated from Loyalsock High School in 1969.

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Abdul-Jabbar's mother, who was of Cherokee descent, was 5-feet-11-inches tall. His grandfather, a native of Trinidad, was 6-feet-8-inches tall. His great grandfather was 6-feet-2-inches tall.

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Abdul-Jabbar was 22" inches long and 12 lb 11 oz at birth. His height was due to genetics and not luck. On page 2 he says "My height is a matter of genetics. Can't take any credit there." (page 2)

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Abdul-Jabbar was born in Harlem, New York City, NY and he was an only child of Lewis Sr. and Cora Alcindor (his parents). As a child and as a young man Abdul-Jabbar went by the name of Lew Alcindor. "First, I was born in Harlem, which has been the capital of the African-American community since the start of the Harlem Renaissance back in the 1920s." (page 4)
Link to a article about Abdul-Jabbar childhood: https://sports.jrank.org/pages/23/Abdul-Jabbar-Kareem-Childhood-Big-Man.html

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Since he was a little kid Abdul-Jabbar always wanted to be a basketball player. "I love basketball. I love the camaraderie and the scene of communal purpose I get from working with dedicated teammates toward a common goal." (page 4)

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Jazz was type of music Abdul-Jabbar was most passionate for because of the playfulness of it. "Jazz ia an original African-American art form, so my passion for it is both because of the intensity and playfulness of the music, as well as its importance in black history." (page 4)

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Abdul-Jabbar met Martin Luther King Jr. in the summer of 1964. He had come to speak to participants of the HARYOU ACT and Kareem was one of them.

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Abdul-Jabbar played basketball for Power Memorial. "Kareem perfects his hook shot while playing for the Power Memorial, c 1964. The shot, later called the "skyhook" because of Kareem's ability to leap so high while launching it, became unstoppable during his amateur and professional career." (page 181) Link to a youtube video on Abdul-Jabbar's hook shot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTL8dW6PqPE

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Kareem's height made it very challenging for other players to get the ball from him. "Kareem's height made it inevitable that he would give basketball a chance." Link to an article about his age, wife, and stats: https://www.biography.com › athlete › kareem-abdul-jabbar

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Kareem was an avid reader and read whenever he had the chance to. "Teenage Kareem riding the subway. As a youth, Kareem was an avid reader, exceptional student, and burgeoning journalist. He spent many hours at the library studying the harlem Renaissance." (page 182)

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Kareem did very well in high school and he realized that his school did not offer a lot on African-American history. "Despite his realization that the school offered very little teaching about African-American history or culture, Kareem was an accomplished student, earning high grades." (page 17)

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Kareem's former wife was Habiba Abdul-Jabbar. They were married May 1971 and divorced in 1978. He had three of his children while married to Habiba (Habiba, Sultana and Kareem, Jr). He also had 2 other wives.

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Abdul-Jabbar played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. Kareem Abdul‐Jabbar was the Los Angeles Lakers' 7‐foot‐2‐inch center and the National Basketball Association's most valuable player in five of his twenty seasons.

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Kareem often felt out of place because there was only one black teacher. "With only one black teacher at the Catholic school, Kareem often felt out of place."

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Kareem had a friend named Michael Bendik and they used to play around all the time. "Kareem and friend Michael Bendik playing around" (Page 180)

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Kareem attended University of California, Los Angeles.

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Abdul-Jabbar won 5 Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards and finished as the league's all-time scorer. He retired in 1989 and is widely considered one of the greatest players in NBA history.

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Kareem's first name was Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr. He changed it when he converted to became Muslim.

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Kareem had 5 children, 2 daughters
(Sultana Abdul-Jabbar and Habiba Abdul-Jabbar) and 3 sons (Amir Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Jr., and Adam Abdul-Jabbar).

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Kareem was Christian before he went to UCLA. He believed that Christianity was for white people and he did not belong. So he changed to become Muslim. Link to article on his religious conversion: http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/3/why-i-converted-to-islam.html

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He has been diagnosed with a form of blood cancer (Chronic Myeloid Leukemia). It is no longer considered a death sentence. Link to a article on his sickness: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/10/abdul.jabbar.cancer/index.html