Ghosts of Manila: The Fateful Blood Feud Between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier by Mark Kram Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Ghosts of Manila: The Fateful Blood Feud Between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier
Book Review: the author is bitter and biased
Summary: 1 Stars
The reader will get the sense that the author Mark Kram is bitter and filled with contempt. He shrewdly attempts to downgrade Ali's essence simply because of his hidden racist ideologies. Don't buy it, there are many amazing books on Muhammad Ali, written by people who can absorb what Ali emanates and can put that into writing. But this one should be forgotten. He claims that Ali is NOT a hero because he hasn't done anything worthy of that title. So to read an entire book from an author who has no understanding of what makes a human being larger than life is a waste of money and time.Book Review: Compelling...Fascinating...An outstanding read...
Summary: 5 Stars
This simply one of the best sports books I've ever read. Covering one of the most fascinating rivalries to ever command our attention, Mr. Kram sheds a great deal of light on the subject. Much has been written lately about fighters of that era and of Muhammad Ali in particular. Seldom has the subject been covered this completely.
There's no lionizing here. Mr. Kram is fair to all parties. He covers not only Frazier and Ali but the era immediately preceding them. So many details previously not known are brought to light here.
The complex relationship between the two fighters, the fire that burned between them and what started that fire which had to do with much more than simply pre-fight hype and professional rivalries.
Mr. Kram takes us through every bit of it right up to and including "The Thrilla in Manila". That doesn't mean he stops there. He follows up and brings us to the present. So much has been written about Ali and much is written here. Seldom are we given such an extensive view of Joe Frazier, who is no less compelling tha Ali in this book.
This is a jewel of a book. A keeper... This one goes up in the bookshelf in a secure place for future re-reads.
Thank you Mark Kram!!!!
Book Review: great boxing writing, hold the mythology
Summary: 5 Stars
Beautifully written account of the three Frazier/Ali wars, setting the historical context for the battles as well as providing penetrating insight into both men in and out of the ring. Deflates much of the Ali myth without being a hatchet job. One of the best boxing books available, belongs on the shelf of any true fan looking for more than servicable reportage of the obvious.Book Review: Poorly written.
Summary: 1 Stars
The editor of this book did not do his or her homework. It almost seems like a first draft written while the author was aloft on booze. The pages are filled with multisyllabic words, and grand sentences that if picked apart are not grammatically correct and often are meaningless. More significantly, when you plow through the prose all the reader discovers is that Ali has been aggrandized and Frazier is bitter at how Ali portrayed him. Is this news? At the end there is a section about a seldom heard about lover/wife of Ali which revealed a bit more about Ali's past than I'd known, but overall this was not a very well written or informative book. I bought it because I remembered the article Kram had written after the Manila fight for SI. That article was great. This book is not.Book Review: Ali versus Frazier in Manila.
Summary: 4 Stars
With the craze for Ali nowadays, this books points a different perspective on the blood feud between Ali and Frazier. Ali said some pretty mean things about Smokin Joe, but most were untrue.Frazier comes across as the more admireable of the two fighters, and the one that perhaps Black America should look to as an inspiration. Ali comes up far short.
Frazier came from poor black folks in South Carolina, while Ali had some Irish blood and was raised in a middle class suburb of Nashville. Frazier worked his way up from the working class, while Ali had a silver spoon placed in his mouth. Frazier was a law abiding citizen, but Ali evaded the draft laws. Frazier was near blind in one eye, but continued to fight. Ali complained when his trainers threw real punches. Who is the inspiration here. I say Frazier and not Ali. Not withstanding Ali's mouth, perhaps more people will give Joe Frazier his rewards.
Thanks to Mark Kram for bringing this story to light.