Ghosts of Manila: The Fateful Blood Feud Between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier

By Mark Kram, Jr.

When Muhammad Ali met Joe Frazier in Manila for their third fight, their rivalry had spun out of control. The Ali-Frazier matchup had become a madness, inflamed by the media and the politics of race. When the "Thrilla in Manila" was over, one man was left with a ruin of a life; the other was battered to his soul.

Mark Kram covered that fight for Sports Illustrated in an award-winning article. Now his riveting book reappraises the boxers -- who they are and who they were. And in a voice as powerful as a heavyweight punch, Kram explodes the myths surrounding each fighter, particularly Ali. A controversial, no-holds-barred account, Ghosts of Manila ranks with the finest boxing books ever written.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jun 9, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061956683

Mark Kram, Jr.

Mark Kram, Jr. won the 2013 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing for his first book, Like Any Normal Day: A Story of Devotion. Articles by him have appeared in The Best American Sports Writing and will be included in the forthcoming anthology, The Great American Sports Page. The Society of Professional Journalists honored him with the 2011 Sigma Delta Chi Award for feature writing. Formerly a sports writer in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Baltimore, he is the son of the late Mark Kram, the acclaimed journalist for Sports Illustrated and author of Ghosts of Manila: The Fateful Blood Feud between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. He has edited a collection of his father’s magazine pieces, Great Men Die Twice: The Selected Works of Mark Kram. He lives outside Philadelphia.

Reviews for Ghosts of Manila

[MarkCunliffe · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent. An absolutely entralling, authorative and revealing read. Really great insight into both Ali and Frazier as people and the events of the time. Lifts the veil behind the image and myth on Ali. Another hero of mine bites the dust! He was a human being with many failings after all. A shame. If you have any interest in Ali, Frazier or boxing this is a must read book. Highly recommended!