Taking a swing at The Greatest
So, what is your take on Muhammad Ali? One of the greatest boxers of all time? Or, as he would have had us believe, thePerhaps your video collection includes treasured recordings of Ali's interviews and fights, and your bookcase contains at least one of the many biographies offering the conclusion that he was, and remains, a genuine hero who has touched the lives of millions.If, indeed, you count yourself among the multitude who regard Ali with awe, a new retrospective by Mark Kram will come as the lowest of blows.Ghosts of Manila: The Fateful Blood Feud Between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier has just been published by HarperCollins to acclaim and criticism in equal measure in the United States and it will reach bookshops here in September.Fans of Ali, even those who acknowledge his genius to be flawed, will discover that Kram pulls no punches.«Seldom has a public figure of such superficial depth been more wrongly perceived,» he says. «Ali was no more a social force than Frank Sinatra.
