portrait of an underrated boxing legend, Some sports journalist I forget who once observed that Joe Frazier was a bug imprisoned in Muhammad Ali's amber, or words to that effect, It's a harsh statement, but it's one that encapsulates the role that Frazier was forced to play in the great narrative of Muhammad Ali's life.
What people forget is that Ali only found his ultimate foil in Frazier because of what Smokin' Joe was able to bring out in him, both in the ring and in their series of verbal spars that once or twice threatened to spill into literal violence as in their televised fracas that occurred when they were being interviewed by broadcast legend Howard Cossell.
Author Mark Kram gives us the wellknown broad strokes of the Frazier saga, the life in the Lowcountry among the Gullah people of South Carolina, that, while hard, was not without its countrified charms the struggle for recognition as an undersized heavyweight with a style that was fierce but graceless the legendary fights that thrilled the public but left both men permanently damaged Ali more than Frazier.
All of that, while compelling, is wellknown to boxing fans, and has been rehashed a million times in a million different ways, What's different this time aside from the genuinely stellar prose is how all of the smaller details of Frazier's life his faults and great strengths, buttressed by the testimony of friends, family and mistress create a picture of man more nuanced and complex than has ever been presented before.
Kram releases Frazier from Ali's amber, Too late perhaps, for it to do Frazier any good, but it's a service the rest of us survivors greatly appreciate, Highest recommendation. This was the biography of former Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier, This was pretty good. My only beef with It is that it was a bit slow in some parts, Overall it was uplifting, tragic and bittersweet in different spots, It showed Joe Frazier as a humble, mellow man that got things done, but
that didn't take any crap off of anybody, He was basically a cool guy that wouldn't let himself be bullied or pushed around, It was a very good book, Movingly written story of Frazier, portrayed as a warm man with a lot of soul but hurt to the core by Alis taunting him as an Uncle Tom.
The book has interesting detail about his young years in South Carolina and settling in Frank Rizzos Philadelphia, The author is not very prying about Fraziers Cloverlay syndicate, which owned a share of his earnings, The book is also less effective after Fraziers career ends, Still, a very enjoyable and interesting book, most noteworthy, of course, for the analysis of the two champions, Excellent biography with intimate details of Joe Fraziers family and personal life Id not read about in other publications, I was a fan of Smoken Joe Frazier, He came from poverty and achieved the American dream by hard work reaching to the top of the world heavyweight championship, His victory in the fight of the century with Ali as two undefeated champions was iconic, Sadly, his left eye issues, partying, womanizing and his singing/clubbing detracted from his longevity in the ring and legacy, This is as close to a definitive book of the life of Joe Frazier that you will find, For a boxer of Frazier's significance, there really isn't much out there other than books centered around the three AliFrazier fights,
At times, boxing biographies inevitably turn into hagiographies, but Kram Jr, commendably did not fall into that trap,
My one issue with the book is that the second half of the book turns from great prose to mostly a series of vignettes.
Granted I found the vignettes interesting, but they really took away from the flow of the book, Perhaps I am being a little harsh on Kram Jr, because I had slightly higher expectations given his past work,
I would give it,stars, but am unable to on here, I'd still recommend the book to anyone wanting to learn more about Joe Frazier, Interesting book on Joe. Learned some new things that were not covered in other books, especially about personal life and relationship with Denise Menz,
Describing the action blow by blow of many fights became a bit tedious after a while, but overall a pretty good book about the life and times of Joe Frazier.
A forgotten talent outside of Philadelphia, Frazier was one of the greatest heavyweights ever, It was delightful to learn more about his upbringing and personal life during his time as a fighter, A hero to everyone who has a dream of becoming more thane circumstances they were born into, Brilliantly done. A knockout for any boxing fan, Excellent biography of one of boxing's alltime greats, Reveals the brutality of the sport and probes the controversial relationship between Frazier and Ali, Epic story of the hardhitting fighter from Philly, the only man Muhammad Ali ever feared in the ring, Joe Frazier emerges as far more courageous and complex than the caricature Ali created of a mindless pawn of the white establishment, This book is full of amazing characters and untold stories, There's the funloving, freewheeling bootlegger father, who raised Joe in the swamps of Carolina, Steve Earle's Copperhead Row was never like this! And there's the loyal and loving white mistress who stood by Joe for years, And there's the wives, sisters, nephews and nieces, sons and daughters of an authentic black patriarch who never let his people down, Joe Frazier was a hero and Mark Kram tells his story with frankness, insight and sensitivity, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves stories about boxing, sports, or American heroes, A very good biography. Get to know Smokin' Joe, it's worth your time, A gripping, allaccess biography of Joe Frazier, whose rivalry with Muhammad Ali riveted boxing fans and whose legacy as a figure in American sports and society endures
History will remember the rivalry of Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali as one for the ages, a trilogy of extraordinary fights that transcended the world of sports and crossed into a sociocultural drama that divided the country.
Joe Frazier was a much more complex figure than just his rivalry with Ali would suggest, In this riveting and nuanced portrayal, acclaimed sports writer Mark Kram, Jr, unlinks Frazier from Ali and for the first time gives a fullbodied accounting of Fraziers life, a journey that began as the youngest of thirteen children packed in small farm house, encountering the bigotry and oppression of the Jim Crow South, and continued with his voyage north at age fifteen to develop as a fighter in Philadelphia.
Tracing Fraziers life through his momentous bouts with the likes of Ali and George Foreman and the developing perception of him as the antiAli in the eyes of bluecollar America, Kram follows the boxer through his retirement in, exploring his relationship with his son, the wouldbe heavyweight Marvis, and his fragmented home life as well as the uneasy place that Ali continued to occupy in his thoughts.
A propulsive and richly textured narrative that is also a powerful story about race and class in America, Smokin' Joe is unparalleled in its scope, depth, and access and promises to be the definitive biography of a towering American figure whose life was galvanized by conflict and whose mark has proven lasting.
Good
I enjoyed this book and would have given it a,rating if possible. My problem with the book is that the writing lacks flair and the story is told like a series of vignettes without a cohesive whole, skipping around from year to year , particularly near the end of the book.
I love boxing books, enjoyed this one , but didnt love it, Good book that tells the good and the bad about one of the greatest heavyweights ever, I met Joe Frazier back inat a children's event along with George Foreman and as a boxing fan after the Frazier era I knew of him peripherally but I never knew of him, his background and how he became the man to beat Muhammad Ali in the first ofepic battles.
When I came across this book this year, I've been on a streak of reading suspenseful fiction or detective mysteries for the pastyears but I thought of that meeting back inand I always wanted to know more.
Mark Kram did a great job with researching each and every facet of this book, Finishing this book I knew EXACTLY who he was and the ability he had to give of himself as much as possible, I laughed, I cried, I was angry, I was sad and more importantly I finished the last page wanting to see more, know more, Mr. Kram made me feel like I was at each of his boxing matches and the commentary from other reporters back in that era make me miss how majestic the sport of boxing was.
Although the scamboogahs Joe's own word and their view of history has been convenient to tuck Smokin' Joe beneath the shadow of Ali, I've come to respect Uncle Billy, who came from nothing and shocked the world.
p. s. when he shook my hand it was like shaking hands with a Vise Grip! Work by Mark Kram Jr, has appeared in The Best American Sports Writing Houghton Mifflin six times:,,,,and, The Society of Professional Journalists honored him with theSigma Delta Chi Award for feature writing, The Associated Press Sports Editors have awarded him first place prizes for feature writing inand for explanatory reporting inand, With the Philadelphia Daily News since, he has worked previously at the Detroit Free Press and the Balti News American, Additionally, he contributes the “American Read” essay for Business Day Sports Monthly in Cape Town, South Africa, He is also a former contributing writer for Philadelphia Magazine, He is the son of the late Mark Kram, an ac Work by Mark Kram Jr, has appeared in The Best American Sports Writing Houghton Mifflin six times:,,,,and, The Society of Professional Journalists honored him with theSigma Delta Chi Award for feature writing, The Associated Press Sports Editors have awarded him first place prizes for feature writing inand for explanatory reporting inand, With the Philadelphia Daily News since, he has worked previously at the Detroit Free Press and the Balti News American, Additionally, he contributes the “American Read” essay for Business Day Sports Monthly in Cape Town, South Africa, He is also a former contributing writer for Philadelphia Magazine, He is the son of the late Mark Kram, an acclaimed writer for Sports Illustrated and the author of a controversial book on the rivalry between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, Ghosts of Manila.
Kram Jr. attended the University of Maryland, College Park and graduated from Loyola High School, Balti, He lives in Haddonfield, NJ with his wife and two daughters, sitelink.