When Muhammad Ali met Joe Frazier in Manila for the third, bloody act of their heroic trilogy of fights, the rivalry had spun out of control. More than a clash of personalities of fighting styles, the Ali/Frazier match-up had become a kind of madness, enflamed by the media and the politics of race. When "The Thrilla in Manila" was over, the hype no longer mattered: one man was left with a ruin of a life; the other was battered to his soul. Mark Kram"s remarkable book begins with the boxers themselves -- who they are and who they were. Weaving together present and past, Kram explodes the hagiography surrounding both fighters -- particularly Ali -- and presents readers with the rarest of literary achievements: a psychologically riveting study of two heroes, many myths, and the reality behind it all.