Mark Kram

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.

Each of the three leading contenders in the 1983 Boston Marathon has compelling reasons why he must win the race and break the two-hour barrier.

Imagine Mad Men set not in the advertising world but at 1960s Sports Illustrated, a place where the finest sports staff of any generation was attended by an open bar and almost unlimited expense account. This was the world that Mark Kram lived and wrote in, along with peers including Frank Deford, Dan Jenkins and other luminaries. With the eye and heart of a poet, Kram would become one of the greatest sports writers of all time, covering the famed rivalry between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, Negro League baseball star Cool Papa Bell, doomed soccer legend George Best, Olympic gold medal hurdler Edwin Moses, and others.The New York Times obituary of Kram in June, 2002 saluted his work in SI by calling him one of its "most lyrical writers of the 1960s and 1970s. Great Men Die Twice selects his best work with a moving introduction by his son, Mark Kram, Jr., the PEN/ESPN Award-winning author of Like Any Normal Day.

What if the world stayed normal… just long enough to fool you—then quietly slipped into something impossible?SoReal is a collection of sharp, surreal micro-stories that begin firmly grounded in everyday life and then drift—softly, unexpectedly—into the absurd. A headline you might actually read suddenly grows arms. A weather report becomes emotionally unstable. A sports moment argues with physics. Even AI starts improvising.Each story follows the same signature Start real. End unreal. Enjoy the drift.Perfect for fans of surreal comedy, odd news aesthetics, and short, punchy storytelling, SoReal delivers quick bursts of imagination that fit any reading moment—whether you want a smile, a surprise, or a strange little sideways step out of reality.Inside You’ll ✓ Over 200 surreal micro-stories✓ News, weather, sports, media, art, and AI mischief✓ A unique grounded-to-surreal tone found nowhere else✓ Fast, clever reads ideal for any attention spanSoReal isn’t just a book.It’s a playful reset button for the imagination—a world only one glitch away from ours.