Smokin' Joe: The Autobiography of a Heavyweight Champion of the World, Smokin' Joe Frazier

Frazier was born in 1944 in rural South Carolina, one of 13 children of a father who also boasted of 13 other kids born out of wedlock. Unable to adjust to life in the South, Frazier went to New York City at age 15 and then to Philadelphia, where eventually a syndicate of businessmen backed him in the ring. He won an Olympic gold medal in 1964 and, after Muhammad Ali was stripped of his title as heavyweight champion for refusing military induction during the Vietnam War, Frazier was named champion in 1970. The following year, he defeated the reinstated Ali and reigned until 1973, when he lost his title to George Foreman. Once a friend of Ali, he became an enemy after a steady barrage of insults from ""The Louisville Lip,"" and it's noteworthy that he always refers to Ali in these pages as Cassius Clay (his pre-Muslim name). Frazier has never ceased to work, nor has he lost faith in the American dream, so his autobiography, written with prize-winning boxing journalist Berger, may prove inspirational to young people. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour. (Apr.)