Educating Dexter

Already famous as a football star with the Washington Redskins, Manley attained an entirely different sort of prominence when he testified before a U.S. Senate committee that, despite having attended Oklahoma State University for four years, he was illiterate. Here, with former Washington Post sportswriter Friend, he offers an autobiography supplemented by contributions from family members, friends, ex-coaches--and fellow addicts, for Manley was a heavy cocaine user, and was banned from football for a year in 1987 after testing positive for drugs. A man with a genius for manipulating others, he compensated for feelings of inadequacy by adopting a boastful, flamboyant persona, he reveals, yet his first-person narrative suggests someone who still lacks insight into his essential nature. Currently drug-free and making great strides towards full literacy, Manley tells the intriguing story of his near-tragic but ultimately hopeful life. The book, however, would have profited from editing of repetitious passages about Manley's substance abuse and marital infidelities. ( Nov. )