Customer Reviews

Brother Iron, Sister Steel: A Bodybuilder's Book

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Fact is, Draper is the best writer on bodybuilding in print. I don't mean he sprays all kinds of technical (sometimes useful) prose around like more research based writers (though he seems to be current in lifting theory); what he does do is write for the soul of the lifter. Weights for weights sake. The simple, tender but direct, conversations one needs to hear to grow as a person on the gym floor, inside and out, are in this book.

He's funny, yes, and remarkably charming. But at their core the essays in this book are poetic. They clang with the passion of someone who holds belief in a religion or knows an unknown disease cure; they are deeply personal. There are no references to a study done last year on the T levels of ten football players at some college, just to the experiences of one guy who has lifted for 40 years without stopping, East Coast to Muscle Beach to Mr. A and Mr. U to a gym on the California coast; Draper lifts because he has to, he says so all the time; you know what, me too. And I just started.

If you're looking for everything you need to know to begin lifting, you may not find it in this book (Draper writes in more technical depth elsewhere). But you will find a friendly voice every lifter deserves to hear. You will find the heart of lifting, where instead of obsessing over which prohormone stack or what starch has the lowest g.i., you simply stroll your butt to the gym, warm up and find the squat rack and start blasting (or bombing); the sweat stark reality of the squat rack. That's Draper.

If anything, his weekly email posts (found via his web site) show his writing maturing. Skillful word choice, eloquent but casual phrasing, the rhythm in the langauge, even its sound... (yeah, I confess now, I teach English for a living). Dave, at his best, belongs in Best American Essays. He has a gift. I have no doubt. The steel community is lucky to have such a mentor/writer; all lifters will benefit from his tone and content.

As I've hinted, the book isn't perfect; as others have noted, I'd like to see pictures of the exercises (though it seems this was published locally by Dave et. al. and production cost may have been an issue). If he had instructive photos, he could spend less time writing intricate descriptions of the lifts, and do what he really does best: write sermons on iron for those who love it already and need to love it more. And tell his own story.

In some ways perhaps the book is more than one book, or one book trying to know what kind of book it wants to be when it grows up. But have no doubt, it's worthwhile to watch the journey. Those five stars I gave are well-earned.

I recommend the book to anyone interested in bodybuilding. You just have to hear Draper write. If nothing else, it's bound to get you into the gym.

Dave Draper, bodybuilding's original "Blonde Bomber" and former Mr.America, Mr.Universe and Mr.World has written a fabulous and unique book about not only bodybuilding and creating a healthy life style, but also of his humble beginings and antidotes from his associations with other great bodybuilders from the "Golden Era" of bodybuilding. Dave writes in an easy to understand, down home, everyman style interspearsed with his humor and humility. Beyond sets, reps and diets Dave gets to the heart of taking command of yourself and motivates you from within. I have a small library of books bought over the last 20 years pertaining to workouts, diets, biographies and motivation. Brother Iron and Sister Steel is head and shoulders above them all. It is a must read and I cannot recommend it enough!

This is the book I wish I had when I started weighttraining/bodybuilding 16 years ago at the age of 16. It's simply the best book I've read about bodybuilding (and I've read quite a few). In this book, Dave Draper, former Mr. America, Mr. Universe and Mr. World, gives you the straight talk about bodybuilding. There are no hidden agendas. Like Dave says in the book "The secret is there is no secret". Given this, it is Dave's sincere wish to give you, the reader, the best information available about how to build a strong and healthy body.

In Dave's unique writing style (he has a great sense of humor) he explains the basics of bodybuilding as it pertains to both the beginner, the intermediate and advanced bodybuilder or the person who simply wants to get in great shape. He presents some very workable and realistic training programs that incorporates the superset training principle, which not only gives you superior muscle development and cardiovascular health, but also saves time in the gym and are a lot more fun.

Dave has almost 50 years of bodybuilding experience. In the 60s he build one of the greatest physiques of all time with some of the shabbiest equipment allowable by law. The 60s is considered the golden era of bodybuilding and anyone who like me is a big fan of the golden era bodybuilders will really enjoy reading the section of the book where Dave tells a lot of great stories from those days with insight and humor. Not to mention the great pictures of Dave throughout the book.

I've had the pleasure of meeting Dave in person and at age 58 he is still in fantastic shape. Like Bill Pearl, he is one of the few remaining TRUE bodybuilders.

So if you want to learn from the best, I highly recommend this book.

Henrik Nielsen
Copenhagen, Denmark

For those of us who spent our misbegotten adolescences in the dusky YMCAs and Boys' Club gyms chasing the elusive muscles of Steve "Hercules" Reeves and Gordon "Tarzan" Scott, the name of Dave Draper (the blond bomber) strikes a mental chord synonymous with California, alluring sexpots, and gigantic muscles. After all, he gazed out at us from endless Muscle magazine covers, the original beach Adonis, the daunting and awe-inspiring realization of our fondest daydreams. Yet, as our ideal Draper also reminded us all that with progressive weight-training, or working out, we could, with enough time and effort, vastly improve our physical beings and in the process transform our own idea of who we are. Now, thirty-five years later we stumble on this book only to discover what a wonderful writer he happens to be!

Here he reminds us of just how good a role model we would-be muscleheads chose so long ago, as he demonstrates his wisdom, good humor, and keen intelligence in explicating with class, verve and thorny personal experiences what it really means to live a life of physical culture, and how attractive that can be in a time of such uncertainty and superficial culture. And he knows of from where he speaks, for Draper, like Reeves and Scott, also appeared in a number of films, most notably with Tony Curtis and the late Sharon Tate in a offbeat Southern California beach comedy called "Don't Make Waves". His huge presence stole the film away from his co-stars.

Indeed, his own presence and personality shine through the typical '60s Hollywood treatment of any given bodybuilder as a naïve, self-absorbed, and narcissistic nonentity. Yet, the viewer finds himself gradually coming to empathize with the natural kindness and thoughtfulness of the character, and in this way Draper showed he had the stuff to do much more cinematically. Alas, it was not to, for it was long before the days of Arnold, and Draper eventually fled back into relative obscurity to work-out, build classic driftwood furniture, which incidentally Schwarzenegger used to furnish his own digs, and eventually became a kind of elder spokesman for the life of physical culture.

Therefore, no one speaks with more authority of such a life and its benefits, characteristics, and pitfalls than does big Dave. One is surprised by just how well he expounds on various ideas and subjects, and one wishes for a dialogue with the big guy on subjects other than those covered here. This is a book or anyone involved in the now almost universally available lifestyle, waiting for one at the local World or Gold's Gym, and hopes that all those X-generation kids could have a glimpse at what it was like thirty or forty years ago, when such emporiums were the stuff of youthful California dreaming, and all we had to lure into the dingy sweatshops of the local YMCA was the image of the blond bomber staring back at us from the latest issue of Muscle Magazine. Enjoy!

I could not put down my copy of Brother Iron, Sister Steel. As a female bodybuilder, it is refreshing to find a book that is for "any" one, not just men. Dave Draper takes you inside his world, providing a glimpse into the early days of bodybuilding. This book will be my companion for the great advice and motivation that it contains.

The quest for muscle and strength is not an easy journey for a man or woman of any age. I am a female in my twenties whose training life owes much to Dave Draper and the iron legion of his followers. While Dave Draper is part of the collective memory of many middle aged men, his writing is alive enough to infect anyone with motivation to "dig deep" in their workouts.

He brings to life a spirited discipline we rarely see in the world of bodybuilding today and makes you want to find this inside yourself. When you read this, you will ask yourself why you ever bothered subscribing to any of the 12 week gurus in the fitness world of today.

If perhaps my 6 year old son decides to train at some point in his young life, he will get this book with his set of dumbbells. Energy, experience, knowledge, and a true lifelong love of training and self discovery drip off the pages of this book. It's honest and pure-but it's not for sissies. One look at his condition should tell you that he advises what he himself has proven willing to do.

It is not his bodybuilding titles, but the fifty years of disciplined toil that are reflected in this book that earn my utmost respect and my 5 stars.

In a world of copycats, Dave Draper is a 100% original creation. When it was far from hip to be a bodybuilder, he quite simply became one of the best the world has ever seen. Later, when it became not only hip, but potentially highly profitable, to be a top bodybuilder, he walked away from the hype and "scene" of it all, returning to the serenity and purity of the movement and work for its own sake and its own inherent rewards. Rewards that many of the current crop of pros apparently fail to grasp, and will never attain. Dave now offers the lessons and teachings of a lifetime in the gym with the wisdom and patience of a true master of the discipline. With the volumes of words written on the subject, none so clearly impart their insights from the soul or with such delight in the work, play, love and philosophy of the world of iron. If you buy any bodybuilding book, make it this one.

I have actually read this book several times. Although books such as the Ironman Encyclopedia and Schwarzenegger's Encyclopedia hold significantly more bodybuilding-related content and pictures, I consider Draper's book much superior in terms of motivational content (and witty, humorous talk). Like a lot of other comprehensive books, Draper covers everything from newbies in weight training to nutrition, protein drinks and recuperation. As a person who wants to remain fit without forcefully having to push myself all the time, I was able to relate to a lot of Draper's logic and general mindset. And this book has done a better job of convincing me that basic, nonfancy exercises are the best way to build a superior physique. I am not a volume trainer but I have had significantly positive results after practicing Draper's supersetting techniques.

AWESOME, I received Brother Iron, Sister Steel yesterday, and am already 196 pages into it. It's like no other bodybuilding book I've read. Reading through Dave's 50 yrs of bodybuilding experience, it feels like you're sitting there next to Dave listening to him talk. Written very one on one. It gives you the knowledge, motivation and courage to plow through your slumps and set high goals. I can't say enough good stuff about the book and I'm not even completely finished with it yet. For those of you without a copy I highly recommend you get it. This isn't the type of book you read once and throw to the side, This book you'll want to read over, and over again, especially in slumps or when needing motivation.

A much needed breath of fresh air in the polluted world of fitness books! With a unique writing style that is both entertaining and thought provoking, Dave Draper cuts through all the hype and psuedo-science that dominates the world of fitness today and tells it exactly like it truly is. You don't have to be a PhD in exercise physiology to understand what Draper is presenting. This book is a 'must-have' for anyone who wants to lift weights as part of their exercise program. By explaining the philosophies and programs he himself has followed for 50 years, the author provides the necessary information on exercises, routines, programs, and nutrition that anyone can follow for physical improvement. For the advanced trainer, the chapters on motivation, routine development, and biographical insights into one of bodybuilding's legends will prove of great value, as well.