Brothers of Iron: Building the Weider Empire [Hardcover]

Joe Weider (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In the depths of the Great Depression a scrawny, dirt-poor Jewish kid with a seventh-grade education picked up a barbell and got hooked on weight training. Building his muscles gave him confidence and hope for a better life. He pledged to make the great, transforming power of strength training available to everyone and to give bodybuilding all the glory it deserved. The kid, Joe Weider, enlisted his younger brother Ben in his quest, and together the Weider brothers accomplished things much bigger than JoeÂ’s boyhood dreams. The little muscle magazine Joe started, working at his familyÂ’s dining room table, grew into a publishing empire. From a backyard barbell business, Joe and Ben built equipment and food supplement companies each as big as Weider Publishing. And they transformed bodybuilding into a hugely successful sport, organized under one of the largest and best-run athletic federations in the world.

The Weider brothers are heroes to bodybuilders and fans all over the world. TheyÂ’re heroes because theyÂ’re revolutionaries. The Weiders changed the way people think about exercise, health, and what makes a body beautiful. They changed the world and Brothers of Iron tells their fascinating story.

About the Author

Joe Weider has long been recognized for his leadership, dedication, and outstanding contributions to the field of physical fitness. The honor that he is perhaps most proud of is the Distinguished Citizen Award presented to him by the Boy Scouts of America in 1991 that refers to him as "the father of fitness." Past titles include Joe WeiderÂ’s Ultimate Bodybuilding (McGraw-Hill, 1989). Joe lives in Los Angeles, California.

Ben Weider is the president of the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB), which he founded in Montreal in 1946. The IFBB has over 170 countries as members and was granted official recognition in 1998 by the International Olympic Committee. Past titles include Assassination at St. Helena Revisited (Wiley, 1995) and The Murder of Napoleon (Book Sales, 1986). Ben lives in Hampstead, Quebec, Canada.

Mike Steere is a professional freelance writer who writes for Outside, Worth, and other magazines. Mike lives in Los Angeles, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 252 pages
• Publisher: Sports Publishing (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596701242
• ISBN-13: 978-1596701243
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #403,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An engaging memoir that deserves a wide audience, October 14, 2006

By	Chuck Crane (Scottsdale, Arizona) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Brothers of Iron: Building the Weider Empire (Hardcover)

This engaging memoir deserves a wide audience. Anyone interested in bodybuilding, weightlifting, sports medicine, the history of the fitness movement, magazine publishing, marketing, motivational thought, Napoleonic history, or diplomacy will find this book worth reading. Schwarzenegger fans may learn a few new things about the Governator, who was Joe "Master Blaster" Weider's star protégé in the early 70's and features prominently in the narrative.

Since the Weiders pretty much created modern bodybuilding (bodybuilding = improving the fitness, shape and size of your body through exercise), this is a must-read for anyone who is seriously interested in that subject. How the Wieders differentiated bodybuilding from weightlifting, and the running battle that weightlifting impresario Bob Hoffman fought against Joe Weider for decades, is one of the major narrative threads. Another is Ben Weider's quest to establish the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) worldwide, and have bodybuilding recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Building the Weider enterprise -- publishing, exercise equipment, food supplements and so forth is another thread that provides an interesting case study in entrepreneurship, with all the good luck, bad luck, shrewd decisions and blunders you would expect in a sixty year career.

On the motivational side, this memoir reminded me of a Somerset Maugham short story where a verger (lay minister) loses his job because of illiteracy, becomes a tobacco store magnate, and is asked by an astounded banker where he would be if he could read and write. He answers "I'd be verger of St. Peter's, Neville Square." Well, apparently Ben Weider would have been an RCMP officer (he was rejected because he was Jewish), and Joe Weider would have been a tradesman (he lacked the two years of high school the trade school required). These are honorable occupations, but the point is that for both men, as for Maugham's verger, what the world considered handicaps steered them to great success. I say "steered" because millions of people in similar situations do not achieve extraordinary things. The additional factor that propelled the Weiders was tireless dedication to goals they firmly believed would ultimately be achieved. However, I disagree with Joe Weider's taking his success as proof that individuals shape historical forces and not vice versa. If Joe had believed that unicycling was the key to worldwide health and fitness, I think things would have turned out quite differently, regardless of his dedication. Of course I could be wrong, and we might all be riding unicycles instead of working out.

Reading how Ben Weider managed to build the IFBB sports federation, established bodybuilding in communist countries, and eventually won provisional recognition for bodybuilding as an Olympic sport (it took 40 years) will give you better pointers on practical diplomacy then you will get by reading Sumner Welles and maybe even George Keenan. I normally don't think of bodybuilders as diplomats. I also don't think of them as historians, so I was surprised to learn that Ben Weider was largely responsible for proving the theory that Napoleon was poisoned -- this is now generally accepted as fact -- and was awarded the French Legion of Honor as a result.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dynamic Read, November 1, 2006

By	Susanna Hutcheson "Copywriting for the Discri... (Midwest U.S.A.) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: Brothers of Iron: Building the Weider Empire (Hardcover)

Joe Weider made his name and his fortune promoting the sport he loves and for which he has an astounding amount of passion --- bodybuilding. There is no one who even comes close to putting the sport of bodybuilding on a par with other sports. Nor is there anyone who has come close to promoting bodybuilding or resistance training as a way to gain health that can last a lifetime.

This book is extremely well written. I suspect that's because a professional writer was brought in to make that happen and Mike Steere did a wonderful job. However, one can certainly see the different styles in communication in the chapters written by Joe and by brother Ben.

The really fun reading, the wonderful reading was that in the chapters written by Joe. But one will notice soon into the book that it is a love fest by Joe Weider to Joe Weider.

Weider blames other people for his failures, including a near bankruptcy and a failed first marriage. He also shows an incredible lack of love or human caring for his one and only child by his first wife. He mentions the child in passing and with no emotion. One wonders why he married a woman he didn't love or resect.

All through the book Joe Weider brags about all he did for the sport of bodybuilding and he takes full credit for it all. He puts down numerous other people in the business.

When Arnold was giving a speech and didn't give Joe credit for making it all happen for him, Joe was angry and upset. He wanted the credit and he wanted it publically. Well, truth be told, he deserved the credit. Arnold would still be a nobody in Austria without Joe Weider. And one needs to understand that egos are as huge as muscles in bodybuilding.

This book gives us a look at the golden years of bodybuilding. It gives us the history of bodybuilding. It's an incredibly powerful and exciting book that gives us an insiders view into bodybuilding from the beginning.

There has been a lot said about Joe Weider. Much of it bad. Bodybuilding is perhaps the only sport that has no sanction against the use of anabolic steroids.

The articles we read in Muscle and Fitness, while great reading, offer workouts that the average person can't do. One has to be juiced to be able to handle all the reps and sets and gym time advocated in the articles. And one certainly has to be juiced to gain the mass of a Ronnie Coleman and the other greats of today. Even Arnold admitted taking steroids in his day and he was nowhere as big as the guys (or some of the gals) today.

Weider comes off as a bit of sexist. He also comes off as very tight with money. Perhaps one can forgive that in a man of his age as long as you don't have to live with him or be around him.

Anyone who is the least bit interested in bodybuilding, in running a business, in the magazine business or sports business should read this book. It's one of the best books I've read in a long time.

You can't help come away with inspiration if you're a businessperson and a glowing love and respect for bodybuilding if you love the feel of iron working muscle and know the value of regular lifting.

I highly recommend this book. It's perhaps the best book of the year --- at least out of the books I've read.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars What else would you expect?, January 15, 2008

By	J.C. Truth - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brothers of Iron: Building the Weider Empire (Hardcover)

I normally won't read/purchase autobiographies and the Weider brothers (particularly Joe) only reaffirms this stance. Autobiographies are subject to bias and usually paints the subject in a often times rosier than truth light, with that said here is my review.

The Weider brothers no doubt have paid their dues with tireless effort and an impressive work ethic. If this book was only about Joe Weider and his role in publishing this no doubt would be a stellar book. It is good read only because of the author's contribution and not necessarily what comes off like bloviating (especially with Joe Weider).

Ben Weider is proud of his IFBB and he should be, for it has allowed him to see the world. He came off actually more interesting than Joe due to his interest in esoteric and historic pursuits. However a piece of advice for Ben Weider: if you want bodybuilding to be admitted into the Olympics start testing for drugs as prescribed the IOC. The constant reference that bodybuilding received IOC consideration nearly 10 years ago is irrelevant. This topic of drug abuse, particularly anabolic steroids, is the dirty not so secret plague that the Weiders have successfully danced around for over 40 years.

Joe Weider comes off as less than honest or incredibly naive. Here is old Joe making money hand over fist (good for him) while body builders such as Schwarzenegger, Columbo and Zane promoted his fitness and supplement products. The truth is that you can take all the Weider products you want, work out hard and still want (unless genetics is on your side) become the size of these competitors. However Joe admits that at first he did not believe they were juicing up, later admits he was naive, then tells you he hates drugs and finally rationalizes it by saying championship atheletes will do anything to win. What he should have said was that the cash flow was too sweet to pass up at whatever or whoever's expense.

In the world of Weider, in particular Joe, he is never at fault. Bob Hoffman, his York barbell company and the AAU are satan. His ex-wfe is a downfall early in his career. This passage is particularly interesting because Joe Weider mentions a daughter. As a previous reviewer pointed out he devotes maybe two sentences to this daughter and apparently has no contact with her. This is odd considering how Weider often preaches family values in his lifestyle mantra. When Vince MacMahon and his shortlived WBF presents competition, especially after several top IFBB bodybuilders (most notably Gary Strydom) jump ship to compete in the WBF; Joe merely says he welcomes them back to his fold following the WBF's collapse. What he doesn't tell the reader is that he "penalized" the bodybuilders 10% of their first year annual wages upon their return to the IFBB.

Joe Weider also fails to tell the reader that he settled with the US Postal Inspectors in the 1970s (Schwarzenegger testified on Weider's behalf) and later in the 1980s with the FTC for ridiculous claims he made concerning the performance results of his products. Why this "highlight" is omitted this reader has no idea.

Joe and Ben Weider would have been wise but probably not as rich if they had promoted natural bodybuilder, which adheres to IOC drug testing and is now growing in leaps and bounds. This would have worked well with their idea of a clean and fit lifestyle. Additionally Joe Weider himself all but lays claim on jumpstarting the fitness lifestyle, when in fact it was him and others including Jack LaLanne and Charles Atlas.

When Schwarzeneggar has blazed a Hollywood and political trail, ecclipsing the immigrant's American dream; Joe Weider is sour that he fails to garner some credit. The truth is Schwarzeneggar-Weider relationship was one back scratching the other during the governor's days as a bodybuilder. Did Weider open the door for Schwarzeneggar to come to America, yes, was the rest of the story due to Austrian's drive and relentless pursuit, yes. In other words Weider is only due some credit and Schwarzeneggar returned it in spades when he became the face associated with bodybuilding. This reader almost has to wonder if it is Mr. Joe Weider that should express some gratefullness to the determined Schwarzeneggar.

What I liked about this book was some of the early recollections of bodybuilding as told by Joe and Ben Weider, as I weight train regularly. Additionally both Weider brothers prove to me they are marketing geniuses. The author also did a fine job of piecing together this read.