Customer Reviews

Muscle: A Writer's Trip Through a Sport With No Boundaries

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I first read an excerpt of this book in the magazine section of a newspaper while visiting England years ago. After that I was looking for the book to come out in the U.S.. When I didn't see it, I ordered it through Amazon. I loved this book. I am a woman, I have no muscles to speak of, and I had no interest in bodybuilding. But Hotten makes the "sport" of growing muscles come alive, and tells the incredible story of these guys getting big, bigger, biggest. What they do to succeed: be it drugs or incredible devotion or usually, a crazy combination of both -- is painted in a way to make it truly fascinating and touching.

Sometimes it's darkly funny (like the fake tan application scenes and dehydrated competitors who actually freeze up and have to be moved off stage like statues) and sometimes tragic (the ones who are permanently injured or die from their pursuit of "perfection"). It also paints a interesting portrait of Schwarzenegger and who he is, where he came from and how many have strived to follow in his footsteps. It's just a great, well-written book for any fan of modern non-fiction.