Synopses & Reviews
These days there is only one right answer when someone asks you what you are doing after work. Hitting the gym! With an explosion of apps, clothing, devices, and countless DVDs, fitness has never felt more modern, and the gym is its holy laboratory, alive with machinery, sweat, and dance music. But we are far from the first to pursue bodily perfectionandmdash;the gymnasium dates back 2,800 years, to the very beginnings of Western civilization. Inand#160;
The Temple of Perfection, Eric Chaline offers the first proper consideration of the gymandrsquo;s complex, layered history and the influence it has had on the development of Western individualism, society, education, and politics.
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As Chaline shows, how we take care of our bodies has long been based on a complex mix of spiritual beliefs, moral discipline, and aesthetic ideals that are all entangled with political, social, and sexual power. Today, training in a gym is seen primarily as part of the pursuit of individual fulfillment. As he shows, however, the gym has always had a secondary role in creating men and women who are andldquo;fit for purposeandrdquo;andmdash;a notion that has meant a lot of different things throughout history. Chaline surveys the gymandrsquo;s many incarnations and the ways the individual, the nation-state, the media, and the corporate world have intersected in its steamy confines, sometimes with unintended consequences. He shows that the gym is far more than a factory for superficiality and self-obsessionandmdash;it is one of the principle battlefields of humanityandrsquo;s social, sexual, and cultural wars.
Exploring the gymandrsquo;s history from a multitude of perspectives, Chaline concludes by looking toward its future as it struggles to redefine itself in a world in thrall to quick fixesandmdash;such as plastic surgery and pharmaceuticalsandmdash;meant to attain the gymandrsquo;s ultimate promises: physical fitness and beauty.and#160;
Review
andldquo;Gyms today are a familiar part of the life of millions of people across the globe and a regular aspect of a fitness and leisure oriented culture. But they have a long and fascinating history, from the pedagogic and military cultures of the ancient world to the sun swept beaches of California in the 1940s and andrsquo;50s through to the metrosexual body culture of today. Gyms are about fitness, well-being, beauty, and pleasure, but always about the body. Through their history we can see how the body is shaped, inscribed, worshipped, and displayed, in different ways at different times. Chaline has produced a compelling history that illuminates not just the culture of the gym but also our shifting obsessions with the body through three thousand years. It is a fascinating read.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;There were so many rich connections in this book that by the time you sweep through two millennia to the moment when Arnold Schwarzenegger became the posing-pouch politician, who, while pumping iron, said things like, andlsquo;I was always dreaming about very powerful people, dictators and things like that,andrsquo; a lot of things clicked into place. . . . Humans are now machined in these body factories to better serve their corporate masters.andrdquo;and#160;
Review
andldquo;The book is learned and well-researched. . . . It also furnishes some pretty interesting history.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;The narrative, peppered with a number of amusing, as well as andlsquo;I didnandrsquo;t know thatandrsquo; anecdotes, makes for an engaging read, even for those not seeking to discover the sweat-stained origins of civilised thought.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;An amusing and comprehensive tour.andrdquo;and#160;
Synopsis
For many, the gym is an emblem of modernity yet its origins date back 2,800 years to the very beginnings of Western civilization. Despite its great antiquity and significance throughout human history the gymand#8217;s complex, layered history and its influence on the development of Western individualism, society, education, and politics has not been properly considered. The care of the body has been based on a complex mix of spiritual beliefs, moral discipline, and aesthetic ideals, which have served to expose the fault lines of political, social, and sexual power. Today, training in a gym is seen primarily as part of the pursuit of individual fulfillment, but the gym has always had a secondary role in creating men and women who are and#8220;fit for purpose,and#8221; but exactly for what and whose purpose? During its several incarnations, the gym has been the stage where the interests of the individual, the nation-state, the media, and the corporate world intersect, sometimes with unintended consequences. Although at first glance the gym may look like a place where the self-obsessed pursue the superficial ideal of physical perfection, it has always been one of the principal battlefields of humanityand#8217;s social, sexual, and cultural wars.
Featuring a range of perspectives on the evolution of gym culture, the book concludes with a discussion of the future of the gym industry as it struggles to redefine itself in an increasingly obese, inactive world enthralled by the promise of plastic surgery and#8220;quick fixesand#8221; and pharmaceutical and#8220;magic bulletsand#8221; to attain physical fitness and beauty.
About the Author
In addition to being a historian and writer,
Eric Chaline is a qualified personal trainer, yoga teacher, weightlifting instructor, and swimming coach. He is the author of several books, including
History's Lost Treasures and
Fifty Minerals that Changed the Course of History. He lives in London.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. The Pursuit of Arete
2. The Rebirth of Vitruvian Man
3. The Health of Nations
4. The Worldandrsquo;s Strongest Man
5. Pumping Iron
6. Letandrsquo;s Get Physical
7. Macho Man
8. Consuming Fitness
and#160;
References
Select Bibliography
Photo Acknowledgements
Index