Synopses & Reviews
If you thought the fitness craze was about being healthy, think again. Although Charles Atlas, Jack LaLanne, Jim Fixx, Jane Fonda, Richard Simmons, and Jillian Michaels might well point the way to a better body, they have done so only if their brands brought in profits. In the first book to tell the full story of the American obsession with fitness and how we got to where we are today, Jonathan Black gives us a backstage look at an industry and the people that have left an indelible mark on the American body and the consciousness it houses.
and#160;Spanning the nationand#8217;s fitness obsession from Atlas to Arnold, from Spinning to Zumba, and featuring an outrageous cast of characters bent on whipping us into shape while simultaneously shaping the way we view our bodies, Black tells the story of an outsized but little-examined aspect of our culture. With insights drawn from more than fifty interviews and attention to key developments in bodybuilding, aerobics, equipment, health clubs, running, sports medicine, group exercise, Pilates, and yoga, Making the American Body reveals how a focus on fitness has shaped not only our physiques but also, and more profoundly, American ideas of what and#8220;fitnessand#8221; is.
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Making the American Body is a fascinating and informative sprint through the history of body worship from the classical Greeks to the present-day fanatics of fitness.and#8221;and#8212;Pat Jordan, author of
A False SpringReview
and#8220;Jonathan Black vividly renders the trends and politics of the fitness movement through the decades, and many of the outsized personalities who have defined it. This is a fascinating and comprehensive look at what has become one of Americaand#8217;s defining obsessions.and#8221;and#8212;Charles Gaines, author and director of
Pumping IronReview
“Big bodies and bigger personalities built the American fitness industry. Jonathan Blacks excellent history, the first comprehensive account of this industrys emergence, is not just for fitness buffs. This is a great story that gets to the heart of two American obsessions: building muscles and making money. Informative, insightful, and highly entertaining.”—Jonathan Eig, New York Times best-selling author of Luckiest Man, Opening Day, and Get Capone Charles Gaines
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“An indispensable read for anyone who wants to understand the history of exercise in America and its occasional failings and many triumphs. It fills a long-neglected niche.”—Richard Cotton, national director of certification for the American College of Sports Medicine Jonathan Eig
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"In Making the American Body, Jonathan Black masterfully explores the many twists and evolutions of the fitness industry, from barbells to exercise machines to today's health clubs."and#8212;Jeff Friend, Foreword Reviews
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andquot;An engrossing history of fitness in the United States. . . . A must-read for fitness buffs and beefy enough to whet the appetite of even the most inert couch potato.andquot;andmdash;Kirkus Reviews
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andquot;An interesting history of physical fitness in America.andquot;andmdash;Karen Sutherland, Library Journal
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"The antecedents of the American fitness industry are varied and fascinating, and journalist Black . . . does a superb job of chronicling them."—Publishers Weekly Karen Sutherland - Library Journal
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andquot;The antecedents of the American fitness industry are varied and fascinating, and journalist Blackand#160;. . .and#160;does a superb job of chronicling them.andquot;andmdash;Publishers Weekly
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"As a book for a popular audience, it will be of interest to diverse readers."and#8212;J. L. Croissant, CHOICE
About the Author
Jonathan Black is a veteran of magazine editing, and his work has appeared in the
New York Times,
Inc.,
Forbes,
GQ, and the
American Spectator. He is the author of
Yes, You Can! Behind the Hype and Hustle of the Motivation Biz and has taught at Northwestern Universityand#8217;s Medill School of Journalism.