![]() When describing Eugen Sandow, an early 1900s weightlifting star, on his opening night at the Trocadero, Black writes: The subjects get a few richly described pages about who they were, their fitness background, accomplishments, protégées, and legacy. The book reads like a personality timeline, usually focusing on one fitness influencer at a time. The first covers fitness history up to 1900, emphasizing the Greeks and the nineteenth century American combination of muscles plus morals, which contemporary pundits called “muscular Christianity.” Then Black slows down his narrative, covering two to three decades of American fitness history per chapter and ending with the present-day Zumba craze and scandals in the yoga community. ![]() The interest is certainly warranted according to Black’s accounting, a parade of passionate, charismatic, and quirky folks shaped the fitness industry.īlack divides his story into nine chapters. He is enthralled by personality and loves to dig into personal backgrounds to unearth the motivations of these fitness pioneers. ![]() ![]() Making the American Body author Jonathan Black carefully researched many of the leading characters in American fitness history. But what led to our current glut of yoga studios, cross-fit gyms, and celebrity beach bodies? As historians know, Americans were not always so obsessed with physical perfection. ![]()
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