Stronger

Praise

“When I heard about Stronger, I was in heaven. The history, science, and practice of lifting weights, all in one place? That’s my kind of book! It tells the inspiring stories of athletes and scholars such as my friend Jan Todd, the pioneer of women’s powerlifting, and it shows the powerful research that proves that building strength and muscle could be a type of medicine for all kinds of people. Even if you’ve never picked up a weight—Stronger is for you. But be careful: Something tells me that by the time you finish, you’ll find plenty of reasons to try out resistance training.”
—Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Governor of California, seven-time Mr. Olympia, and bestselling author of The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding and Be Useful

“I started lifting weights in 1956, when I was fourteen. When Stronger is in readers’ hands, I’ll be eighty-three—I’ll still be lifting. From the Histories by  Herodotus to Pumping Iron—from Ancient Greece to Arnold Schwarzenegger—this is the enlightening history of weight training. I’m a full-time writer. I spend every day sitting on my glutes. Do your glutes a favor—read Stronger.”
—John Irving, National Book Award winning author of The World According to Garp, Oscar winning screenwriter of The Cider House Rules, and New York Times bestselling author of The Last Chairlift

“Stronger is at once a meditation on the relationship between soul and body and a practical guide to growing old. It is thoughtful, richly reported and totally compelling. The first thing I did after finishing it was buy a set of weights.”
—Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer-Prize winning author of the New York Times bestseller The Sixth Extinction

“Stronger is a pioneering narrative—a fascinating exploration, years in the making, of a hugely important part of human life and culture. It raises the question that great books do: Why has this not been written before?”
—William Langewiesche, nationally bestselling author of the National Book Critic’s Circle Award finalist American Ground

“An engagingly learned look at the human body.”
—Kirkus