Making the American Body
The Remarkable Saga of the Men and Women Whose Feats, Feuds, and Passions Shaped Fitness History
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- 24,99 €
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- 24,99 €
Publisher Description
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. Spanning the nation’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 “fitness” is.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The antecedents of the American fitness industry are varied and fascinating, and journalist Black (Yes, You Can!: Behind the Hype and Hustle of the Motivation Biz) does a superb job of chronicling them from the early days of body builders on Santa Monica's Muscle Beach, through the creation of gyms as spare as "dungeons," to the high-end health clubs of today. In this nonacademic history, Black brings to life folks like Charles Atlas, Joe Gold, and Doris Barrilleaux (" the First Lady of Bodybuilding' "), while analyzing the ways in which these individuals used their charisma to shape public perception and attract more people and more money into the world of fitness. The author explains the impact of technological advances, such as the variable resistance Nautilus machine ("the greatest innovation in fitness equipment in the latter half of the twentieth century") and Jane Fonda's workout videos, which ushered organized exercise into the homes of millions and kicked off the age of branded fitness fads (e.g., Jazzercise, Zumba...). Black explores the underside of the industry as well, calling out false health claims, the hard-selling of memberships, and much more. 19 photos.
