Sandow the Magnificent: Eugen Sandow and the Beginnings of Bodybuilding
David L. Chapman
Before Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steve Reeves, or Charles Atlas, there was German-born Eugen Sandow (1867-1925), a muscular vaudeville strongman who used his good looks, intelligence, and business savvy to forge a fitness empire.
David L. Chapman tells the story of the immensely popular showman who emphasized physique display rather than lifting prowess. But he also looks at Sandow's success off-stage, where the entertainer helped found the fitness movement by establishing a worldwide chain of gyms, publishing a popular magazine, selling exercise equipment, and pioneering the use of food supplements. Chapman explains physical culture's popularity in terms of its wider social implications while ... Read more
This new edition has been revised and enlarged with an afterword that includes unpublished information, new photographs of Sandow and his contemporaries, and an updated index.
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About David L. Chapman
Reviews for Sandow the Magnificent: Eugen Sandow and the Beginnings of Bodybuilding
Joe Roark, FLEX "A fascinating story. . . . Arnold, eat your heart out!"
Elliot J. Gorn, editor of Muhammad Ali: The People's Champ "Chapman has written a first-rate biography ... Read more