Muscletown USA: Bob Hoffman and the Manly Culture of York Barbell
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.47 (728 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0271018550 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 432 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-09-03 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
“Meticulously documented and generously illustrated, this important contribution to the history of American culture is essential for the sports and American studies sections of all public and academic libraries.”—Library Journal“Fair’s tale is peppered with stories about ethnic assimilation through weightlifting success, Olympic glory, and the protracted struggle between the empires of York and Weider. Meticulously documented and generously illustrated, this important contribution to the history of American culture is essential for the
From the 1930s to the 1980s, the capital of weightlifting in America was York, Pennsylvania, the home of the York Barbell Company. Hoffman soon recruited a remarkable group of athletes, whom he tagged his "York Gang." He gave these men jobs in the factory, where they trained for national and international meets. Bob Hoffman, the founder of York Barbell, propagated an ideology of success for Americans seeking physical improvement. Gradually, Hoffman emerged as one of the most prominent muscle peddlers in America, using his fame and fortune to promote competitive weightlifting, bodybuilding, and powerlifting. Muscletown USA—part biography, part business history, and part sports history—chronicles how Hoffman made York the mecca of manly culture for millions of followers worldwide.Hoffman created his so-called muscle empire out of an oil-burner business that he started in the early 1920s
LET HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN I grew up in a household in which I was not welcome. Two individuals made my life bearable: Mickey Mantle and Bob Hoffman! From the late fifties through the late sixties I was a welterweight lifter out of Oakland, California. I enjoyed a small measure of success. I can recall being at the newsstand each month on the appropriate day to search the racks for the latest Strength and Health. I would read those magazines from cover to cover, every word, and would do so several times before the next issue was released. And throughout those years I certainly bought more tha. lionintheorchard said to arms. This book has much information in it about York Barbell and Hoffman, its founder. The author has done much reading in the source materials. He was given access by Alda Ketterman(Hoffman's widow) and John Terpak, his associate, to additional Hoffman writings and Terpak's records. I reckon at the Stark centre in Austin, which contains the Ottley Coulter collection(as well as much more), collected by Jan and Terry Todd(both former world champion powerlifters in their respective heavyweight classes) as well as the work of many others he got help too. The book may be aug. If you've ever lifted a barbell, Bob Hoffman might be the reason why. An excellent source for anyone interested in learning about the history of weightlifting or bodybuilding (or manliness) in the United States. I grew up in York, PA, but I never really understood the extent of York Barbell's influence on weightlifting until I read this book. It reads like a biography of Bob Hoffman, and probably could have been trimmed down a bit, but you can't really fault the author for giving you *more* detail than you really need.I did find the "Bob was always trying to prove his manhood" theme a bit heavy handed, because many of the behaviors at
America contest.. He is the author of two books on modern British history. John D. Fair is professor of history and chair of the Department of History and Geography at Georgia College & State University in Milledgville, Georgia. He has competed in more than fifty Olympic and powerlifting meets, coached several teams,