Muscle, Confessions of an Unlikely Bodybuilder

This is possibly the most important narrative every written on bodybuilding and should be mandatory reading for anyone considering going into the sport. Lifters will get a better education on the realities of the lifting culture and drug-enhanced competitive bodybuilding than they're likely to encounter anywhere else. This true story reads like surreal black humor. The author's roots in English academia produce an extremely well-written expose sure to grip, fascinate and entertain any reader who appreciates a ripping good read on a bizarre subculture.

"Fussell abandons his privileged life in literary academia to become a bodybuilder.... so weak from intense training and starvation he could barely walk ...devout, single-minded acceptance of illness, pain, nausea, and steroid-induced rage in his quest for the holy grail of physical perfection," (publisher).

BOOKSHELF STATUS: This is one of my favorite books.