Description
Book SynopsisFor most of the twentieth century, the Mr. America image epitomized muscular manhood. From humble beginnings in 1939 at a small gym in Schenectady, New York, the Mr. America Contest became the world’s premier bodybuilding event over the next thirty years. Rooted in ancient Greek virtues of health, fitness, beauty, and athleticism, it showcased some of the finest specimens of American masculinity. Interviewing nearly one hundred major figures in the physical culture movement (including twenty-five Mr. Americas) and incorporating copious printed and manuscript sources, John D. Fair has created the definitive study of this iconic phenomenon.
Revealing the ways in which the contest provided a model of functional and fit manhood, Mr. America captures the event’s path to idealism and its slow descent into obscurity. As the 1960s marked a turbulent transition in American societyfrom the civil rights movement to the rise of feminism and increasing acceptance of homosexua
Trade Review
Fair’s book is deftly written and superbly researched. I have little doubt that this volume will remain one of the best sources for both the story of American bodybuilding and the “tragic history” of its most famous contest. * Journal of Sport History *
Table of Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part 1: Precedents
- 1. The Greek Ideal
- 2. The Athletic Body
- Part 2: The Golden Age
- 3. The First Mr. America Contests
- 4. The Glory Years
- 5. Multiple Mr. Americas
- 6. Winds of Change
- Part 3: Decline and Fall
- 7. The Arnold Era
- 8. The Sprague Revolution
- 9. Professionalizing Amateurism
- 10. Eclipse of an Icon
- Epilogue and Conclusion
- Appendix: Mr./Ms. America Titlists
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
