Sandow the Magnificent: Eugen Sandow and the Beginnings of Bodybuilding

Sport and Society

by 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 delving into how Sandow, by making exercise fashionable, ushered in the fitness craze that continues today.  This new edition has been revised and enlarged with an afterword that includes unpublished information, new photographs of Sandow and his contemporaries, and an updated index.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

273 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1994

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

As biographies go, this one was easy to read and contains basic information and conjecture. Having seen his cabinet cards sell on ebay for hundreds of dollars, I was intrigued to find out more about him. There are some follow up references from the text which I will check out. Hopefully Google will come through for me.

[Migs Fiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exhaustive and well-written biography of the Father of Bodybuilding. It is easy to read, and even people who are not into the sport would appreciate this. I especially enjoyed the excitement, the challenges, and the drama of the first half of the book.

Thanks to David Chapman and his interest in bodybuilding and the male physique, I got to know Eugen Sandow.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine standard biography of a man whose life was mostly myth and fiction, but I think a more creative sort could've done more with that than Chapman did. But I doubt we'll be revisiting the ol' Sandow story anytime soon. A breezy, interesting reading, and part of a good primer (along with Fair's book on Hoffman and the 2-volume Roach set) on strength and bodybuilding in the 20th century.