Mr. America: How Muscular Millionaire Bernarr Macfadden Transformed the Nation Through Sex, Salad, and the Ultimate Starvation Diet

by Mark Adams

“A remarkable story. . . . It is to Mark Adams’s great credit that, in Mr. America, he has rescued from obscurity a man whose influence is still felt in this country more than a century after he muscled his way onto the national scene.” —Wall Street Journal

“Hilarious. . . . Delightful. . . . If Macfadden hadn’t existed, we would have had to invent him.” —Washington Post

Mr. America is the fascinating true story of Bernarr Macfadden, a self-made millionaire and founding father of bodybuilding, alternative medicine, and tabloid culture. Madfadden’s impact on popular American culture is everywhere, from yoga to raw food diets to US Weekly, and Mr. America vividly brings to life this charismatic and intriguing character.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Health, Fitness

304 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2009

About the author

Mark Adams is the author of the acclaimed history Mr. America, which The Washington Post named a Best Book of 2009, and the New York Times bestsellers Turn Right at Machu Picchu, which Men's Journal selected as one of the Fifty Greatest Adventure Books of All Time, and Meet Me in Atlantis. His work appears in many national publications, including GQ, Rolling Stone, Outside and the New York Times. He lives near New York City with his family.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Reviews

[George Ilsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, interesting read. Had not heard of the celebrated Macfadden but was familiar with several of the people his life intersected (for example, Kellogg and Comstock). At times the writing got in the way of the story; Adams uses judgmental or sarcastic language in order to telegraph his feelings. The story is incredible enough without any need to call attention to the author’s reactions.

Did Macfadden create tabloid culture? That may be a stretch. Did Macfadden help create the modern bodybuilding / physique culture / fitness industry? There's a strong argument to be made that he certainly helped kick it off.

Mercifully, Adams leaves it to the epilog to document his experiments with different "physical culture" programs Macfadden advocated. On each one, Adams lost weight and felt better, however, he did not stick to any of the programs. That is the trick, isn't it, perseverance— the discipline or motivation to eat properly, every day, not just for a 2 week experiment, in order to maintain a healthy condition.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adams' writing is competent, but his subject? My god. This man, even more than Bob Hoffman or Arthur Jones, truly lived the American dream. Weightlifting icon, publishing magnate, ladies' man, and completely fucking insane...Bernarr Macfadden did it all, and he came from absolutely nothing to do so (and left no real mark, as Adams points out). What a tale!

[Mitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am all over the boards on this one. That's why I'm giving it a middle-of-the-road rating.

The author did a lot of research, clearly. He also tried some of Bernarr McFaddon's less hare-brained ideas about dieting. That added an element of interest there at the end. I don't think much of it is sustainable in the long run, however.

That's one side of the coin.

The other is this: while being an eccentric and larger-than-life character well beyond his musculature, Bernarr laid the groundwork for the health and fitness scene we have today. For this we must thank him.

He also laid the foundation for entertainment magazines and the National Enquirer. For this we curse him roundly.

His family, I am sure, did both. He ruled over their waking activities like a tyrant, dictating what they'd eat, when they'd sleep with the windows open, and how much they'd exercise. Early on Bernarr was a strong advocate of eugenics and he was trying to produce physically and mentally superior children. He didn't, but he tried a lot.

He also blamed an early death of one child on his wife for 'overfeeding' the baby. He did this in one of his widely-read publications against his editor's advice. The words 'heartless bastard' spring to mind.

He found himself in constant trouble with law agencies for flogging health practices that had little substantiation to prove they worked. Further trouble came from his magazines for showing a substantial amount of skin.

There were shady business practices.

There were four messy divorces and multiple lawsuits.

He built an empire of sorts and watched it fall...ending up with nothing for himself or to leave to his children upon his death.

Yes, he was not your average man, but he both succeeded and failed through such means that I could not admire him. He took everything too far.

[Amy Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly, I have a slight connection to the subject. I grew up on the campus of and attended Castle Heights Military Academy, which Bernarr Macfadden owned (he bought it in 1928). I tell you this because that might bias my rating a bit. Macfadden's life story is an incredible one. I mean, in this day and age, if you read some of these life tales you would think you were reading The Onion. The last sentence of the prologue is this: His story is an odd one, sometimes verging on the fantastic, but to the best of my knowledge, everything that follows is true.

There are some things in the book and the research with which I have minor quibbles, but I have some "insider information" and my quibbles won't affect the general reader's enjoyment. (Edited to say: the "insider information" isn't meant to sound posh. It's just a comment.)

I can't say that I agree with a lot of Macfadden's ideas or methods, but I admire his audacity. He was never afraid that he was going to make a fool of himself or fail (and he did both many times, spectacularly).

Macfadden was responsible for the first bodybuilding competitions in the US. He published magazines like Physical Culture (one of the first fitness magazines) and True Detective. He appeared on game shows alongside the likes of Buster Keaton. He jumped out of airplanes and had some grand political aspirations. It's strange how almost no one knows who he is these days.

If you you enjoy biographies of someone like, for example, Howard Hughes, you will probably enjoy this book. You will also enjoy it if you are looking into the history of fitness programs, diets, or bodybuilding in the United States.

[Sam]

An interesting book which offers insight into the formative years of America's love affair with muscles and physical well being especially through so called natural methods. Bernarr McFadden was not alone; Eugene Sandow, the Prussian who had moved to London was his contemporary and they pretty much started the Physical culture on both sides of the Atlantic. Yet, it is McFadden who stands out in his embrace of homo eroticism: the saunas, nude sunbathing , scantily dressed and titillating photographs of both men and women ; all fairly scandalizing in those days and leading me to wonder about his sexuality. Clearly he is straight as can be with no hint of any bisexuality in his fairly long list of infidelities. Yet his love for the male body and celebration of sexuality seems like what one would traditionally associate with a homosexual men. Looking at him I am almost forced to introduce a distinction between "sexual tastes" and "erotic tastes", something similar to gender identity and sexual identity; in sexual tastes straight, yet very gay and homosexual in erotic tendencies.

It is saddening to read about his embrace of Nazism and Fascism and his blind faith in "natural cures" which are at best a healthy lifestyle choice and not medicine, He oddly believed that only white men could fast for 7 days; Clearly being in the dark about the the starving brown masses of India, during the 18th and 19th century. In his tryst with Mussolini and Hitler whom he published in his magazine, he seems oddly obsessed with the magnificent muscular bodies these two political philosophies were apparently going to produce.which takes me back to my original question. Which straight man is so interested in the handsome bodies other men and supports a political party that is going to create greek demi-gods on earth and if so why?

Did MacFadden's magazines start physical culture or was it the beginning of pornography as his critics allege?. One of "Body Lover" McFadden as he was nicknamed by the Time's other magazine, the first of tabloids, The New York Evening Graphic, was definitely criticized for being trashy and smutty.. Has the author,Mark Adam's been too kind to him with no mention of McFadden's sexual ideas and infidelities.

To try to sum up his contributions to America and the world I am going to quote from the last page of the book " The Bernarr MacFadden Foundation did not save America from its sad fate as a notion of flabby mollycoddles"

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's amazing to discover a "famous" person that no one has ever heard of. This guy, Bernarr McFadden was doing the Charles Atlas body-building thing in the early 1900's. He was a health food fanatic who opened restaurants in many major cities which fed health food for one cent during the depression years. He started health clinics and had numerous health publications and went all over the world pushing the ideas of good health through exercise, fresh air and sunshine, raw vegetables and fruits, and a healthy outlook on sex and nudity. Amazingly he was born in poverty and shuffled around as an orphan, practically starved and over-worked before he reached adulthood and yet thrived and became a multi-millionaire during very hard economic times. He died almost penniless, leaving 4 ex-wives and a bunch of kids at the age of 87 and the probable cause of death was starvation. ( He was a big fan of fasting as a cure for any disease!)

[Chris Wares · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book on a whim having read and enjoyed some of the authors other books. I didn't really know what it was about and having read the blurb I wasn't sure a book about a health guru was my cup of tea.

It turns out it's a pretty good tale to tell. Macfadden was a force of nature. A deprived childhood. A passion for body building and a range of health fads. A popular journal that spawned a media empire. Political campaigns. Downfalls.

[Leah Kinthaert · Rating 5 out of 5]

MacFadden was an abusive megalomaniac; he was also a mad genius. What I found most interesting about this book was the light it shines on world - and American - history. Not so long ago stuff like eugenics and fascism was considered A OK in polite society. Perhaps that’s why MacFadden has been ignored by cultural historians, he exposes something people want to conveniently sweep under the rug.

[Jesse Jost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and bizarre story about a crazy yet oddly inspiring health nut. Well written and humorous, the book covers side territory well. Recommended!

[Bambi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, what a weird subject for a book!! This is not a topic I would normally read about, but I'm enamored with Mark Adams' writing and thought I'd give it a try. Honestly, I can't believe I finished it.

This book is rated three stars because it's an average book, just as the principle character, Muscular Millionaire Bernard Macfadden, seems like an average guy.

Thanks Mark. I know a lot more about the history of physical culture, natural foods and dieting than I ever imagined I would. Glad you moved on to more intriguing subjects!!!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adams entertains, and makes a strong case that Macfadden influenced America: physical health (running, walking, bodybuilding), organic agriculture and natural diets, the gossip industry and celebrity culture, etc.

Notes:
2...sun worshipping, anti sexual repression, evils of white bread.
12...pre-adolescent binge on tobacco and alcohol
15...self-creation myths (like Teddy R, Oprah, ...) .... dumbbells at open window
Inspired by Barnum circus male performers, built gym in cellar
20...classical ideal of mens sana in corpore sano ...a sound mind in a sound body (ASICS shoes)
26...tinkered with various names ... wrestling promoting 1890
32...1893 Chicago World's Fair ... Flo Ziegfeld & Eugene Sandow (strong man, posing in front of black backdrop)
37...believed in the Noble Savage idea
Nude modeling for NYC Art Students League
41...Physical Culture magazine launched March 1899 (Sandow same title, July 1898, in England)
44...celebs, feminine appeal, sex
50...1903/4, $1k for most perfect male ...Al Treloar won, later introduced body beautiful to LA, LA Athletic Club 1906 to 1948
56...Comstockery vs Macfaddenism, 20,000 at MSG
102...Sanger, birth control, Planned Parenthood
104...True Story launched 1919
113...Charles Atlas, June 1915... dynamic tension
136-137...Ed Sullivan
182...mid 30s, Can a Wrestler Beat a Boxer?
184...March 1933, Strength & Health mag, Bob Hoffman, moved body building from sideshows to competitive fields ... Jack LaLanne
206...Dec 1938, Macfadden ideal prevalent in Hollywood, Weissmuller's Tarzan
First Mr America contest held in 1939 ... Joe Weider, body-building as entertainment industry (found Schwarzenegger)
211...Physical Culture magazine folded tin 1942
218...editor/exec Fulton Oursler got religion, wrote The Greatest Story Ever Told, novelization of Jesus' life. One of 20th century's most popular books ... Died 1952, 2 years later movie rights sold for $2M.
230...Dansville, upstate NY ... Polar Bear Club...founded 1903?
4 words: Eat less and exercise ... Goes back to ancient Athens
231...50s/60s publisher Jerome Rodale fervent admirer of BM ... launched True Health Stories, Organic Gardening & Farming, Prevention (more holistic, less muscular Physical Culture)
232...died on Dick Cavett show...son started Runner's World, Men's Health
234...natural diet more popular than ever....(1912 Encyclo of Physical Culture) (Pollard's In Defense of Food)
journalistic influence...Walter Winchell, incubated the gossip industry

[Gregg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early 20th century fitness fanatic/health guru turns magazine mogul. Author suggests Macfadden is forefather of gossip and celebrity culture (e.g., Us Weekly, People, E! Network, TMZ) as well as racier media like Playboy and Jerry Springer Show. It's always interesting to see how people from decades ago thought and acted. Interesting, light, and mostly entertaining read. HT to Art of Manliness Podcast for tipping me off to this book.

[Ronald House · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional character study of a larger than life person born into poverty, acquiring great riches, falling back into poverty, and ultimately dying alone.

[Art · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know you may not have guessed this, but around the age of 13, I developed a lifelong love of barbells and dumbbells. Over the years, to educate myself, I read tons books on the subject of weight lifting. However, until this book, I had never heard of Bernarr Macfadden. Since he did a great deal to transform American society, I believe it's unfortunate so few people know about him today.

Growing up in Missouri in the late 1800s, Macfadden became an orphan at a fairly young age. One day, Macfadden stumbled into a gym filled with German immigrants lifting weights. Macfadden decided he wanted to look like these men. Over time, Macfadden added muscle to his 5'6" frame, took to wrestling, lecturing, and posing for audiences. In 1899, he started publishing Physical Culture magazine. Declaring "WEAKNESS IS A CRIME! DON'T BE A CRIMINAL!" Macfadden used the magazine to preach against the medical establishment, corsets, muscular inactivity, alcohol, white bread, cigarettes, and prudishness. A typical ad from Physical Culture during the Mid-1930s reads "No One Sends Flowers to a Fat Girl..." Macfadden later published the serial True Story. Over time, he added many other magazine and newspaper titles to his media empire. At one time, he was estimated to be worth around 30 million dollars. His disciples ranged from the socialist Upton Sinclair to the Fascist Benito Mussolini, from strongman Charles Atlas to movie icon Rudolph Valentino. Among Macfadden's employees were Ed Sullivan, Walter Winchell, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Macfadden was known as "B.M." to many of his devoted disciples. Due to it's digestive connotation, "B.M." was Macfadden's favorite nickname.

Sex: B.M. believed an active sex life was good for both the body and soul. However, discussing and writing about this subject was controversial at the time. In 1907, B.M. was arrested for sending "obscene, lewd, and lascivious" material through the mail. The court found such steamy prose as "I took her on my lap and kissed and fondled her" just too hot to handle. In 1912, Macfadden's books were banned from the mails. A strong advocate for the sanctity of marriage, B.M. was married four times during his life. There was also Susie Wood, Macfadden's adoring secretary. In addition to her secretarial duties, she bore B.M. a child. Discretion was not one of Macfadden's strong points. B.M.'s sexual shenanigans once led a Mr. Adams to sue Macfadden for alienating the affections of Mrs. Adams. However, Mrs. Adams explained that she had left Mr. Adams and been intimate with Macfadden "because she liked him better." Time, ever eager to link Macfadden and the subject of sex, mentioned that Mrs. Adams admired his "technique."

Politics: Not content to be a publishing tycoon, Macfadden tried running for public office a few times. The Macfadden political platform went something like this: He was in favor of states' rights, nudity, long walks, strong leadership, and birth control. He was against overeating, doctors, vaccination, small talk, communists and sleeping with the windows shut.

Food: Macfadden believed the average American ate too much processed food and exercised too little. In his day, if something green slipped into the American diet, it was likely mold. B.M. recommended his followers eat a strict vegetarian diet. However, there was a persistent rumor that one could sometimes smell beef steak cooking in the Macfadden home. Macfadden was always trying some new diet and exercise routine. He was a big believer in fasting, sometimes for days on end.

Final Years: The last decade of Macfadden's life was no doubt painful for him. An attempt to start his own religion, mixing Christianity and his health ideas didn't find many adherents. With his financial and physical health in decline, B.M. found himself spending time and money battling various people in court. Ex-wives #3 and #4 were at the top of the list. He died, virtually penniless, at the age of 87.

The author finishes the book by trying out what he calls the Bernarr Macfadden Physical Culture Diet. In a nutshell:

1. Prepare To Feel Hungry (Hunger Is Your Friend)
2. Eliminate Caffeine And Alcohol
3. Start With A Fast
4. Cut Your Food Intake In Half
5. Eat Raw, Fibrous, And Bland
6. Chew Chew Chew
7. Embrace The Miracle Of Milk
8. Walk Till You Drop
9. Build Strength/Muscle
10. Shift To Two Meals A Day

The author reports that he did lose weight and feel better on the Macfadden routine.

From extreme diets to natural foods to bodybuilding to publishing to sex education, Macfadden had an enormous impact on American society. The author does an excellent job of bringing this colorful character back to life. If you read this book, sit down, buckle up, hold on, and prepare for one wild ride! A fun, and sometimes funny read.

[Samuel Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book which offers insight into the formative years of America's love affair with muscles and physical well being especially through so called natural methods. Bernarr McFadden was not alone; Eugene Sandow, the Prussian who had moved to London was his contemporary and they pretty much started the Physical culture on both sides of the Atlantic. Yet, it is McFadden who stands out in his embrace of homo eroticism: the saunas, nude sunbathing , scantily dressed and titillating photographs of both men and women ; all fairly scandalizing in those days and leading me to wonder about his sexuality. Clearly he is straight as can be with no hint of any bisexuality in his fairly long list of infidelities. Yet his love for the male body and celebration of sexuality seems like what one would traditionally associate with a homosexual men. Looking at him I am almost forced to introduce a distinction between "sexual tastes" and "erotic tastes", something similar to gender identity and sexual identity; in sexual tastes straight, yet very gay and homosexual in erotic tendencies.

It is saddening to read about his embrace of Nazism and Fascism and his blind faith in "natural cures" which are at best a healthy lifestyle choice and not medicine, He oddly believed that only white men could fast for 7 days; Clearly being in the dark about the the starving brown masses of India, during the 18th and 19th century. In his tryst with Mussolini and Hitler whom he published in his magazine, he seems oddly obsessed with the magnificent muscular bodies these two political philosophies were apparently going to produce.which takes me back to my original question. Which straight man is so interested in the handsome bodies other men and supports a political party that is going to create greek demi-gods on earth and if so why?

Did MacFadden's magazines start physical culture or was it the beginning of pornography as his critics allege?. One of "Body Lover" McFadden as he was nicknamed by the Time's other magazine, the first of tabloids, The New York Evening Graphic, was definitely criticized for being trashy and smutty.. Has the author,Mark Adam's been too kind to him with no mention of McFadden's sexual ideas and infidelities.

To try to sum up his contributions to America and the world I am going to quote from the last page of the book " The Bernarr MacFadden Foundation did not save America from its sad fate as a notion of flabby mollycoddles"

[Derrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like so many reviewers on this site, I had never heard of Bernarr Macfadden. I stumbled across this book on amazon a few months ago while searching for books about health and fitness. It turns out that Macfadden was for several decades one of the most famous men in the world, though he died penniless and alone in 1955.

Though you may be as ignorant of him as I was, you can rest assured his influence is felt in your life every day. Macfadden basically created the fitness industry as we know it, especially through his magazine PHYSICAL CULTURE. While he perhaps had some crackpot ideas, his message of healthy living through proper diet and exercise can be found at the base of so much of what came after. (Example: Macfadden was a crusader against white flour long before it occurred to anyone else that it might be unwise to base so much of our diet on it.)

The other thing he did through the Macfadden newspapers and magazines -- and the author is clear in the epilogue to criticize him for this legacy -- is to create the celebrity/tabloid culture that has changed news reporting and dumbed down our populace.

Macfadden comes across as a generally lovable nutcase who walked barefoot 25 miles to work many days, but he treated his wife and children as slaves and tools for his theories. The author obviously admires the man, though he's clear not to whitewash Bernarr's character. (And yet he does not make a lot of editorial comments throughout the book, saving his opinions for the epilogue.) It makes for a balanced and fascinating chronicle of a brilliant and bizarre man who changed the world. You'll find yourself at equal points chuckling about his antics and shaking your head at his audacity.

The final chapter recounts the author's personal experiences trying some of Macfaddens healthy living prescriptions for himself. It's interesting to see that many of the techniques worked very well for him.

In all, Mr. America is a terrific read, inspiring and amusing and educational all in one.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fun and enlightening read. I had never heard of Bernarr McFadden before and was intrigued to discover what a large figure he was in the creation of the modern fitness industry, the newspaper business, and beyond. As you read, you will discover his life was intertwined with many people you know as household names in history. You will find the seeds of such ideas as intermittent fasting, avoiding white starchy foods, regular exercise, and more. Inspiring men like Jack Lalanne, Joe Weider, and discovering none other than Charles Atlas, Bernarr McFadden was a man before his time.

A unique and idiosyncratic character, Bernarr McFadden's story is a tragic success story, and yet inspirational in his crusade for better human health and lifestyles.

[Avis Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

MacFadden had a childhood so wretched he made Oliver Twist looked privileged. His drunken father abandoned him, and his mother died of consumption. Sent to an orphanage, he starved so seriously that when he would walnut shells along with the meats.

Macfadden was responsible for developed 'Muscle Culture,' and he founded several well-known magazines of his day. He deserves more credit than he gets for operating a chain of restaurants that fed people dirt-cheap meals during the Great Depression. This biography is ultimately a rather sad book about a fundamentally decent, though sometimes wrong-headed man.

[Jeff Russo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It turns out, Macfadden was a trailblazer in an area I appreciate far more than his work in diet and physical fitness; when it was time to get a wedding ring for his (third) wife, where did he take her? Yes, the pawnshop.

I've been a shouting in the wilderness critic of the Jewelry Industrial Complex for some time. Should I ever be stupid enough to get married, there certainly would be no engagement ring and a wedding ring would be procured Macfadden-style. But even that may be too profligate given my thoughts on jewelry.

If you spend more than the price of a latte on jewelry, you're getting rolled.

Oh yes, I enjoyed the book.

[Denali · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is like a full length magazine profile, which is excellent, esp. since McFadden was crazy enough to provide sufficient interesting material but Adams has enough hold on the stories to keep the book feeling like its hopping from one outrageous incident to the next. What kind of man (you might wonder) would attempt to name one of his daughters Brawnda, commission a large nude sculpture of another, create a breakfast cereal called Strengtho, and try to run for president, senator and governor? This guy (and theres more). A fun read.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was easy to read, which was nice, but got repetitive in places. It is interesting how many of the ideas of this guy have kept coming back in and out of fashion for so many years. You'd think health and diet and nutrition would be fairly constant things, not subject to trends and fashion, but they're not. Bernarr McFadden would still find his niche today with his eat only raw foods and minimally processed foods!

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to write something about Macfadden, but for the life of me I can't figure out what to say. What do you say about someone that had such a profound effect on our culture and yet has been so thoroughly scrubbed from the history books that you've probably never heard of him? I hadn't anyway.

I suppose the author summed it up nicely when referencing the impact Macfadden has on us to this day:

"We are all his children."

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was about an interesting subject (Bernarr McFadden's diet and exercise ideas, before those kind of ideas were popular and the influence he has had on the newspaper industry),the book itself was way to long, I skipped whole sections! The epilogue, where the author actually tries out Bernarr McFadden's healthful ideas was very interesting.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read related to Bernarr Macfadden and his life. I appreciate Mark Adams research that he does related to Macfadden and appreciate Adams putting a few of Dr. Bernarr's extreme philosophies to test, reporting the feedback - that way I don't have to try it! Bernarr Macfadden as a person...not for me, however, I will give him credit for following his philosophies/dreams.

[Laura Elmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had heard about Bernarr McFadden most of my life because my Father went to Castle Heights, but his story is so fantastic that it'sdifficult to believe that it's ttrue. The author does a great job with his research and writing....it's a great read and story.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it.

[Brent · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't as interesting as I would liked it to be.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. Thoroughly researched and well written.