Author:Jon Hotten
Bodybuilding is the wildest, wierdest sport in the world, but it's more than just a sport. It's a whole way of life for the supermen who scale its Olympian heights. Muscle is a journey through a land of giants, men for whom life is given meaning by the pursuit of the perfect pec and who worship at the shrine of Schwartzenegger.
Jon Hotten has a 40-inch chest and 12-inch arms. Undaunted, he fights his unpromising genetics to hitch up with the bodybuilding circus, hanging out with the stars and legends, the casualties, gym rats and iron junkies. As his forbidding subjects open up, he discovers a story of unregulated excess, chemical mayhem and hard-won glory, a story for anyone who's ever looked in the mirror and wanted more...
Is there not something heroic in the single-minded pursuit of the maximally developed human body? Jon Hotten's superb book offers some answers
—— Steven Poole , The GuardianWhen it isn’t alarming, [it’s] merely amazing... Balanced, respectful, non-judgmental and rendered in an admirably muscular, entirely fat-free prose
—— Giles Smith , The TimesA compelling and often alarming through the darker side of gym culture
—— Time OutA compelling piece of reportage
—— Daily TelegraphLike a hardboiled detective story... The first must-buy book on its subject
—— Men's HealthA flawless and singular account of fights that remain potent and important decades after the final bell . . . Four Kings will, unquestionably, be ranked as a classic boxing book that will take future generations back to those smoky, raucous ringside nights in Vegas
—— Irish TimesFight fans wanting a good read on their summer holidays should grab a copy
—— Colin Hart , The SunCertainly the best value of any book out there at the minute as well as being comfortably among the best . . . probably the best boxing book since Kevin Mitchell's War, Baby
—— Sunday TribuneA born storyteller, [Kimball] throws in enough yarns and anecdotes to fill three or four books
—— Sunday Business Post