Customer Reviews

Picturing The Modern Amazon

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This museum-quality, coffee-table book is outstanding in every respect. Produced to accompany the New Museum of Contemporary Art exhibit, the book faithfully recaptures the power and immediacy of the exhibit photographs and art reproductions. The authors gathered the finest images from the long history of strong women, spanning the worlds of circus, of cartoons, of classical sculpture, and of modern bodybuilding. The illustrations and their captions convey a story in themselves, without ever needing to read the text. But what a storehouse of information is contained in the text! As a professional female bodybuilder myself, I have read nearly everything about my sport. This book gives an honest portrayal of the sport and of the ways in which female bodybuilders are presented to, and perceived by, the dominant culture. It effectively conveys the Catch-22 that enmeshes women of strength. Would a female sprinter be told, "Run fast, but not too fast. Don't try to run as fast as the men." How this situation came to be, and its effect on the sport's top competitors is carefully and responsibly presented here. The interviews with five very diverse representatives of women's bodybuilding are, in themselves, worth the price of the book. In addition, the authors present essays by the sports' acknowledged top historian, Steve Wennerstrom, and the sports' premiere sociologist, Leslie Heywood. The essays are daring, provocative, and brilliantly illustrated. Issues of race and class are addressed head-on. This is a strong book that doesn't apologize for itself or its subjects. This book will be enjoyed by anyone who has a fascination with women and strength.

A great compendium of pictures and information -- you don't get this stuff often. This book talks to your inner Terminatrix -- not only guys get muscles. Gals can be hardbody beautiful too!