Stronger: The Untold Story of Muscle in Our Lives
4.2 | 119 ratings
Price: 21.26
Last update: 11-30-2025
Top reviews from the United States
- AubreyFascinating book based on the lives of three "strong" academics as well as mountains of research!As someone who just finished reading the book, I wanted to share that in addition to all the amazing research about the benefits of weight training and the myths surrounding it, what I enjoyed most in the book was how the author uses the lives of three people--all academics--to tell his larger story. I found it very cool that classicist Charles Stocking--an expert on ancient sport training--was also a competitive powerlifter and college strength coach. And Jan Todd's story--the pioneer of women's powerlifting who broke so many barriers for other women who wanted to train to be strong--was inspirational both because of what she did as an athlete and because she then decided to make her research focus the study of strength--which almost no one else was doing when she began her academic career. As for Dr. Sing--the gerontologist--I was aware of the work being done at Tufts University because of Dr. Miriam Nelson's book Strong Women Stay Young. But, Dr. Sing's research at the University of Sydney, after she left Tufts, has clearly gone well past that, and her results with her aging patients, some even over 90 years old, is amazing.
Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable read. I learned a lot from this book--and plan on giving copies to several friends. Definitely a five-star book for me! - RayInNashvilleWell written but not the subject matter I hoped for.Book appears to be well researched and well written but it is not the book I had hoped for. Too much about ancient history and not enough anatomy and physiology for my needs. Maybe it will an ok book for you.
- T. AlevizosEngaging. Substantive. Timeless.This book was a real eye-opener for me, and – bonus! – its educational value is almost matched by its literary merits. STRONGER is a BEAUTIFULLY written, emotionally affecting work. It's also an empowering one. After a lifetime of sitting on my butt, I was prompted to enroll in strength training and it has been a transformational experience.
To feel muscles where I never felt them, to have greater command over daily tasks, to move with agility at the age of 61, and to feel the satisfaction I feel after walking out of a training session are all invaluable enhancements to my quality of life. I'll say, too, that I found the portions of the book that chronicle the evolution of our understanding of muscle and muscle building to be fascinating. The way STRONGER excavates and explains what we once thought to be true and elucidates what we now know to be true is what makes it unique.
Honestly, I think Gross has given us a timeless work and a much-needed one. When I think about how important strength training is and the fact that so much of our knowledge is newly acquired, I'm kind of dumbstruck!
Let me also say this: There are lots of facts and anecdotes here that have made me a better cocktail and dinner party guest. I not only feel stronger these days, I feel smarter!
One other measure of the book's value: I've given copies to all my trainers and now they take better care of me than ever. - Francis O WalkerWhere's the Beef?‘Stronger’’ is a book of weightlifter anecdotes and Greco-Roman athletic history cemented with a thin mortar of modern research. Its key tenets, on the value of strength and resistance training are accurate and appropriately circumspect, and its motivational tone is prudent and convincing. Input from anyone dealing with disordered muscle function, physical therapists, neurologists, physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians is absent as are references to any of the extensive research on frailty and sarcopenia (fields in which there are over 30,000 publications in PubMed). While Homer, Hippocrates, Galen and Aristotle were the experts up until the Middle Ages, muscle physiology, pharmacology and anatomy have advanced since. Those interested in historical perspectives of athleticism and a journalist’s engaging interactions with thoughtful and influential individuals in the field of power lifting may find this book worthwhile.
- Andrea MCompelling and Transformative for the Mind and the BodyStronger is a book for your mind, body…and, yes: for the soul. Read Stronger if you care about how you move through your life and this world, if you care about your health—and health span. Read Stronger, not only to be graced with a captivating untold story with unforgettable characters, but with an artful, literary, tapestry of ancient history and cutting edge science. Stronger has transformed my workout, Perhaps more importantly (and surprisingly), this book by Michael Joseph Gross has illuminated the ways our ideas about muscle and our bodies —about who we are—have been shaped over time, by some wrong-minded individuals whose misconceptions have led us astray—at a staggering cost to our well-being—and it has enlightened me to the real story of the role muscle–-strength—has played in our human potential, a truth revealed through the expertise, work, and lives of the three right-minded, brave pioneers portrayed in Stronger. This truth, you’ll see, has the potential to define who we become.
- EmmaGreat bookWell written, interesting intersection of the history of strength and how our perception and value of it affects our lives and mindset.
- Susan RowanMotivationalThis is just the book I need. We have the same opinion!! However, Im a lazy dud at times!
- Dana McCarthyGet strong! It's never too late.Stronger is one of the best books about the human potential I have read! Very interesting ancient history about muscles, and the struggle to influence the medical community to prescribe exercise instead of drugs. Seems like common sense, since the mechanism of the body's structure was meant to move! I have recommended this book to many friends.