In 1999, after a series of wildly adventurous jobs around the world, Sam Sheridan found himself in Australia, loaded with cash and intent on not working until he’d spent it all. It occurred to him that, without distractions, he could finally indulge a long-dormant obsession: fighting. Within a year, he was in Bangkok training with the greatest fighter in muay Thai (Thai kickboxing) history and stepping through the ropes for a professional bout. That one fight wasn’t enough. Sheridan set out to test himself on an epic journey into how and why we fight, facing Olympic boxers, Brazilian jiu-jitsu stars, and Ultimate Fighting champions. Along the way, Sheridan delivers an insightful look at violence as a career and a spectator sport, a behind-the-pageantry glimpse of athletes at the top of their terrifying game. An extraordinary combination of gonzo journalism and participatory sports writing, A Fighter’s Heart is a dizzying first-hand account of what it’s like to reach the peak of finely disciplined personal aggression, to hit—and be hit.
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Great Insight Comment: This book is great for anyone that has been a fighter or any type or is interested in getting into fighting. It gives you a great insight into what these guys go through on a daily basis and what it takes to compete with some of the best MMA fighters. It is also really well written because of Sam's level of education. I definitely reccomend this to any fight fan. Customer Rating: Summary: A Fighters Journey Comment: I've been reading a few reviews and while some are nice the rest just don't understand what this book is about. This book is a book for fighters from a fighter. Sam actually lived the dream that most of us who practice Martial Arts and or fight have always had. To go to different parts of the world and train with the best. It reminds me of a quote I love when I hear some of the bad comments on this book:
It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat." -Teddy Roosevelt
And as far as the dogfighting goes, nobody hates dogfighting more than I do, I guarantee it. But Sam isn't saying that dogfighting is good. Sam explains how the dogs are seen in the fights. And he does this so he can understand why fighters have so much love and admiration for dogs.
I absolutely loved this book, and if there is someone I would love to sit down and drink a cup of coffee with it would be this man, a Fighter.
Another thing, fighting isn't about fluffy bunnies or happily ever after. It's a fighter thing you probably wouldn't understand. Also, if you liked the book don't forget to check out Fighting Fear an article written by Sam Sheridan, it's on his myspace page. Customer Rating: Summary: Excellent Book on the Nature of Fighting Comment: Sam Sheridan had the type of early adulthood that someone who it seems is building a life in preparation for a memoir. After graduating from high school, he worked at a merchant marine. He left the merchant marines for Harvard and after graduating from Harvard crewed on an antique yacht as it crossed the globe. Getting off in Australia, he got deeply into Muay Thai (Thai kick boxing) and that is where this memoir/meditation on fighting begins.
Sheridan takes us from a training camp in Thailand, where he is one of a few crazy foreigners, through the mixed martial arts gyms of the Midwest, then to Brazil for Brazilian Jui Jitsu, on to Oakland for traditional boxing, then a detour into the world of dog fighting until we end up back where we started, in Thailand where the world of Muay Thai has changed, and foreigners are everywhere.
This is a remarkably smart book and we see Sheridan's understanding of the nature of fighting change as he ages and becomes more aware of not only the glamour, but the price paid for physical combat. The early sections on Thailand and the MMA gyms in the Midwest have the sort of gallant devil may care attitude that only the young can afford. But latter scenes, including a haunting interview with a fighter who killed someone in the ring and has never gotten over it show you the dark side to all that violence.
I found the chapter on dog fighting out of place and a little too detached in a professional journalism way. Dog fighting is disgusting, and Sheridan should have said so in a more straightforward way. That said, the rest of the book is really top notch with honest portrayals of Sheridan and the fighters he meets. If you're interested in the world of fighting, and what it means to be a fighter, either professionally or in the amateur arena, I highly recommend checking this one out.
Customer Rating: Summary: Top Fight Book Comment: This book is some of the best literature on a fighters mentality. It's a great insight into the world that if you are not a fighter very few people who do not fight can't understand. Guys give it to your mom and girlfriends who ask why we want to do it. And it has a ton of great quotes. Customer Rating: Summary: Inspiring, Thoughtful, and Well Written Comment: I don't read many books all the way through because I feel most of them are over-written, non-fiction in particular. This book was so much different. I thought the book ended too soon. Sheridan gets into the lives of individual fighters while he journeys around the world in an effort to tune his own fighting skills. But the author finds a gracious way to write about his own journey while still taking a back seat to other, more accomplished, fighters. His humility seems genuine. Most important, the characters he writes about are interesting. He invites the reader into the early days of MMA and the purity and passion that propelled it before big money came into the picture. Even if you are not a fighter this book is worth the read. Enjoy!
