THE BODY SHOP: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
THE BODY SHOP
Parties, Pills, and Pumping Iron --
Or, My Life in the Age oF Muscles
BY PAUL SOLOTAROFF

ABOUT THE BOOK:

As a scrawny college freshman in the mid-1970s, just before Arnold Schwarzenegger became a hero to boys everywhere and Pumping Iron became a cult hit, Paul Solotaroff discovered weights and steroids. In a matter of months, he grew from a dorky beanpole into a hulking behemoth, showing off his rock hard muscles first on the streets of New York City and then alongside his colorful gym-rat friends in strip clubs and in the homes of the gotham elite. It was a swinging time, when "Would you like to dance?" turned into "Your place or mine?" and the guys with the muscles had all the ladies--until their bodies, like Solotaroff''s, completely shut down.

But this isn't the gloom-and-doom addiction one might expect--Solotaroff looks back at even his lowest points with a wicked sense of humor, and he sends up the disco era and its excess with all the kaleidoscopic detail of Boogie Nights or Saturday Night Fever.

Written with candor and sarcasm, THE BODY SHOP is a memoir with all the elements of great fiction and dazzlingly displays Paul Solotaroff's celebrated writing talent.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Paul Solotaroff is a contributing editor at Men's Journal and Rolling Stone. He has written features for Vanity Fair, GQ, Vogue, and the New York Times Magazine, and he was nominated for a National Magazine Award in 2004. His work has been included in Best American Sports Writing. The author of two books, Group and The House of Purple Hearts, he lives in New York City.

Audio and Video

MY REVIEW:

THE BODY SHOP by Paul Solotaroff was not at all what I expected. I thought this would be a how-to book for weight training. HA! Was I wrong! This is Solotaroff’s memoir about the time in his youth when he got hooked on taking steroids. Having typical body image problems, this story of growing up in the 1970’s (enter John Travolta and the “Saturday Night Fever” swagger) is the story of Paul Solotaroff’s rebirth from a skinny college bound boy to a muscle bound steroid addicted man.

The summer before leaving home for college, small boned and thin, after a disappointing childhood where he had to deal with failure not only at school, but at home as well, Paul welcomed what he thought would be a new life in college and a new Paul. Little did he know how NEW he would become! During that freshman year in college, Paul went from being a slim-Jim to a beefcake in a very short period of time. Part of his issues had to do with gaining his father’s approval only to have his dad not even recognize him when he picked him up after his first year of college and steroid use. It wasn’t hard to get the steroids and with the help of his “friend” Angel who plays a key role in Paul’s life of drug use, he went about building up his body while unknowingly breaking down his health. He went on to begin a “career” as a stripper, using steroids, or “juicing” as they say, and also using other drugs, His life revolved around the gym and the club/drug/sex night scene that for some was what that time period was all about. This all came crashing down when Paul began to have serious health problems.

The journey that Paul Solotaroff writes about is serious subject matter but he does it with such a great sense of humor and dry, droll wit, that you will find yourself laughing even though often the subject is really a serious one. Paul’s way of lightening the mood, while letting the message come through loud and clear, makes for an interesting and entertaining read all in one. A good example to those who might ever think of using any kind of body enhancing drugs, this book will keep them from it. Paul Solotaroff passed through a dangerous time and came out wiser for sure. He shares his wisdom and wit in THE BODY SHOP and it is one book if you were like I was, that just might surprise you!

GIVEAWAY
THANKS TO ANNA AND MY FRIENDS
AT THE HACHETTE BOOK GROUP,
I HAVE THREE COPIES OF THIS
FASCINATING BOOK TO GIVEAWAY!

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BLOG TALK RADIO: HEAR AN INTERESTING Q&A WITH AUTHOR PAUL SOLOTAROFF INTERVIEWED BY ANNA FROM LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY OF HACHETTE BOOK GROUP, INCLUDING A QUESTION FROM "BINGO", MYSELF, BELOW

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