Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1 – The Early Years, 1867-89

Chapter 2 – The First Triumph, 1889

Chapter 3 – A Growing Reputation, 1890-93

Chapter 4 – New York and Chicago, 1893-94

Chapter 5 – The Tour of America, 1894-96

Chapter 6 – A Growing Business, 1897-1901

Chapter 7 – Triumphs and Travels, 1901-7

Chapter 8 – The Final Years, 1908-25

Afterword
Acknowledgements
Glossary of Weightlifting Terms
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Read What These Iron Game Authorities Are Saying About “Sandow the Magnificent
Eugen Sandow and the Beginnings of Bodybuilding”
by David L. Chapman

“Sandow the Magnificent displays a deft prose style and an intriguing presentation of the great man’s life. . . . Serious students of iron history who do not obtain this book should consider redefining themselves.”
Joe Roark
Iron Game Historian

“A fascinating story. . . . Arnold, eat your heart out!”
Elliot J. Gorn
editor of Muhammad Ali: The People’s Champ

“Chapman has written a first-rate biography and one that will continue to play an important role in our understanding of the body and the world of physical culture.”
Jan Todd
Journal of Sport History

“Excellent biography of Eugen Sandow, the father of bodybuilding. I found this book intriguing, captivating, but most important interesting. If you are interested in life during the Victorian Age, this book is definitely a plus. Sandow was definitely an opportunist an astute businessman, who made health and fitness a marketable commodity during the Victorian Age. There is no question that Sandow paved the way for the fitness industry. Only if he knew what he started more than 100 years ago.”
Adrian J. Tan

“Eugene Sandow was the father of the modern fitness movement, developing a system of exercises that are still among the best available to those men and women who wish to realize their full physical potential. Chapman has written a well crafted study of a very complex individual.”
Colin Williams

“Interesting historical perspective and facts about one of the early pioneers of body building and physical culture.
Enjoyable and interesting – have read it twice.”
Kenneth Sepp
Plano, Texas

“David L. Chapman does an amazing job at piecing together the life story of Eugen Sandow, who was part workaholic, part legit, and part hype. What makes Chapman’s coverage of Sandow so impressive his near disclaimer in the preface: that despite there being plenty of print on Sandow from his heyday, how much of it is reliable is questionable. Chapman sounds almost dismissive of his end result, but by piecing together multiple sources of Sandow’s history, he has done an excellent job portraying which aspects of Sandow’s works were impressive, which aspects were marketing hype. Sandow is neither deified nor demonized; this is a biography written the way biographies should be written.
If you are a fan of bodybuilding or pop-culture, this book is an essential addition to your library. This is one of the most underrated biographies I have read in quite some time. David Chapman’s notes and bibliography are impressive alone (and there are SO MANY books on pop-culture history that penny-pinch in this department). This book will reel you in at the beginning, and hold your attention until the last page.”
K. Brown

“I had been looking for many years to find a book about Eugen Sandow. I remember my grandfather had a magazine article about Sandow and how he could do chinups with any one of his ten fingers. Sandow’s feats of strength described in this book were truly amazing and as the book indicates, Sandow was the “father of modern day body building.” I would recommend this book.”
Mark A. Cole