Product Description
Nicholas A. Hopping was hired by the American Olympic Committee for the training of Olympic Wrestlers as a journalism intern for the 2004 Olympics. He lived at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs; and he followed the wrestlers to their victory or defeat. Author Hopping captures the spirit of very American and makes the reader aware of the potential that the oldest, simplest sport like wrestling can make a difference in International Understanding and appreciation for the American contribution to promoting the Spirit of The Champion. Nicholas A. Hopping writes. "He never learned anything until he was tired.so he knew it, he knew it all too well, he knew what the moment called for, he knew he had to be hard, he had to cut off the part of him that wanted to quit, that wanted to walk away from the match, find a quiet corner in the locker room and be by himself, where no one was cheering for or against him, where no pressure existed, where he didn't have to be hard, where he didn't have to continue fighting, where he didn't have to be a champion.he knew about this place of peace and solitude.but the gladiator decided that he wanted nothing to do with it, that he didn't want to hide out in the locker room, that he did not want to relax and sit in the stands, that he wanted to be a participant and not an observer, that he wanted to be out on the mats, out where the action was, where the juice was, where he could ride the edge of victory and defeat with every twist and turn, with every action and reaction because he had once watched the battle in the arena wondering silently to himself, wondering why he wasn't out there, why the crowd wasn't cheering for him, wondering whether he had it in him, so he took the challenge and now he was on the mats, in the thick of wrestling's eternal inner struggle, and so he knew he had to be hard and not give in to fatigue, not worry about his scorched lungs, because he surely knew that he would rather pass out from exhaustion, fall face-down right here on the mat, than be sitting in those stands silently relieved of never having to face the gauntlet that the mat, the sport presented in himself." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

THE BEST WRESTLING BOOK EVER WRITTEN
"BY FAR THE BEST WRESTLING BOOK I'VE EVER READ!"
-Ben Askren, U.S. Olympian and 2x NCAA Champion
"A MASTERPIECE!"-Jim Beezer, [...]

"BANNED AT FARGO, OUTLAWED BY USA WRESTLING, WITH NO PUBLISHER TO TRUST AND NO ALLY IN THE FIELD...THE SILENT GLADIATORS IS THE LONE WOLF OF WRESTLING BOOKS!" -Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

"AMATEUR WRESTLING'S FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!"
-Rocky Mountain News (Denver, Colorado.)

"THE SILENT GLADIATORS IS TO WRESTLING TO WHAT JON KRAKAEUR IS TO OUTDOOR ADVENTURE...THIS BOOK IS A CREDIT TO OUR GREAT SPORT!"
-Lonnis Nash, Buchanon H.S. Coach (Fresno, California)

"THE SILENT GLADIATORS IS MY FAVORITE BOOK AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO READ!" -Mike Tyson, Professional Hitman

"I WRESTLED IOWA IN THE EARLY 80'S, THIS BOOK IS OUTSTANDING!... IT CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF WRESTLING!"
-Pete Bush, Assumption H.S., (Davenport, Iowa)

"THE SILENT GLADIATORS MAKES WWF LOOK LIKE A BUNCH OF SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMERS WHO ENJOY WEARING SPANDEX...THIS BOOK IS UNTOUCHABLE!"
-Rowdy Rowdy Piper, WWF Legend

"ABSOLUTELY ADDICTING TO READ!"
-Steve Millward, Bald Eagle H.S. (Pennsylvania)

"THIS BOOK IS GREAT!"
-Bobby DeBerry, Sunnyside H.S. 13x Arizona State Champs

"I TRULY ENJOYED THE BOOK. YOU WERE ABLE TO SHOW THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ROLLAR COASTERS A WRESTLER GOES THROUGH WHEN COMPETING BETTER THAN ANY OTHER BOOK I HAVE READ. ANYONE THAT HAS WRESTLED WILL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WITH THIS BOOK...THERE ARE DEFINTELY PASSAGES FROM THE BOOK THAT I WILL SHARE WITH MY FUTURE WRESTLING TEAMS."
-Travis Young, Head Coach Valley High School, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265

"A GREAT READ...I REALLY ENJOYED IT AND WILL GET THE WORD OUT...THANKS FOR SENDING IT MY WAY."
-John Phillips, Irvine, Ca. High School Head Coach

Amazing story of sacrafice
Hopping was able to give us a glimpse into an unknown world of struggle and sacrifice that few of us can imagine. For anyone who has ever participated in any of the amatuer olymic sports should have an immense appriation for the athletes in this book. Hopping as an author does exactly what he needs to do as well. He provides that fly on the wall perspective do help us undrstand he incredible monotonous grind that these guys go through while bringing forward the drama of the Olympic process. I feel that anyone who loves sport, has an appreciation for sacrafice, or is simply interested into delving into a great slice of life story should read this book.

Real Insight into the sacrifice necessary
Nicholas Hopping's The Silent Gladiators provides real and powerful insight into the sacrifice required for an American to pursue the dream of becoming an Olympic wrestler.The author demonstrates how truly thankless this pursuit is for almost all who start down this path and also shows how truly different individuals with different approaches to the sport handle the demands of chasing Olympic gold.The one minor complaint I have with this book is that often there is very little detail provided for the key matches that are described in the book.Many of these bouts can be seen on-line via sites like Youtube and it was difficult at times to watch the videos and feel a strong connection with the narrative in the book.Other than that, I would recommend this book to anyone who has wrestled or has any interest in learning what wrestling is all about.

Great insight, for the TRUE wrestling fan
I have been involved in wrestling since age 8; wrestled at the the HS and collegiate level, coached all levels of wrestling and am currently a HS official and youth wrestling coach....I enjoyed this book very much.It was recommended to me from a former wrestler at the U of Minn who is a successful HS coach.I believe that the book was VERY easy to read.I am not a reader, I have read one other book in the last two years simly because most books can't keep my interest....The Silent Gladiators was a book I couldn't put down, from start to finish.I thought the basis of the book was excellent.I attended the same JUCO as Jamill Kelly, left one year prior to his arrival, and was very familiar to his story and the book told the same story....so its basis of fact was solid.Other post have said it needed more editing or its contraversial...maybe it did need more editing, but i didn't notice, nor do I care, I thought it was very interesting....and as for being contraversial....sometimes the truth needs to be told in order for people to change or look themselves in the mirror....The Silent Gladiators is a good start.I would and HAVE recommended this to ALL of my friends invovled in wrestling.Thank you Nicholas Hopping for your work and courage.....done only as a wrestler could do.Please read and pass on to your friends in wrestling.

Great Book
Sensational book about the journeys that various members of the 2004 US Olympic Wrestling team took to make the team and reach their ultimate goal of winning a Gold medal. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

An aptly researched, methodical tour through Olympic history
Wrestling With The Ancients: Modern Greek Identity And The Olympics by Alexander Kitroeff (Associate Professor of History, Haverford College) especially focuses upon the time span ranging from the nineteenth-century origins of the modern Olympic games to the present day, and the interconnection between the Olympics and Greek nationalism. A chapter by chapter discussion of the Olympic events of history and their reverberations upon the collective Greek psyche, Wrestling With The Ancients offers a unique and thoughtful perspective upon the interplay between the legacy of the classical era, the last century's wars, and the latest powerful effects of globalism. An aptly researched, methodical tour through Olympic history and its reverberations upon Greek national identity.

ancient Olympics in modern-day Greek society
WRESTLING WITH THE ANCIENTS - Modern Greek Identity and the Olympics by Alexander Kitroeff. GreekWorks.com, 307 W. 89th St., New York, NY 10024; info@greekworks.com. 276+viii pp. $32.00 hardcover, ISBN 0-9747660-0-3. photographs, footnotes, appendices, bibliography, index.
The ancient Greek Olympics were the inspiration and model for the start of the quadrennial event of the modern-day Olympics begun in Athens in 1896. "The games will go on, although theywill experiences reforms, but as long as the Olympic movement needs the ideological legitimacy provided by ancient traditions, Greece will remain an important part of it." This ineradicable identification with the Olympics has had effects on Greek self-image, politics, and society since 1896. Kitroeff brings to light the tensions within modern Greece between representing in various ways the ancient Greek culture that is a foundation of Western civilization and pursuing political and economic interests in becoming more integrated into Europe and being recognized as a fully modern nation. With European scholars and historians often ascribing historical roles and influences Greece itself did not necessarily accept, Greece was not always able to determine how other nations and peoples saw it. Kitroeff goes in to these complexities to present the modern Greek mentality and society so that readers come to comprehend Greece in a relevant, multi-faceted, and progressive way rather than as simply a symbol for an ancient culture that the Olympics were part of. In this, Kitroeff also relates Greece's participation in the modern Olympic games. The author is an associate professor of history at Haverford College and coeditor of The Journal of the Hellenic Diaspora and author of many books.

Modern Greek Identity and the Olympics
I've learned so much about the Oympic movement from reading this book, not to mention so much about the history of Greece.The book examines how closely the national identity of Greece is entwined with the Olympics and outlines Greece's preparations leading to the 1896 Games, the first of the Modern Games. The book also explores the classical legacy of the Olympic Games. Much information can also be learned about the history of modern Greece in general through this book.I HIGHLY recommend this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Jumbo Tsuruta, Katsuhiko Nagata, Kyoko Hamaguchi, Saori Yoshida, Yuji Takada, Yojiro Uetake, Osamu Watanabe, Chiharu Icho, Mitsuru Sato, Atsuji Miyahara, Kaori Icho, Yoshikatsu Yoshida, Shigeo Nakata, Kazuhiko Ikematsu, Kiyomi Kato, Tsutomu Hanahara, Shohachi Ishii, Jiichiro Date, Tomohiro Matsunaga, Masamitsu Ichiguchi, Mitsuo Ikeda, Shozo Sasahara, Hideaki Yanagida, Muneji Munemura, Takashi Kobayashi, Masaaki Kaneko, Hideaki Tomiyama, Kenichi Yumoto, Chikara Tanabe, Kenji Inoue. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 73. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Tomomi Tsuruta (March 25, 1951 May 13, 2000), better known by his ring name Jumbo Tsuruta, was a professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling for most of his career, and is well-known for being the first ever AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heavyweight Championship, the NWA United National Championship, and the NWA International Heavyweight Championship, and unifying the three titles. Tsuruta participated in many sports, such as swimming, basketball, and sumo while attending Hikawa Senior High School in Yamanashi-shi, Yamanashi Prefecture. While at Chuo University, he began an amateur wrestling career. He won the All Japan Amateur Wrestling Championship in freestyle and Greco-Roman as a superheavyweight (at the time, an unlimited class for those weighing over 100 kilograms) in the years 1971 and 1972. He also competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. He placed seventh in the Greco-Roman tournament, making him one of the Top 10 Olympic wrestlers that year. Scouted by AJPW promoter Giant Baba, he was sent to the local Amarillo, Texas promotion in the U.S. to train as a pro under Dory Funk Jr. The name "Jumbo" was given to him by a fan contest in Japan to replace his given name,...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=3275947 ... Read more