Brothers of Iron: a new autobiography offers fans a look inside the lives of the two most influential figures in bodybuilding—Joe and Ben Weider

Throughout their long careers, as they led bodybuilding from a largely shunned activity to the leading edge of the global health and fitness phenomenon, Joe and Ben Weider accumulated many stories to tell. Now, in their recently released autobiography, Brothers of Iron, the Weider brothers describe the historic path they've traveled.

An often rocky road faced Joe and Ben in their popularization of bodybuilding ideals, ever since the publication of Joe's first issue of YOUR PHYSIQUE in August 1940, which he compiled at night on the family's dining-room table. While Joe specialized in publishing the world's greatest bodybuilding and fitness magazines, Ben's path had him cofounding the IFBB, originally called the International Federation of Bodybuilders, in 1946. Over the years, Ben's globetrotting travels led to more than 170 current affiliated member nations and to provisional Olympic recognition in 1998.

In Joe's chapters, one can trace the maturity of the sport and read The Master Blaster's reminiscences of just about every one of its prominent figures. Some FLEX readers may not be aware that Joe competed as a weightlifter in his teens and can truly claim to be a trainer of bodybuilding champions since 1936. Once sales of YOUR PHYSIQUE took off, Joe relocated his base to New Jersey in the late '40s and subsequently to Los Angeles in the early '70s. In a chapter titled "Golden Age in the Golden State," Joe relates the heady times during the fitness boom.

Hardly a dry recounting of the facts and figures involved with his life's work, Joe's selections, in particular, reveal his sensitive and thoughtful nature. Beginning with the boys' hardscrabble upbringing in Montreal's east side in the 1920s and concluding with Joe's touching address at the 2005 Mr. Olympia contest, Brothers of Iron details the growth of big-time bodybuilding from day one. Enthusiasts of the sport should seek out this invigorating, insightful and inspirational work.

Brothers of Iron, by Joe and Ben Weider with Mike Steere, is available at bookstores, and it can be ordered at www.amazon.com and at www.sportspublishingllc.com. List price is $24.95.

BY GEORGE DE PIRRO

SENIOR EDITOR

COPYRIGHT 2006 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning