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Four Days to Glory: Wrestling with the Soul of the American Heartlandx$7.64
  (29 reviews)
Best Price: $7.64
Somewhere beyond the circle of money, glitz, drugs, and controversy that characterizes professional sports in America, remnants of an ideal exist. In Iowa, that ideal survives in the form of high school wrestling. Each a three-time state champion, Jay Borschel and Dan LeClere have a chance in their senior year to join the sport's most elite group: the "four-timers," wrestlers who win four consecutive state titles. For Jay, a ferocious competitor who feeds off criticism and doubt, a victory would mean vindication over the great mass of skeptics waiting for him to fail. For Dan, who carries on his back the burdens of his tiny farming community, the dreams of his hard-driving coach and father, and his own personal demons, another title is the only acceptable outcome. Four Days to Glory is the story of America as told through its small towns and their connection to sport the way it was once routinely perceived: as a means of mattering to the folks next door.
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Customer Reviews
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Destined to be a classic
By A359YYSPKJPRBH on 2007-01-24
Mark Kreidler is a true wordsmith, as he clearly demonstrates in "Four Days to Glory." A remarkable tale, he vividly brings to life the trials and tribulations of two high school wrestlers in wrestling-mad Iowa and their quest to win their fourth state championships. Wrestling in Iowa is much like football in Texas, and "Four Days to Glory" should reach the same heights as "Friday Night Lights."
An absorbing tale of athletic sacrifice and commitment....
By A56AA52NMMKYQ on 2007-02-04
Wrestlers toil in relative obscurity, except perhaps for certain Midwestern states like Iowa, where wrestlers are gods. This entertaining book takes the reader through the life of high school amateur wrestlers during their fateful senior year season, where they attempt to become state champions. In Iowa, that is a huge deal.
If you or in any way a fan of amateur wrestling, this book will be a sweet dessert. It provides insights as to the physical, mental and emotional (as well as dietary) sacrifices that these athletes must make. We will never definitively settle the argument about which sport is toughest or produces the best athletes, but from reading Four Days to Glory, you could make a compelling case that wrestling deserves the top spot.
Worth the price of the book alone is the chapter profiling legendary wrestler and then coach Dan Gable. It is, at the same time, a rather pitiful characterization as you meet a one-time world champion who is now reduced to hobbling around on crutches, the result of 16 or 17 surgeries he has had on his deteriorating body. One cannot escape the impression that Dan Gable mortgaged his health in order to become a fantastic wrestler and wrestling coach.
You can view this as Hoosiers for wrestling fans, but you owe it yourself to view it as a compelling story of athletic sacrifice and success.
...a must read for any athlete, parent of an athlete, anyone who loves sports
By A1A94QV5LTBF8C on 2007-01-26
I purchased Four Days to Glory the moment it hit the book stores. I was one of the thousands of people in "the barn" when both wrestlers made it to their final matches. For them it was the culmination of their high school careers in wrestling. For me, it would be the first time I'd ever been to a match. I left Des Moines that afternoon a lifelong fan of not only Jay Borschel, one of the two wrestlers for which the book chronicals, but a fan of the sport. Mark Kreidler is true to that in his account of what happened, i.e. even a non-fan becomes a fan of these two extraordinary young men as they battle against tremendous odds to do something very special.
The movie, when it comes out, is sure to takes its place right along side "Rudy".
An Excellent Book on Sports and Culture
By A2BZDAMTEE90YE on 2007-02-21
As someone who grew up in Iowa, I am familiar with many aspects of Mark Kreidler's book. However, because I did not wrestle growing up, I found the personal accounts of Borschel and LeClere's quest for a fourth state championship to be fascinating. I cover wrestling at the college level, and continually amazed by the physical and mental sacrifices these athletes make on a daily basis. This book offers insight into those sacrifices and the thought process that goes into them by both the athletes and coaches. Kreidler does a wonderful job of taking the reader into the practice room and on to the mat during competition. Highly recommended.
Fantastic story for all to read
By A2QA0CTGRWVX4G on 2007-02-07
This is a fantastic book that anyone who enjoys sports would like to read. Mark Kreidler artfully tells the compelling story of 2 high school seniors as the strive to reach goals that only a few before them have achieved. In doing so, he takes the reader into the world not only of Iowa wrestling but into the world of life in the middle of America. I am not a wrestling fan but found the book fascinating.
While this is a must read for a wrestling fan, any sports fan or a person that enjoys reading about another way life will thoroughly enjoy this very well written book.
- The Definative Book on High School Wrestling
By A2KLAAPD95JH6G on 2007-02-20
I have been a High School wrestling Coach in New York State for the past 19 years and nothing comes closer to telling the tale of our sport than this book. I couldn't put it down. It is a great read about the trials and tribulations in the wrestling careers of two young men in the state of Iowa. Iowa is the mecca of our great sport and Mark Kreidler does a masterful job of bringing the sport of wrestling to life and showing that dedication and hardwork can lead to great things. Kreidler 's account shows valuable insight into the sport and how it can prepare you for life. His chapter on America's Ledgendary Olympian Dan Gable and his many contributions to the sport was filled with great information and details. I brought my copy to our year end Sectional wrestling championships and coaches all wrote down information and purchased this great book. The next weekend at our State Qualifiers I was lauded by those who bought the book and had read it quickly just like I had done.
- High School Wrestling and Life in Iowa
By A18AP4GWLN3XCA on 2007-03-30
This non-fiction book takes us into the lives of several high school wrestlers and their quest to become state champions. It helps that the wrestling takes place in Iowa, the epicenter of American wrestling, which makes the journey with the boys tense and thrilling. The author also profiles some notable names in the amateur/Olympic wrestling world, including Tom Brands and Dan Gable. Dan Gable is profiled extensively, which will delight any wrestling fan. The book is much harsher on former Iowa Coach Jim Zalesky, who replaced Dan Gable, essentially calling him an insufficient recruiter for the University of Iowa. (The criticism may be unwarranted: another Zalesky brother coaches at UC Davis, which produced the incredible Derek Moore.)
As an ex-high-school wrestler myself, I approached the insights into the wrestlers' training regimen and daily life without surprise. While this author describes the wrestlers respectfully, the multiple maneuvers and tactics in wrestling make it difficult to convey the sport's complexity secondhand. Although this book did an admirable job providing some insight into the lives of the high school wrestlers, ex-wrestlers will not gain any new information besides the conversations with Coach Gable and the pressures of being a wrestling coach in the Midwest. The conversations with and the author's profile of Dan Gable are the highlights of the book, and for those people who have not wrestled, this book provides a good view into a little-followed, but inspiring sport.
- Life in a hotbed of high school wrestling.
By AVUZRNQBB3S6G on 2007-03-07
This excellent piece of reporting follows two premier high school wrestlers and their families through the last year of their high school careers in a place where becoming elite at the sport takes some doing. In some small towns in northern Iowa, wrestling is even more popular than football or basketball. But even where it's not, the wrestling fanatics will use that fact -- being outsiders -- to whet their competitiveness. This book clearly points out the grueling physical punishment the kids undergo on and off the mat, as they accompany their brutal workouts with starvation diets in order to keep their weight as low as possible. And these lads are at the age when they're supposed to be taking in plenty of nourishment for the growth that is normal during high school. It's surprising that they emerge with as little damage as they do. The part their families play is extensively explored. Also investigated is the influence on Iowa wrestling of the great champion Dan Gable and the generation of fans and coaches he produced through his career on the mat as wrestler and as a coach of wrestlers and coaches.
- A must read for wrestlers and their families.
By A15KM4WWOZ96X9 on 2007-04-13
This book is not for those who have never known wrestling, either as an active participant or an involved family member. To truly appreciate this book, one must know first-hand what goes into making a high school, collegiate or olympic wrestler. That is not something that can be learned vicariously. This is a well-written book that only makes sense to those who know what it is to experience the honest, lonely, agonizing and extremely rewarding sport. The book reaffirms everything I ever thought about wrestling -- the good and the bad. Wrestling is a sport that makes men of boys and this book clearly demonstrates that -- but only for those who already know it.
- Just Like I Remember It
By A37X3TA6KN6P4O on 2007-07-12
As the father of a son who wrestled for three years in high school after being cut from the varsity basketball team, this brought back all the memories of three years of agony and ecstacy. I remember going to my kid's matches and wishing they were over before I got there so I would not have my stomach in knots every time he was out there. And this, in the Philadelphia area, was not the same level as Iowa, but nonetheless the joy and pain was identical. The author kept you on edge throughout and I had no idea how it would end until I got to the final chapter. And I have to admit my heart was pounding as the state tournament began in the book. I cannot remember the last book which made me feel that way. I, too, saw my son sitting in his room with a small cup of water by his desk every week, especially when he went from 160 to 152 for the sectionals. I was on the road when he won his first two matches and he called my after each one. I made it home for the finals and I will never forget the parade of the final contestants that night as they entered the gym on opposite sides. My joy when he pinned his man (from the host school) in the first period to win the Sectionals in 1999 will last a lifetime and my wife went down to the floor when he got on the trophy stand to take photos. He had owed some money on a moving violation with his car and I told him if he won the Sectionals I would ay the fine. It was the happiest fine I ever paid. I also will never forget the disappointment when he blew a 5-0 lead in the first round of the Districts and lost 9-5 because he was out of gas from cutting weight two weeks in a row, so much so that he dropped out rather than try for the "wrestle backs" which, today, we both agree, he certainly could have won as the guy he pinned in the sectionals actually qualified through the wrestlebacks for the regionals until he was disqualified for poor sportsmanship. That was his senior year. This book brought it all back (senior night, etc.) and I was glued to the pages and finished it in less than two days. And I love Dan Gable. Anyone who ever participated or had a son who did should read this book.
- Grappling's - A Real Story - grass route style
By A2PWDZ2ZQUXJS3 on 2007-03-23
If you've ever wrestled, if you have ever wished you could, if you ever were a fan, this is the 'Right Stuff'. Mark Kreidler has written what is sure to become the epitome of "the high-school wrestlers" bible of wrestling. Highly entertaining while not talking down to the average reader. This books gives you what it takes to be a champion from both sides of the coin. A real required read for any who follow the sport. Can't wait for Mr. Kreiger's next novel.
- Get Ready to Rumble!
By A2CRUEQ9QIOT70 on 2007-04-10
Wrestling fans will love this inside-look at several high school wrestler's quest to become state champions. Also included are profiles of noted wrestlers, including Dan Gable.
- Right on target
By A2YWP8LDKELV0R on 2007-05-12
If you ever wrestled, coached wrestling, known a wreslter and watched him (or now days, her)wrestle you will twist, turn, cheer, live and die with these great athletes. You will feel what they felt. You will also get insites to the pressures of Iowa College wrestling where just being good doesn't always cut it. Mark Kreidler does what few others have done when they write about wrestling. If other writers could capute wrestling in their newspapers as he has done, college wrestling woudn't have fight so hard for it's life.
- Four Days to Glory
By A31FS5WQNZ9793 on 2007-03-11
Mark Kreidler's book is the "Friday Night Lights" of Iowa high school wrestling. Fascinating account of two outstanding young men, their families, teammates, and schools.
- Deep insights into the world of High School wrestling
By AUWK93SNQS5Y2 on 2007-03-15
Spectacularly written and deeply insightful look at what it means to be a dedicated wrestler. A terrific book about the nature of sports generally and the unusual world of wrestling in particular. Anyone who has wrestled seriously will connect with Kreidlers deep insights into the sport and its personal meaning.
- A great insight into the wrestling lifestyle
By AYN8YEGZH9RAM on 2007-03-15
Overall I thought this was a great book! I am a former wrestler and this book candidly captures what it's like to live the wrestling lifestyle. It's not glamorous and not a whole lot of fun most of the time- but as the author points out, this is what makes it such a great sport and such a character builder of young athletes. The author's writing style is simple and easy to read, but again, is able to vividly and candidly express what it's like to live the wrestling lifestyle and why there is an attraction to it. Make no mistake about, the author doesn't paint a totally rosy picture of the sport, and certainly displays the not-so-great aspects as well; he doesn't judge the sport or the athletes one way or the other, just presents the facts and issues as they are. This, in my opinion, is what makes the book great and will interest even those who are not fans of the sport.
- Four Days To Glory
By AOXPIOQEVI4T0 on 2007-03-28
this book is so good i cant put it down and i used to hate reading until i bought this book. i am a high school wrestler and i can relate to this book so well. any wrestler out there who reads this review BUY THIS BOOK
you will love it i read the entire book in two days and now i am reading PINNED and A SEASON ON THE MAT these three books will be the best you ever read in your life buy them in a set of three
- Takes you to the Mat
By A1IQ4A35LAKW5F on 2008-06-27
"Four Days of Glory," was a super read. Kreidler takes us right into the hard, lonely world of high school wrestling. It was great following these two wrestlers as they deal with all the pressures of trying to accomplish a huge feat. It's not just about takedowns and nearfalls, it's about fathers and sons, hometown hero's and an obsession with goals. Very entertaining...It's "Friday Night Lights," for wrestling in the state of Iowa.
- Best Book I Have Read.
By A2061DS7EVGWD7 on 2008-10-13
I have read basically every book on the subject of wrestling. This book is number one. The first time you read it, the hair on the back of your neck will stand up several times. I liked the interconnection between the wrestlers, families and the Iowa culture of wrestling. As an avid reader, I rarely read a book a second time. This book was just as good the third time.
- You won't put it down
By AR9DQPW9IZLZJ on 2008-11-01
The way "Four Days to Glory" picked up steam from chapter to chapter, I had a hard time setting it aside, and wound up reading it too fast. I actually had to go back a second time to pick up the little details I missed.
This is a great story about heart, sacrifice and pride. I have almost no background in wrestling, but I found myself afterwards going to the internet to find out how Jay and Dan are doing now. Thanks to their success, this looks like a story that is going to continue to be told for years. It should be -- they've got an awful lot to say to many of us who can use the inspiration.
- four days of glory
By AHJMBZ6YFGA44 on 2007-03-09
ithink my grandsons who are into wrestling in school will enjoy this book .i know i did.
- Very disappointing
By A3K6K5L6VYIGIQ on 2007-03-12
As a former high school wrestler, I was very disappointed with this book. The author consistently demonstrates a lack of in-depth understanding for the great sport of wrestling, and I found his writing style to be very arrogant and distracting from the subject.
I spent 4 years in this great sport, and really expected alot more from this book.
- A Slice of Americana
By A2ZHL2JL0KVGSG on 2007-03-20
An old Army buddy of mine is an assistant wrestling coach at an NCAA Division 1 college and over the years he has tried to get me to appreciate why he loves the sport of wrestling.I'll never understand it to the degree he does of course,but after reading this book I know why he feels the way he does.The author is masterful at character study and educating the reader on amateur wrestling.Football in Texas,basketball in Indiana,hockey in Massachusetts,lacrosse in Maryland and wrestling in Iowa.While other places have all these sports no one else pursues them with a purer passion.The good people of Iowa are blessed to have such a wonderful sport competed at such a high level.
- Four Days to Glory - Wrestling's best book in years
By A2Q7MBEJRI6N9Y on 2007-03-24
I highly recommend this book to anyone that is a wrestling fan or just love good sports stories. This is a must read for my son.
- excellent service and product
By A1NX7OAHIWBPBB on 2007-06-02
I ordered Four Days to Glory for my son's birthday. The book came quickly and in excellent condition. Thank you!
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