A few weeks ago, ECW Press reached out to see if I had interest in reading a biography about a bodybuilder named Mike Mentzer. I was chosen to do so because the soon to be published title is written by John Little, whose Bruce Lee biography - Wrath of the Dragon - was received well by myself when I reviewed it in August of 2023.
Other than being a passive viewer of Vince McMahon's World Bodybuilding Federation and receiving a few old 1970s muscle mags from my father - both in and around 1992 - I had no interest in accepting the invitation to read an advance reading copy.
That was until I came across part of the blurb about the book. It read: 'Mike Mentzer: American Odysseus reveals the true story of a man who stood up to an industry - and paid the ultimate price.'
I was intrigued. 'Okay,' I thought. 'I'll give it a go.'
I'm glad I did.
Mike Mentzer: American Odysseus by John Little chronicles the life of a maverick bodybuilder.. I believe the best way to describe the man in a few short words - other than a 'maverick bodybuilder' - is as a person who dreamt big and achieved almost all of his goals in the evidently suspect world of bodybuilding.
The biographer was a fan, friend and colleague of Mike Mentzer. That made me confident to know I would get a thorough spotlight on the book's subject. John Little did an excellent job here. His own knowledge and research is backed up with a plethora of sources. A twenty-one year friendship with Mentzer sure was a bonus because Little was able to quote email exchanges the pair had over the latter part of Mentzer's life.
As mentioned above, I consider Mentzer to be a 'maverick' because he took an approach to bodybuilding which was against what would have them been considered the norm. Mentzer's use of one of his mentor's - Arthur Jones - Nautilus training machines, and for shorter periods in contrast to the heavy sessions executed by other bodybuilders at the time, was one of the first of a handful of things which stood Mentzer out from tradition. And it resulted in success. Along with criticism from certain people with their own agendas.
In that era, the industry was Godfathered by the Weider Brothers, Joe and Ben, who co-founded the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB). The brothers had their hands in a lot of pies in that industry. Joe was of the pioneers in using his bodybuilding magazines to market his nutritional supplements.
Mentzer's approaches to bodybuilding contradicted the vertical integration of the Weider magazines plugging Weider products because his strategies - using the machines - conflicted with the teachings of the Weider models.
One major thing I took away from Little's coverage of the bodybuilding world, especially with the Weiders running the show, is that it was not too dissimilar to a world I believe I know fairly well - Professional Wrestling.
The history of pro wrestling will cover a number of double crosses here and there. Coming out of reading John Little's biography, I get the sense the story of bodybuilding cannot be told without covering the controversy which was the Mr. Olympia event from 1980.
On that occasion, Arnold Schwarzenegger - who had been retired from competition for years - was a surprise entrant and ended up being voted as the winner.
The events leading into the contest had me shaking my head as Little played out what happened. Mentzer was one of the favourites entering the contest because he had Mr America and Mr. Universal wins on his resume. He was seen as one of Schwarzenegger's rivals at the time. I think it's safe to conclude that Mentzer finishing in fifth place was not by design. Little allows the reader to draw their own conclusion, but I came away from that section of the book feeling everyone was robbed that day.
To further point out just how much of a questionable contest the Mr. Olympia '80 was - CBS travelled to Sydney Opera House to film the event, but its decision makers chose not to air any of the footage because they felt shenanigans were at play.
Through reading the biography, it becomes clear that Mentzer's mind itself suffers from the body's wins and downfalls. The bodybuilder was well-educated and applied his psychology knowledge in his bodybuilding training and teachings (through certain parts of his life Mentzer shared his methods through writing articles, mail order programmes and as a gym instructor). We learn during the early part of the biography that Mentzer's mother had a mental illness. By its close we see Mike himself have his own battles with psychological disorders.
It's the latter part of the book which, even though was very sad for most of it, was what I thought was the strongest. That's because John Little is able to share with you his own interactions with Mentzer in what was then Mike's last years. I believe the best books about about people are first, and foremost, autobiographies. However, the next - in the order of preference - are biographies by people that actually knew their subject on a personal level. You can tell John Little was a good pal to Mike Mentzer especially in those later years. Little's experience as a friend allowed this reader to see more about Mentzer than any other biography focused on the bodybuilder.
I've purposely left Mike's little brother - Ray - until now because I wanted to share something about him to close out my thoughts on the biography.
We're introduced to Ray at the start of the book. Ray is there throughout always behind Ray right through childhood. We witness Ray follow in his brother's footsteps as he made his own career in bodybuilding. Little was able to explore a dynamic between Ray and Mike which put a spotlight on Ray wanting to compete with his brother in life whether it be as the better son in their father's eyes or as the equal (or more) to Mike in bodybuilding.
When we see Mike pass away in 2001, we also witness Ray die two days later. Ray following his brother in death, just like he did in life, was not lost on me.
I came away from Mike Mentzer: American Odysseus knowing a heck of a lot more about the bodybuilding world than I did before opening the book. I learned all about Mike and Ray Mentzer and their unique, and ultimately - tragic, lives.
John Little has gone one better than Wrath of the Dragon with this title. Back in 2023, I gave the Bruce Lee biography four stars. Therefore, I have to go one better.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Thank you to ECW Press and NetGalley for choosing me to read an advance copy of Mike Mentzer: American Odysseus by John Little.
This title is expected to be published in the UK on May 20th 2025. You can preorder/order a copy below.
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By the way, the last few pages of the eBook contains a collection of photographs of Mike Mentzer. A few of the pics are of Mike appearing on the cover of fitness magazines. Remember how I noted at the start of the post that my dad gave me a few old Weider mags he had left over from the 70s? Well, one of those magazines appears in the book. So, I had been introduced to Mike Mentzer in 1992 even though it didn't register with me when ECW Press contacted me earlier this year.
