Book Tracker 14
A Wrestling Life
By Dan gable
Dan Gable is a legend in the sport of wrestling. The 1972 Olympic Gold Medalist, he only lost 1 match in his college career, and never lost in high school. He’s a rarity in that he was such an outstanding wrestling and went on to be an even better coach. He also didn’t stick around as a competitive wrestler much past his Olympic run but rather went straight into coaching.
This book tells his story, but not in the typical manner of from beginning to end. Rather he tells a series of stories where each chapter could really stand alone. It’s a good read although it’s puzzling to me why I admire Gable so much when he very vaguely talks about learning from defeat. Or maybe it isn’t that surprising. He seems to be one of those people who hated losing more than he liked winning and that drove him. He always wanted to be his best and strove to be the best at any level of wrestling.
His success on and off the mat is remarkable given he had to overcome the murder of his older sister when he was a teenager. I will say though that while this is a very good read it doesn’t go in depth on a ton of stuff. I wasn’t drawn in and I felt like I could walk away from the book and it wouldn’t bother me if I didn’t finish it. Nevertheless I know I’m going to get his other book, A Wrestling Life 2. Why? Because it’s Dan Gable and I always want to peruse what the greatest American wrestler of all time has to say. You can learn so much from stories of success as well as failure.