New book following Iowa high school wrestling

**bluestater** · 01-03-2008 10:13 AM

Hey everyone,

I just finished reading Four Days to Glory, the book following Dan LeClere and Jay Borschel during their senior season of high school. It's really, really good. I have a full review on my site, and, to add to the fun, you can win a copy!

Click here to read more about the book and the contest.

Good luck!

Similar Threads:

**gobott** · 01-03-2008 10:27 AM

Not sure how new it is. I picked it up in the summer. I enjoyed it. Even though I am an ISU fan it does help me be a fan for Jay, Dan, and Joe. When you throw in M* and Muller, It is kind of amazing how many wrestlers there were in about a 90 mile radius in high school. I am glad that Brands has brought back Iowa kids to the program and will be making them the foundation of his program.

Any suggestions on getting it signed at the National Duals?

**bluestater** · 01-03-2008 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by gobott

Not sure how new it is. I picked it up in the summer. I enjoyed it. Even though I am an ISU fan it does help me be a fan for Jay, Dan, and Joe. When you throw in M* and Muller, It is kind of amazing how many wrestlers there were in about a 90 mile radius in high school. I am glad that Brands has brought back Iowa kids to the program and will be making them the foundation of his program.

Any suggestions on getting it signed at the National Duals?

The hardcover is just coming out, though I don't think that the publisher is giving me hardcovers to give away (I'm working with Harper Collins on the contest.) I got nothing on getting it signed, though. It was a weird, weird thing for me, because I finished reading the book last Friday, and then was at Midlands on Saturday and Sunday. Seeing the LeCleres and the Borschels just after reading about a year in their life was a little odd.

**bluestater** · 01-03-2008 10:33 AM

I changed the title of the thread just for you, Gobott.

**gobott** · 01-03-2008 11:46 AM

Thats odd though I bought the hardcover Barnes and Noble in Des Moines in August. Thanks though. In a way the parents are almost the stars of the book. So it would be cool to meet them also.

**Wiltz** · 01-03-2008 11:51 AM

I have had the hardback for awhile more than 6 months

**ISU2008** · 01-03-2008 12:06 PM

I just finished it. I thought the majority was good, but the some parts were slow. I understand that the author has to set up the story, but as a wrestler from a small town who had experienced all that stuff, not to mention I lived less than an hour away from Cedar Rapids and had followed the two since their freshman year, it felt like I had lived through some of the chapters already.

Call me a geek, but I enjoyed trying to remember the names of some of the wrestlers included in the story who weren't named.

Overall, I think this book will definitely be interesting to non-wrestlers. It is short and I don't think any chapters were wasted.

**bluestater** · 01-03-2008 01:29 PM

Well, then I don't know. The publisher told me the release dates were in December and January. Maybe it's a republishing. It shouldn't really matter - it's a good book and I have free stuff to give away!

And yeah, ISU, if there is any quibble that wrestling fans will have with the book, it's that it explains wrestling to us. Just as I can't stand that on ESPN broadcasts, it's still a necessary evil if we want to grow the sport.

**grapplefan** · 01-03-2008 04:21 PM

It's a great read. We've been talking about it on one of the Hawkeye forums for 6 months now. A lot of good wrestlers are coming out of Linn and Johnson counties these days. I believe I read someplace that Ben Askren was born in C.R., and then his family moved to Wisconsin when he was very young.

**ODH** · 01-03-2008 04:35 PM

I read this book last spring, I used to have a quote from the book as my sig line:
"Wrestlers are better than other athletes because their drive is so pure, because their pursuit is so solitary. So few people outside their circle of fellow wrestlers could ever begin to understand the sacrifices they make in order to simply get on the mat, much less compete and win."

Good interview with the author:
http://www.thesportsinterview.com/markkreidler.htm

A good book that does good balance of explaining wrestling to the uninitiated without dragging on. I think ESPN needs to drop the "Wrestling 101" segment it usually adds during the NCAA finals. Lets face it, very few viewers are watching who are not wrestling fans and to those who are not fans, 5 minutes is not going to let them appresicate what is going on.

**bluestater** · 01-03-2008 05:56 PM

How come I am just hearing about it now? You crazy kids have to share this stuff!

**Wiltz** · 01-03-2008 06:11 PM

Blue, when the book came out there was a couple of threads about it. Probably didn't see them. Oh, well still a great read.

**bluestater** · 01-03-2008 06:21 PM

Originally Posted by Wiltz

Blue, when the book came out there was a couple of threads about it. Probably didn't see them. Oh, well still a great read.

I guess I was in space. Oh well. But for anyone who hasn't read it... I'm giving them away!

**Stardust** · 01-03-2008 06:24 PM

I got it this summer but just got around to reading it about a month ago. I always enjoy books that chronicle a sports season, so I was glad to finally see one for wrestling. For me it ranks right up there with Friday Night Lights, A Season Inside, Junction Boys, Season on the Brink, and To Hate Like This is to be Happy Forever.

I'm already an Iowa fan but this makes their team even more interesting. I always enjoy watching wrestlers more when I feel like I know more about what makes them tick.

**JensenS** · 01-03-2008 07:13 PM

Originally Posted by Wiltz

Blue, when the book came out there was a couple of threads about it. Probably didn't see them. Oh, well still a great read.

I thought it was kind of funny when Kriedler talked about the out of state "imports" named Mark Perry, Charlie Falck, and Alex Tsirtsis like they were chopped liver.

I know he wrote the book with the point to spotlight Iowa wrestling, but that still struck me as kind of funny.

Definitely a good book, recommend to any wrestling fan.