Matthew PollyRecensioni

This alternates between 4 and 2 stars.

The 4 stars are when we see 1990s Chinese culture through his eyes especially the martial arts aspects. Martial arts movies tend to take the stereotypical parts of the culture and magnify it especially when shown through the lens of an American. This book pulls that back a bit.

The 2 stars are anything to do with women in the book. This is a coming-of-age book but the way he writes about his experiences with women are mainly about him and not as much about the women we writes about. Yes, he writes about male-female relationships and some about how they are different in China than elsewhere. But it's the way he writes about what happens that is juvenile.

"Bruce Lee: A Life"

Seemed like a strange titled when I bought it but it's accurate. From birth to death and his legacy.

This is an amazing work by Polly. Always interesting and I never had a hint of being dragged through book-filler. I knew very little about Bruce Lee and decided it was time to fix it when I heard about this book.

The amount of research the author did for this book can be seen by the number of pages of footnotes (almost 100), bibliography (14), and index (24). I bought the paper version but anyone who wants it in order to mine it for information may want to get the ebook assuming it's properly indexed and linked.

Get this book. You won't be disappointed.

This had the potential to become a traditional coming of age story, but Matt Polly's engaging style allowed the story to stretch beyond those confines, and gives the reader a unique view into the culture within the Shaloin community. His well honed sense of humor, along with a healthy sense of self criticism makes this an enjoyable read.

This took me longer to read then expected due to traveling and just being busy. I didn't really care for the writing, but I still liked this book. Learned a lot about Bruce Lee that I didn't know. I've watched a documentary on him long ago, but only remember parts. Lee was a nobody, to a somebody, to a legend.

I’m not a huge Bruce Lee fan, never had the iconic poster on my wall, but I always enjoy watching him on screen. Like his good friend Steve McQueen he just commanded every frame he was in, whether stood quietly in the background, or in a blur of hyper-energetic action, you can’t take your eyes off him.

Before reading this I only knew the basics of his story, culled from a few magazine articles and a dubious biopic.

This exhaustive detailed telling of his life provides a fascinating insight into his short 32 years, and his on-going legacy.

From forgotten child-actor, to restaurant busboy, failed student, to gym owner, personal trainer to the stars, and his eventual emergence as a global superstar, it tells the story of a driven conflicted man searching for inner peace.

It doesn’t pull any punches when discussing Lee’s flaws, but also highlights his loyalty and caring for those he felt were unfairly treated.

One aspect that I’d never thought about was Lee’s approach to race. As an American born Chinese he was never fully accepted by either culture and took it on himself to embrace and teach his techniques and philosophy to whoever wanted to learn irrespective of their background. He was a true multi-cultural man who focused on people not rules.

'It takes a special kind of person to leave the comforts of Princteton University and move to rural China to smash his forearms against tree trunks. Meet Matthew Polly.'-New York Post

Growing up a ninety-eight-pound weakling tormented by bullies in the schoolyards of Kansas, young Matthew Polly dreamed of one day becoming the toughest fighter in the world. In college, he decided the time had come to pursue this dream. So he dropped out of Princeton, hopped on a plane to China, and set out in search of spiritual enlightenment and ass-kicking power with the legendary sect of monks who invented Zen buddhism and kungfu.

American Shaolin is the story of the two years Matthew spent in China living, studying , and performing with the Shaolin monks. In time he learned the ancient art of Shaolin kungfu, the ferocious sport of Chinese kickboxing, and the mysterious practice of 'iron kungfu,' in which a part of the body (such as the head, neck, stomach, or, most fightiening of all, the crotch) is made impervious to harm. Matthew would need to rely on all this inherited wisdom and skill when he was forced to defend the Temple's honor in a no-rules challenge match, rescue a friend who had crossed an underworld gangster, and fight in one of China's national tournaments.

Alongside the Shaolin monks, Matthew discovered the salubrious effects of Buddhist meditation, the deleterious national dirnking game, and the allure of forbidden love in Red China. Laced with humor and illuminated by cultural insight, American Shaolin is an unforgettable coming-of-age story of one man's journey into the ancient art of kungfu-and a poignant protrait of a rapidly changing China.

'I picked up American Shaolin and read it straight through. Itis first rate. Polly's book tells more about what's going on in China and has more insights into the real China than anything in recent years. It is a wonderful true-life story with profound, behing-the-headlines observations about Chinese life. A tip of the Stetson to Matthew Polly.'-Dan Rather

'Delightfully wry....Poplly writes with admirable verve and humor that comes at his own expense.'--National Geographic Adventure

Contents

Prologue
Book One Wanderer
1 the first step
2 Lost in transplantation
3 Sleeping beauty
4 Kungfu world
5 Lights, camera, action
6 A coke and a smile
7 Defection
Book Two Novice
1 Eating bitter
2 The show must go on
3 Chinese medicine
4 Roommates
5 Shaolin's champion
6 The sacred and the profane
Book Three: Initiate
1 Kickboxing
2 Media matters
3 Iron forearm boy
4 Taiwan tunes
5 Playing hands
6 Crazy negotiatioins
7 Taking a beating
Book Four Apprentice
1 Happy endings
2 Iron crotch kungfu
3 Getting schooled
4 The sixth race
5 Dirty jokes and beer
6 Pride and penance
7 Another American
Book Five Disciple
1 Challenge match
2 Misress maagement
3 Tournament
4 No porblems
5 The Wetern spear
6 Endings
Epilogue Shaolin reunion
Author's note
Acknowledgments

I got this book for my father for his birthday. Ever since I was a little kid he has loved Bruce Lee films and I think that Bruce is one of the reasons he is passionate about Martial Arts. We decided this would be a fun book to read together and I found it a very enjoyable and informative read. I don't think Bruce and I would have been friends (My father agrees with me), but I still found reading about his life interesting. The main reason I bumped this down to four stars was because of how repetitive the book was. There was a lot that was stated twice within the same page and it became rather tiresome. Other than that, I thought it was a good read and I recommend it to anyone interested in learning about Bruce's life.

Polly does a good job of sifting rumour from reality, the man from the myth. He still presents an amazing story of an extremely driven—and wildly competitive—man.

It's a compelling story, and Polly doesn't shy away from Lee's rougher sides, especially his drug use and philandering.

Great book.

nonfiction (memoir: American learning Shaolin kung fu / 1990s inland China). I really enjoyed learning about the subtleties of Chinese culture (Where? Where? Where?) as well as the experiences of the author, entertainingly told. There were a couple points where the author might appear slightly dismissive towards women and other groups (so I might not recommend to those who might be easily offended) but in general was respectful and thoughtful--and it's probably a good idea to keep in mind that this was written by a young guy who still had a little bit of growing up to do. This is an Alex Award-winner, so would appeal to teens as well (though keep in mind there is some strong language and a dirty joke towards the end, if you think any parents might object).

Matthew Polly was always a tall, gangly, wimpy kid, picked on by the playground bullies. By the time he got to college, he had left the playground, but the insecurities continued to nag him. What is a boy to do? Well, if he's into martial arts and Chinese language and culture, he takes a sabbatical during his junior year at Princeton and searches for the Shaolin Temple, of course! In 1992, China was on the cusp of beginning an international force, teetering between its Communist past and capitalistic future, and in these days before the Internet, Polly had to scout out just exactly where this iconic hub was located. So begins a hilarious tale of culture shock, kung fu, and memorable characters as Polly spends the next two years studying with the Shaolin monks.

I discovered this book while perusing past Alex Award winners and nominees, the American Library Association's award for books written for adults that also have a crossover appeal to young adult audiences. I was not disappointed. It's full of action-packed fight scenes, a sneak peek into the mysterious world of iron kung fu (especially the spectacle of iron crotch kung fu, in all its horror and fascination), mastering Chinese drinking games, and loads of sometimes gallant, sometimes quirky, sometimes downright insane, but always vibrant characters. I really felt connected to Polly's experience and appreciated his honesty. He's certainly a lot more sensitive to Chinese culture than other laowai (Chinese for "foreigner" or, more specifically, "caucasian"), but he still had a long way to go. He chose this locale due to his deep respect for its tradition, but he still grapples with his own feelings of inadequacy while further complicating things because he sticks out like a sore thumb. He is an imperfect person, but his imperfections were totally human. Only rarely did they get to me--on occasion I resented that this was all possible due to his disapproving but still overindulgent parents (it costed him/them $1400 each month to live in the village, which he later bargained down to around $600) and his questionable conduct with women (he tries to adhere to all other aspects of Chinese culture besides the stigma of Chinese women having relations with laowai). In spite of this, however, the memoir holds up and will stick in my memory for some time to come. It stands as an entertaining look into a country and people that is so often only portrayed for its stoicism and tragedy.

A great fun book and a quick read. The author takes time off from college and trains as a Shaolin monk. Lots of stories from his experience, giving a vivid picture of a facet of life from 1990ish China. It's not deep, it's not technical, but it's real and somewhat thoughtful.

this book is about a person that travels from America to china to train to learn karate. while in china he made friends that are helping him reach his goal. also he does some fighting while he is in china like fighting tournaments. This person also traverse different parts of china. while in china this person has some problems. like fighting people, doing real hard work stuff like that.

What i think of this book is that it has action and adventure as well as also mystery. What i also like about this book it has fighting and it has karate. Why i like this book is because it has karate and it inspires me to read about fighting. What is sad in this book is that the character has to leave his mom and dad.

Really funny and interesting from a cultural stand point. I really enjoyed it.

Really funny and interesting from a cultural stand point. I really enjoyed it.

the cover picture captured me. i do sometimes judge a book by its cover and in this case the contents matched the goofiness, at least initially. i really enjoyed his writing for much of the book - here is this person who goes to learn from Shaolin monks...that's such a little-boy-dream thing to do. he interacts with the people he meets and makes a story out of small encounters. he describes his training, the distinct personalities and hopes of each key monk, daily life at the temple, the competition he enters and performs well in, he is funny.

BUT

he was also smugly annoying - here is this person who goes to learn from Shaolin monks...an incredibly expensive venture that his family is rich enough to provide funds for...what parent would front that kind of money for a whim??? either they're the kind that buy his love or he nagged them into it. he tells you how much it costs. ridiculous waste.

also, his dealings with the women of China were all unsavory. these girls are raised in a male-centric culture where a good marriage is the goal. he takes up with no intention of marriage, just to 'relieve pressure'...what an a-hole. rather than impacting and ruining - yes, ruining - these girls' lives, he should have stuck to self-pleasure. didn't we learn it's not shameful anymore? maybe he didn't have enlightened health classes. he wrote a vivid passage about one of these encounters that was ethereally beautiful but not enough to cover the fact that he was deceiving the young lady. gah, he's a jerk

i'd recommend this book for its humor, but you'd enjoy it more if you weren't as uptight about wasted money and a-holes who take advantage of the disadvantaged (in upbringing, cultural freedoms, economically, etc.) as i seem to be.

Matthew Polly is a wonderfully funny, insightful young man who takes a year off from Princeton to travel to the Shoalin Monastery in China to study Buddhism and kung fu. This is his account of his adventure and his self-depreciating sense of humor is often laugh-out-loud funny. Move over Bill Bryson, Mr Polly is hot on your tail. My plans for the garden have been hijacked again by a book that is just too good to put down. What a wonderful way to spend a weekend.

Enticing look at inland China of the l980s and the world of Kungfu. Matthew Polly, mid-college, spends two years in rural China living among Buddhist monks and training in Kungfu at the infamous Shaolin Temple. Polly is a self-effacing, humorous story-teller. Teens interested in martial arts, Chinese culture, tales of under dogs besting their foes (Polly was an admitted 98-lb weaking at start) will appreciate this true story. Language and sexual exploits (not explicit) will limit its appropriateness to senior high or mature readers.

Last year I saw the Shaolin Monks in a live show and they were amazing, so when I came across this book I immediately thought that I had to read it. This is the memoir of Matthew Polly and the two years he spent in China living with the monks. While attending Princeton, Polly took the bold decision to take a break from college and embark on a physical and spiritual journey.

What he found in China was not what he expected but he was determined and willing to 'eat bitter' so he gained the respect of the monks. By the end of his journey his 'things that are wrong with Matt' list was significantly smaller and through his memoir you experience both his pitfalls and achievements. When reading this book I realized how much I didn't know about China and the cultural differences that exist, I found this very interesting especially learning how China has evolved since then. You don't have to be into martial arts and Buddhism to enjoy this book, it is well written and sometimes comical, definitely not boring. It has certainly encouraged me to read more of these kind of books and proves that non-fiction can be enjoyable too.

Polly trained in Kung-Fu at the famous Shaolin Buddhist temple. His writing is humanist, his matches hard-fought, his insights hard-won. An interesting commentary on contemporary China and cross-cultural connections.

There are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of distinct styles of kungfu. There are styles devoted to every conceivable animal. There are 'drunken' styles, regional styles, styles exclusively devoted to one weapon. There are family styles, which are never taught to anyone outside a bloodline. There are external and internal styles, styles for ground fighting, joint manipulation (qin na), and even one focused on head-butting. Chinese kungfu is one of the most glorious examples of obsessive-compulsive behavior in the history of human culture.

Tsingtao Lager
Iron Crotch Pale Ale

An interesting entertaining read; not spectacular, but fun. Nothing in it on the Spiritual aspects of Shaolin. No Zen. Then again, it's based on mathew's experience, and the expectation that there be very serene martial / Zen masters is the product of American Explotation and propaghanda on what Shalin is all about. nonetheless, I enjoyed reading about his experiences

Really interesting and personal book. I got a little bored with the fighting descriptions but they were not very long.

As I read this, I felt as if I was back in yi jiu ba ba nian (1988) when I studied at Beijing University. Though Polly's story took place mostly at Shaolin Temple (quite far from Beijing) and in 1993, I saw many similarities between his experiences and mine. So many times, I found that his conversations with Chinese were the same conversations that I had when I was in China just 5 years earlier. This was all the more surprising for me since I left just several months before the June 4th 1989 massacre in Tiananmen Square and he was there 4 years after. _American Shaolin_ is a really fun book that captures parts of Chinese culture extremely well. Polly has a talent to explain situations very clearly. I admire his ability to poke fun at himself too. Anyone interested in China and/or martial arts will love this book. [If profanity bothers you, you may not like parts of this book.]

This is an entertaining light read with some very insightful moments about Chinese culture. You really feel the characters in this book. Anyone who is interested in Shaolin kung fu should read this book to get a glimpse of how it's changed over the years and what some of the training is like. It is interesting to get an inside look at China through a Westerner's eyes.

Polly, Matthew . (2007). American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China. New York: Penguin Group USA, Gotham Books. 384 pp. ISBN 1-59240-262-3 (Hardcover); $26.00 [BBYA Top Ten Selection and Alex Winner]

American Shaolin is one of this year’s Alex winners (The Alex award is given to well written adult books with high teen appeal (http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/alexawards/alexawards.cfm ). The easiest way, perhaps, to booktalk this title is to simply read the title and tell teens that the “Iron Crotch” section comes with full color pictures! Matthew Polly took a year off from Princeton to study kungfu with the Shaolin monks in China. During that time he finds a spiritual center, gains wisdom, attracts girls, gathers courage, and becomes a man. The cultural details about topics such as the way to greet someone, how to conduct business, or the technique for negotiating prices provide readers with an interesting contrast between this Asian perspective and our American way of treating the same topics. The book has enough of the kungfu fighting details to compensate for a few overly detailed language and cultural descriptions. The iron crotch section (and pictures!) will gross out teens enough to keep them reading. The beauty of this title is that readers will also learn something. This book is also a BBYA top ten selection, which is well-deserved!