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Total MMA: The book
By Zach Arnold | December 23, 2008
A couple of years ago when the collapse of PRIDE happened, I thought about writing a book covering the history of Japanese MMA. Then, I thought about it, and realized how much work would have to go into it and how few people in the end would probably be interested. At least I was focused on the Japanese scene. I never could have imagined trying to write a book on the history of modern MMA worldwide and how the past ties into the present and the future.
Thankfully, I won’t have an opportunity to do this. Jonathan Snowden decided to take it upon himself and go for it. The end result is a new book, Total MMA, that is a pretty remarkable book that has a little bit for every type of MMA fan — both casual and hardcore fans will appreciate the effort that went into writing this book. There are actually quite a few pictures in the book that will bring back a lot of memories for old-timer fans.
What makes this book a cut above most, if not all, MMA-related books is that you can see a layering process at work in terms of historical storytelling. It’s as if a time line was created, all the pieces laid out in preparation, and then the final product consisted of one smooth story. Think of the way this book was written in the same manner that musicians create songs on the computer with multiple tracks, with each track having its own beat. Now, think about how long that process takes, and then throw on top the goal of telling a complete historical account of a very complicated business in a not-so-complicated manner in which a fan or even non-fan of the industry can read and understand. Jonathan managed to pull this off in a big way with Total MMA and this book deserves more media spotlight than other MMA books that have gotten hype over the last couple of years.
Places where you can buy the book online:
Topics: Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Yeah, really, highest recommendations. As Zach said, Jon went above and beyond to make it a cohesive story. A lot of books that delve into history can be rather cut and dry, present the facts in a timeline fashion as an assault. This creates a great narrative and keeps you engaged.
There were a lot of things the hardcore fan already knows, but the way it is presented makes it all the more interesting with maybe some new tidbits you didn’t pick up from a third-hand account or just the style it is written.
Wow, this book isn’t being spot printed?
Someone put in a lot of time on the phone with a publisher.
I’m reading the book now and it’s more like a giant term paper to me. There are pages and pages of endnotes citing everything from old FCF issues to MMAWeekly entries to a ton of other media outlets. Kudos to the author for gathering all this info in one place, but anyone could’ve done that. Where’s the fresh insight and perspective? I loathed the writing in Chuck’s, Randy’s and Matt’s books, but at least they had something new to offer. That’s why Sam Sheridan’s book was good – we got to see new stuff from new eyes.
I honestly thought that the book was written by Marc Laimon tons of Gracie bashing in the first 3 chapters. Like Jim Genia said its pretty much info taken from sites. I suggest people to check out No Holds Barred that book was great. A bit outdated since I think it was publish back in ’05.
No Holds Barred & Brawl are both good books, although they are essentially the same. I’ll check this one out when I get a chance.
While people are certainly entitled to their opinions, I do want to point out I did more than 100 interviews for this book. The endnotes are there to let people know where some of the direct quotes came from. The framing of the story and analysis was all mine and I think substantial. Whether you agree with my conclusions or not, I wanted to give a frame of reference for where the information was coming from.
Based on FightOpinion’s review I just purchased this book – I hope it lives up to the expectations.
I’m particularly interested to see if the Zuffa Myth, or Bob Meyrowitz’s claims that then NSAC board member Lorenzo Fertitta voted against UFC sanctioning (presumably with the intent to force them to sell).
Anyways, Merry Christmas everyone!
* I meant to write that I’m interested to see if these topics are covered in the book. Thank you.