About
Cherry Radford was a piano teacher at the Royal Ballet Junior School, a keyboard player in a band, and then a research optometrist at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. She lives near Brighton with her music producer husband and two sons.
Men Dancing is her first novel, but another book – also born of her passions for dance, music and all things Hispanic – is waiting in the wings...
Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness
Description
<p><b>The absorbing, definitive account of CrossFit's origins, its explosive grassroots growth, and its emergence as a global phenomenon.</b><br /> <br />One of the most illuminating books ever on a sports subculture, <i>Learning to Breathe Fire </i>combines vivid sports writing with a thoughtful meditation on what it means to be human. In the book, veteran journalist J.C. Herz explains the science of maximum effort, why the modern gym fails an obese society, and the psychic rewards of ending up on the floor feeling as though you're about to die. <br /> <br />The story traces CrossFit’s rise, from a single underground gym in Santa Cruz to its adoption as the workout of choice for elite special forces, firefighters and cops, to its popularity as the go-to fitness routine for regular Joes and Janes. Especially riveting is Herz’s description of The CrossFit Games, which begin as an informal throw-down on a California ranch and evolve into a televised global proving ground for the fittest men and women on Earth, as well as hundreds of thousands of lesser mortals. <br /> <br />In her portrayal of the sport's star athletes, its passionate coaches and its “chief armorer,” Rogue Fitness, Herz powerfully evokes the uniqueness of a fitness culture that cultivates primal fierceness in average people. And in the shared ordeal of an all-consuming workout, she unearths the ritual intensity that's been with us since humans invented sports, showing us how, on a deep level, we're all tribal hunters and first responders, waiting for the signal to go all-out. </p>
Story Behind The Book
MEN DANCING is the story of a disillusioned scientist who finds her world tilts after a chance meeting with a charismatic male ballet dancer. Why did I write it? Like Rosie, I was feverishly in love with ballet, hopelessly attracted to someone, and looking for a more creative existence...
Reviews
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<p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:12pt;"><strong>“A great read for Strictly fans”</strong></span></p>
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<p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:12pt;"><strong>Sir Bruce Forsyth, CBE</strong></span></p>
<p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:12pt;"><strong>“Couldn’t wait to get back to it every time I put it down. Compelling and well written.”</strong></span></p>
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<p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:12pt;"><strong>Louise Voss, Amazon No.1 bestselling author</strong></span></p>
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