The Professor in the Cage

Starred review from January 12, 2015
While working as an adjunct English professor Gottschall (The Storytelling Animal) found himself drawn to the mixed–martial arts (MMA) gym across the street from his office, as this fascinating book describes. Having avoided fights for most of his life, and working in a profession that associates masculinity “with everything oafish, bullying and oppressive,” he felt ready to try something new, particularly since he’d long admired but never himself performed acts of “physical courage.” While beginning his training, Gottschall realized that ritualized, rule-bound competitions—what he calls “the monkey dance”—are essential to helping men work out conflicts. With humor, literary allusions, and a casual, unprepossessing style, Gottshall explores such related subjects as duels, bullying, English football, men’s “love-hate” relationship to war, and violent entertainment from gladiator games to MMA. Noting that without a dominant hierarchy, his gym would be a “grisly bloodbath,” he nevertheless finds that his fellow fighters are not at all what he expected. Many are “downright sweet,” and none have gotten into fights outside the cage in years. By the end of Gottschall’s thought-provoking study, he enters his first—and only—official fight after 15 months of training, thinking very differently about masculinity and the rituals of manhood.

January 1, 2015
An English professor becomes a mixed martial arts cage fighter and then examines the history of human violence to justify the act.This nonfiction account of literary scholar Gottschall's (English/Washington and Jefferson Coll.; The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human, 2012, etc.) dabbling in combat is something of a conundrum. On the surface, it's the story of the author's single MMA cage match, which lasted less than a minute. At a deeper level, the author seems to want so badly for the narrative to turn out like Fight Club. But despite the graphic descriptions of blood, bruises and gore, it reads much like an intellectual justification for ritual combat in society. Early on, Gottschall defends what he calls "The Monkey Dance": "These events range from elaborate and deadly duels (pistols at dawn), to combat sports such as MMA or football, to the play fights of boys, to duels of pure language (rap battles, everyday pissing contests). They often seem ridiculous and often end in tragedy. But they serve a vital function: they help men work out conflicts and thrash out hierarchies while minimizing carnage and social chaos." Unfortunately, the author is largely preaching to the converted. He touches on issues surrounding literature, politics, genetics and gender, he glories in the experience of a fight, even in its small moments-e.g., when he recalls a sparring match gone wrong. "The kick sank my teeth hard into my lower lip," he writes. "I struggled on as my opponent pushed me into the fence and tried to drag me down. The flavor of the blood pulsing into my mouth was nauseatingly good...." These explicit descriptions and Gottschall's fractured thoughts on "Blood Porn" or "The Great Semen Glut" tend to derail the book's more thoughtful argument that a dueling society is a more civilized one. A personal history of violence that makes Norman Mailer look nuanced by comparison.

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March 1, 2015

From ancient Rome to modern professional sports, it appears that men cannot help fighting one another and society cannot help watching. This dynamic is what Gottschall (The Storytelling Animal) tries to explore through historical and sociological context, as he weaves a narrative about his transition from a self-described "wimpy" adjunct professor to a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. Gottschall draws parallels between his own experiences and the broader story he is explaining about masculinity and aggression in civilization. While not a scientist himself, the author makes ample use of studies to build a sympathetic case that such angry or violent behavior or feelings are natural. He excels when describing both the historical and social factors behind this phenomenon and falls short when detailing his own journey. However, the account is an overall qualified success. VERDICT This title will primarily engage readers of popular sociology titles. While fans of MMA and academic readers may find interest in some aspects of this work, the appeal for these readers will be limited, as Gottschall only scratches the surface of both the MMA world and the science behind male aggression.--Ben Neal, Richland Lib., Columbia, SC

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2015
As admitted by Gottschall himselfan adjunct English professor at Washington & Jefferson Collegethis book follows a time-worn theme: nerdy guy signs up for dangerous sport, then writes about what ensues. Think George Plimpton versus boxer Archie Moore. In Gottschall's case, it was mixed martial arts. He took some serious body blows for his time spent in the cage and describes them in wrenching detail, but the experience also gave him license to ruminate on the role of sports in a modern society. In that, he's all over the place, from an informal history of dueling to the advantages of lefties in interactive sports and the differences between how men and women play. At the end of his peregrination, though, he reaches this surprising but important conclusion, I set out to write about the darkness in men, but I ended up with a book about how men keep the darkness in check. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)