Tapped Out

November 21, 2011
When Polly, a longtime MMA enthusiast and travel writer for Slate, told his editor that he wanted to write a book about mixed martial arts, he was given the go-ahead on the condition that he train and compete himself. Polly spent the next two years getting punched, kicked, and slapped by some of the best coaches in MMA, including Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai. A gregarious and charming protagonist, Polly comes across as self-deprecating, yet his enthusiasm and passion for martial arts are unmistakable. Readers familiar with MMA will be gratified to hear how affable their heroes are and will recognize themselves in the author's shoes. Those who previously lacked knowledge of this modern craze will respect both Polly, for undertaking this odyssey, and the fighters whose grueling training regimens he followed. His story ends with a single fightâan amateur bout that he wins against a man 15 years his juniorâproving that even an Everyman, if trained well enough, can have his glory.

October 15, 2010

Slate travel writer (and former Rhodes scholar) Polly took up mixed martial arts at the creaky age of 36 and trained worldwide, winning his first match though his opponent was years younger. Okay, not my thing, but for the four million students studying at 30,000 martial arts schools nationwide, this should be catnip. And American Shaolin, Polly's wide-ranging account of his time spent in China, studying with a bunch of fighting monks, sold over 70,000 copies.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.