ISBN; 0-670-47564-5
Published by The Viking Press
As the title says, this book is about the life of Joseph L.
Greenstein, perhaps better known by his stage name “The Mighty Atom”.
As well as being a “must read” book for anyone interested in
strength training, it gives a view from one man’s life of some of the key events
in the history of the twentieth century, including the Great Depression and the
Second World War.
For those who haven’t heard of the Mighty Atom, he was born Yosselle
Greenstein in 1893. He grew up in Poland
as a sickly child. He wasn’t expected to
live for long, but under the training of a circus strongman (Volanko), he grew
into a strong and healthy young man. After
moving to America, and changing his name to Joseph, he had a life changing experience
when he survived being shot in the head by the son of a friend. This near death experience changed his
perceptions of life, and was instrumental in setting him on the path to
learning to overcome the unconscious mental blocks that we all have, prevent us
going beyond what our mind believes are our physical limits.
The Mighty Atom went on to become a vaudeville strongman,
performing in shows throughout America.
His feats of strength included
