American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch

An Odyssey in the New China

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Last edited by IdentifierBot
August 10, 2010 | History

American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch

An Odyssey in the New China

  • 0 Ratings
  • 3 Want to read
  • 0 Currently reading
  • 0 Have read

Bill Bryson meets Bruce Lee in this raucously funny story of one scrawny American's quest to become a kung fu master at China's legendary Shaolin Temple.Growing up a ninety-pound weakling tormented by bullies in the schoolyards of Kansas, young Matthew Polly dreamed of one day journeying to the Shaolin Temple in China to become the toughest fighter in the world, like Caine in his favorite 1970s TV series, Kung Fu. While in college, Matthew decided the time had come to pursue this quixotic dream before it was too late. Much to the dismay of his parents, he dropped out of Princeton to spend two years training with the legendary sect of monks who invented kung fu and Zen Buddhism.Expecting to find an isolated citadel populated by supernatural ascetics that he'd seen in countless badly dubbed chop-socky flicks, Matthew instead discovered a tacky tourist trap run by Communist party hacks. But the dedicated monks still trained in the rigorous age-old fighting forms—some even practicing the "iron kung fu" discipline, in which intensive training can make various body parts virtually indestructible (even the crotch). As Matthew grew in his knowledge of China and kung fu skill, he would come to represent the Temple in challenge matches and international competitions, and ultimately the monks would accept their new American initiate as close to one of their own as any Westerner had ever become.Laced with humor and illuminated by cultural insight, American Shaolin is an unforgettable coming-of-age tale of one young man's journey into the ancient art of kung fu—and a funny and poignant portrait of a rapidly changing China.

Publish Date
Publisher
Gotham
Language
English
Pages
384

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: American Shaolin
American Shaolin
2008, Penguin Group USA, Inc.
Electronic resource in English
Cover of: American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch
Cover of: American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch
American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China
December 27, 2007, Gotham
Paperback in English

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Book Details


The Physical Object

Format
Hardcover
Number of pages
384
Dimensions
9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
Weight
1.2 pounds

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL8866433M
ISBN 10
1592402623
ISBN 13
9781592402625
Library Thing
2110560
Goodreads
207268

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
August 10, 2010 Edited by IdentifierBot added LibraryThing ID
April 24, 2010 Edited by Open Library Bot Fixed duplicate goodreads IDs.
April 16, 2010 Edited by bgimpertBot Added goodreads ID.
April 14, 2010 Edited by Open Library Bot Linked existing covers to the edition.
April 30, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from amazon.com record