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A review by sg33
Foxcatcher: A True Story of Murder, Madness and the Quest for Olympic Gold by Mark Schultz
5.0
I started reading Foxcatcher during the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo (2021) as a deliberate choice to read something related to the Olympic games. The book was excellent for that purpose. I assume the co-author who worked with Mark Schultz put a lot of work into explaining wrestling to people, like me, who do not understand the sport that well. I've rarely read anything this clear and succinct on the specifics of a sport. No matter how technical some aspects of matches, tournaments or the workings of leagues and college programmes get, the author(s) really managed to set up the content and context that you always feel you can follow. I honestly learned a lot about wrestling from this book. If one is knowledgeable of Mixed Martial Arts and/or a sports fan in general, like me, you'll find connections. I for example had heard about Dan Gable before and hearing Schultz talk about him added to my knowledge, so to speak.
As a complete side note, if you're into grappling and Brazilian jiu jitsu, there's some of that in this book, too. By complete coincidence, while I was reading "Foxcatcher", Rickson Gracie's (auto)biography "Breathe" came out and I started reading it while finishing "Foxcatcher" simultaneously. So, I smiled when one episode was mentioned in both books.
The story of "Foxcatcher" is gripping in many aspects. I have seen the film and the book goes much deeper and is more factual, I believe. However, it must be said that some things are different. Dave Schultz partially only appears to be a side character in this book and some details are not prominently discussed. I must have missed when Dave moved onto the du Pont estate. When it becomes critical to the story, I had to go back and look back at passages mentioning Dave to see whether it was mentioned but later decided that I'd just assumed the events to have been explained in the film, though that somewhat contradicts the events as described in the book.
However, why I absolutely liked the book is actually Dave Schultz and how he is portrayed in the book. Before, I bought the book, I read a lot of slightly negative reviews which focused on Mark Schultz and his character, particularly the self centred and self obsessed aspects. Be that as it may the spotlight the "Foxcatcher" shines on Dave Schultz and his outstanding and remarkable character and what the book achieves towards documenting him (or showing him in this way) is what I'll take away from this read.
As a complete side note, if you're into grappling and Brazilian jiu jitsu, there's some of that in this book, too. By complete coincidence, while I was reading "Foxcatcher", Rickson Gracie's (auto)biography "Breathe" came out and I started reading it while finishing "Foxcatcher" simultaneously. So, I smiled when one episode was mentioned in both books.
The story of "Foxcatcher" is gripping in many aspects. I have seen the film and the book goes much deeper and is more factual, I believe. However, it must be said that some things are different. Dave Schultz partially only appears to be a side character in this book and some details are not prominently discussed. I must have missed when Dave moved onto the du Pont estate. When it becomes critical to the story, I had to go back and look back at passages mentioning Dave to see whether it was mentioned but later decided that I'd just assumed the events to have been explained in the film, though that somewhat contradicts the events as described in the book.
However, why I absolutely liked the book is actually Dave Schultz and how he is portrayed in the book. Before, I bought the book, I read a lot of slightly negative reviews which focused on Mark Schultz and his character, particularly the self centred and self obsessed aspects. Be that as it may the spotlight the "Foxcatcher" shines on Dave Schultz and his outstanding and remarkable character and what the book achieves towards documenting him (or showing him in this way) is what I'll take away from this read.