Louis Cyr: Amazing Canadian

by Ben Weider

For Canadian Ben Weider, world leader in physical fitness, there was no equal to Louis Cyr, his boyhood idol. While "Weider's scientific approach to bodybuilding and Cyr's brute power could not be further apart," Weider chose to pay tribute to the amazing Canadian strongman in a colorful, picturesque accounting of his life and times, and his extraordinary accomplishments. You'll be transported to the late 1800s, when Louis Cyr first distinguished himself as a child prodigy of strength, and his mother changed his name to Louis, honoring the kings of France since he was the king of strength, and insisted that he wear long golden curls in the tradition of Samson. First published in 1976 in English, we are honored to offer this definitive account of the phenomenal Louis Cyr. Mr. Weider argues in his final chapters that Louis Cyr "still is the strongest man who ever lived so far as recorded history can tell us." Do you agree?

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 22, 2006

About the author

Benjamin "Ben" Weider, OC CQ CD, was the co-founder of the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (IFBB) along with brother Joe Weider. He was a Canadian businessman from Montreal, well known in two areas: Bodybuilding and Napoleonic history.

In 1975 he was made a Member of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Officer in 2006. In 2000, he was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec. On October 12, 2000, he received the French Legion of Honor, that country's highest honour, which was established by Bonaparte himself. Weider was also a 1984 nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, a member of the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame, and a Commander of the Venerable Order of St. John. He also had several honorary doctorate degrees. The Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution at the Florida State University History Department has recently created the Ben Weider Chair in Revolutionary Studies. In total, Ben accumulated over 66 awards and honours during his lifetime. [wikipedia]

Reviews

[Vincent T. Ciaramella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love reading about Victorian era sports and those strange turn-of-the-century feats of strength and endurance that today's athletes wouldn't even dare attempt. I read a really cool book on Pedestrianism that just blew my mind. I also read a book on Captain Matthew Webb (first person to swim the English Channel) and countless books on boxing legends like John L Sullivan, Joe Jackson and others. Louis Cry seemed like a person that would fit right in with the rest and he did.

This topic was fascinating. Cyr's strength seems supernatural. How can you lift over 4,000 LBS with your back?!. It almost sounds unbelievable when you read his list of records set that have yet to be broken. I lift weights for fun and for health reasons and I love to read about guys like Cyr because they motivate me to try harder.

The downside to this book is the poor quality of the writing and story telling. This book almost feels like a report written by a college student rather than a professional biography. The reviewer below hit the nail on the head. There seems like there could be SO much more to this story. He could have dug more into the strength competitions of the 19th century or the history of strong men from that time period. He could have rounded out the lives of the others involved in the Louis Cyr story. He could have talked more about the life of circus performers in the 19th century or what life was like in Montreal during the late 19th century. There are tons of things he could have done to make this story come alive. It really just feels like a long Wikipedia entry or a report done by someone in a rush.

I'll keep this one for my collection but I hope at some point in the future someone does Louis justice and writes a quality biography (in English) about the strongest man to ever live.

[Luc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love to learn more of strong mens, especially by peoples who have real facts and write them well. Ben Weider is a great man and a great book writer.

[Heep · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is about Louis Cyr. It is written by Ben Weider. They are both Montrealers, and both spent their life devoted to the sport of strength. These are profound topics for me and I would have hoped for more. The story telling is really quite poor and Weider clearly lacks the research skills to bring this topic to life. It is unfortunate because I suspect that there was a lot of material to be mined - the history of Montreal and Quebec; strength sports and their promotion; the connection to Vaudeville, the circus and fascination with the odd (think Ripley's Believe It or Not). Cyr was an epic fellow (and so are the Weider brothers) and this book does none of them credit. The book gets two stars because the topic is just too important to me.