What do you think?
Rate this book
A Glimpse in the Rear View
With his passion for training intact, Dave Draper takes a glimpse in his rear view to bring us the stories that make up the foundation of Golden Era bodybuilding. Dave’s unique writing style and spectacular insight allows us to feel like we were there, leaning against the dumbbell rack in Joe Gold’s gym in the morning, then soaking up the golden sun of Santa Monica in the afternoon.
In this collection of Dave Draper’s quirky memory columns, we get to sit next to the Blond Bomber as he weaves his tales from the East Coast to the West. Over 60 years under the iron surrounded by some of the world’s top bodybuilding personalities in gyms around the world provides a lot of fodder for an unusual wordsmith to mold into a most enjoyable book.
"A Glimpse in the Rear View puts us in the passenger seat as Dave Draper pulls away from Muscle Beach and from the stage of Mr. Universe. He takes us into the dungeon, brings us out to the movie set and lets us help open a gym with the Austrian Oak. He pulls the weight set from under the bed for us and leads us in sets of dips on kitchen chairs. We meet people from all over who love the iron. We bury some of them as time moves along, and others just fade from sight.
"This isn’t once upon a time; these are real stories. Life can be sad. Life can be cruel. Dave protects us; he cushions us in his mighty arms." ~ Dan John, author of 40 Years with a Whistle
In this collection of Dave Draper’s quirky memory columns, we get to sit next to the Blond Bomber as he weaves his tales from the East Coast to the West. Over 60 years under the iron surrounded by some of the world’s top bodybuilding personalities in gyms around the world provides a lot of fodder for an unusual wordsmith to mold into a most enjoyable book.
"A Glimpse in the Rear View puts us in the passenger seat as Dave Draper pulls away from Muscle Beach and from the stage of Mr. Universe. He takes us into the dungeon, brings us out to the movie set and lets us help open a gym with the Austrian Oak. He pulls the weight set from under the bed for us and leads us in sets of dips on kitchen chairs. We meet people from all over who love the iron. We bury some of them as time moves along, and others just fade from sight.
"This isn’t once upon a time; these are real stories. Life can be sad. Life can be cruel. Dave protects us; he cushions us in his mighty arms." ~ Dan John, author of 40 Years with a Whistle
- GenresFitnessNonfiction
272 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
16 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Dave Draper
20 books8 followers
Librarian note:
There is more than one author with this name
Dave^Draper
There is more than one author with this name
Dave^Draper
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 31, 2023
From the forward, written by strength and movement coach, Dan John:
“A GLIMPSE IN THE REAR VIEW puts us in the passenger seat as Dave Draper pulls away from Muscle Beach and from the stage of Mr. Universe. He takes us into the dungeon, brings us out to the movie set and lets us help open a gym with the Austrian Oak. He pulls the weight set from under the bed for us and leads us in sets of dips on kitchen chairs.
We meet people from all over who love the iron. We bury some of them as time moves along, and others just fade from sight. We meet the wonderful and beautiful Sharon Tate, but we don’t follow her fate. This isn’t once upon a time; these are real stories. Life can be sad. Life can be cruel.
Dave protects us from getting too close. Stories of hunger, isolation, and desperation are hidden behind sea mist and early morning fog.
When Dave finds a human body in the ocean or discusses his multiple bypasses, he cushions us in his mighty arms. He adds a touch of humor and self-deprecation to every sad story. He turns losing cartons of Bomber Blend out the back of his pickup into a slapstick comedy scene.”
Here in the pages of this wonderful book, the reader will find 60 plus years of stories from Dave’s life, written with charm, modesty, and his unique sense of humor. There’s a magic in his prose akin to how he affected the audience in the few bodybuilding contests he entered. He didn’t care for the stage or limelight, yet left a positive light for those early bodybuilding enthusiasts, and inspired such greats of the sport as Arnold Schwarzenegger.
As Dave often said, it wasn’t about contests or getting on the cover of a muscle mag, or fame, or fortune. Certainly not fortune. When Dave competed, there wasn’t any money in the sport to speak of.
So, why did he continuously push and pull the iron for so many decades? Here are some of his reasons.
“There’s health, muscle and might for starters. Not bad. There’s the fun of lifting weights and the exciting challenge it presents, the physical pushing and pulling and stretching, the intelligent formation of exercises, movements and routines, and the tantalizing pumping, burning and striving. Weight training is a dynamic diversion providing strong camaraderie, identification and hope. Be sure of this: Few pastimes provide more benefits, rewards and fulfillment.
Training builds discipline, perseverance and patience. Mountains are climbed with these superior characteristics, lives are saved and nations are shaped. Tough exercise puts order and rhythm in our lives, diminishing confusion and reducing stress, and that’s worth more than a few trips to a psychiatrist’s couch. As quality is added to life, so is it extended with useful and enjoyable years. When once we said, ‘I can’t,’ after gaining fitness and well-being through dedicated exercise, we say, ‘Don’t just sit there, let’s get moving.’
A strong back and strong heart match one’s courage and confidence, four natural byproducts of working out and regular lifting. And, though personally pleased, true ironheads don’t brag about their accomplishments--one more modest attribute gained from solid cast-iron training.”
Reading this book was bittersweet for me, because it was the last book he published before passing away on November 30, 2021 at the age of 79. He taught me so much over the years, especially in the transition from being a young ironhead to an old, seasoned one. He was one of those unique individuals who touches your life in so many positive ways, you can’t begin to add up the value. Priceless is as good a word as I can find to represent what he meant to me. I loved Dave Draper, but not because he shared the same love of weight training as me, and wrote about that passion better than anyone else ever has, but because he was a real human being who didn’t mind sharing his thoughts about life and training with another old ironhead.
Now that I’ve probably read just about everything he’s ever written, I can honestly say, I was never disappointed. He had such a wonderful way with words, he could take even the most mundane topic, and turn it into something new and different.
Arnold Schwarzenegger offers a nice tribute and glimpse of Dave on his website.
“Dave Draper was an inspiration to millions of people all over the world, including me. He was one of my idols. In Austria, I kept his cover of Muscle Builder magazine on the wall above my bed for motivation, and when I saw him starring in “Don’t Make Waves”, I thought, ‘My dreams are possible.’ When I got to America and finally met Dave, I learned his heart was as big as his pecs. He even hand-built my first furniture when I moved to Santa Monica, and let me tell you, he was talented. Can you imagine meeting your idol and becoming his training partner and traveling all over the world together? I was in heaven. He couldn’t have been more welcoming, and he was a fantastic training partner who always pushed everyone around him in the gym to be better. He was an amazing writer and a great family man. I will miss the Blond Bomber, but his memory will always be with me. My thoughts are with Laree and the whole family.”
This book is more of the same Draper wit and wisdom from a lifetime under the iron. I miss you Dave. Thanks for sharing the memories.
“A GLIMPSE IN THE REAR VIEW puts us in the passenger seat as Dave Draper pulls away from Muscle Beach and from the stage of Mr. Universe. He takes us into the dungeon, brings us out to the movie set and lets us help open a gym with the Austrian Oak. He pulls the weight set from under the bed for us and leads us in sets of dips on kitchen chairs.
We meet people from all over who love the iron. We bury some of them as time moves along, and others just fade from sight. We meet the wonderful and beautiful Sharon Tate, but we don’t follow her fate. This isn’t once upon a time; these are real stories. Life can be sad. Life can be cruel.
Dave protects us from getting too close. Stories of hunger, isolation, and desperation are hidden behind sea mist and early morning fog.
When Dave finds a human body in the ocean or discusses his multiple bypasses, he cushions us in his mighty arms. He adds a touch of humor and self-deprecation to every sad story. He turns losing cartons of Bomber Blend out the back of his pickup into a slapstick comedy scene.”
Here in the pages of this wonderful book, the reader will find 60 plus years of stories from Dave’s life, written with charm, modesty, and his unique sense of humor. There’s a magic in his prose akin to how he affected the audience in the few bodybuilding contests he entered. He didn’t care for the stage or limelight, yet left a positive light for those early bodybuilding enthusiasts, and inspired such greats of the sport as Arnold Schwarzenegger.
As Dave often said, it wasn’t about contests or getting on the cover of a muscle mag, or fame, or fortune. Certainly not fortune. When Dave competed, there wasn’t any money in the sport to speak of.
So, why did he continuously push and pull the iron for so many decades? Here are some of his reasons.
“There’s health, muscle and might for starters. Not bad. There’s the fun of lifting weights and the exciting challenge it presents, the physical pushing and pulling and stretching, the intelligent formation of exercises, movements and routines, and the tantalizing pumping, burning and striving. Weight training is a dynamic diversion providing strong camaraderie, identification and hope. Be sure of this: Few pastimes provide more benefits, rewards and fulfillment.
Training builds discipline, perseverance and patience. Mountains are climbed with these superior characteristics, lives are saved and nations are shaped. Tough exercise puts order and rhythm in our lives, diminishing confusion and reducing stress, and that’s worth more than a few trips to a psychiatrist’s couch. As quality is added to life, so is it extended with useful and enjoyable years. When once we said, ‘I can’t,’ after gaining fitness and well-being through dedicated exercise, we say, ‘Don’t just sit there, let’s get moving.’
A strong back and strong heart match one’s courage and confidence, four natural byproducts of working out and regular lifting. And, though personally pleased, true ironheads don’t brag about their accomplishments--one more modest attribute gained from solid cast-iron training.”
Reading this book was bittersweet for me, because it was the last book he published before passing away on November 30, 2021 at the age of 79. He taught me so much over the years, especially in the transition from being a young ironhead to an old, seasoned one. He was one of those unique individuals who touches your life in so many positive ways, you can’t begin to add up the value. Priceless is as good a word as I can find to represent what he meant to me. I loved Dave Draper, but not because he shared the same love of weight training as me, and wrote about that passion better than anyone else ever has, but because he was a real human being who didn’t mind sharing his thoughts about life and training with another old ironhead.
Now that I’ve probably read just about everything he’s ever written, I can honestly say, I was never disappointed. He had such a wonderful way with words, he could take even the most mundane topic, and turn it into something new and different.
Arnold Schwarzenegger offers a nice tribute and glimpse of Dave on his website.
“Dave Draper was an inspiration to millions of people all over the world, including me. He was one of my idols. In Austria, I kept his cover of Muscle Builder magazine on the wall above my bed for motivation, and when I saw him starring in “Don’t Make Waves”, I thought, ‘My dreams are possible.’ When I got to America and finally met Dave, I learned his heart was as big as his pecs. He even hand-built my first furniture when I moved to Santa Monica, and let me tell you, he was talented. Can you imagine meeting your idol and becoming his training partner and traveling all over the world together? I was in heaven. He couldn’t have been more welcoming, and he was a fantastic training partner who always pushed everyone around him in the gym to be better. He was an amazing writer and a great family man. I will miss the Blond Bomber, but his memory will always be with me. My thoughts are with Laree and the whole family.”
This book is more of the same Draper wit and wisdom from a lifetime under the iron. I miss you Dave. Thanks for sharing the memories.
July 14, 2020
The 'BLONDE BOMBER' shares his story from the early years of bodybuilding to the his current state of affairs.
One of my favorite characters from the Golden Age of Bodybuilding and strength training.
One of my favorite characters from the Golden Age of Bodybuilding and strength training.
May 6, 2021
A glimpse into the life of a prolific bodybuilder, meanders towards the end. Good motivation to get out and train hard
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews