Barbells and Beefcake: Illustrated History of Bodybuilding

by David Pirie Webster

151 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1979

About the author

David Pirie Webster, OBE (18 September 1928 – October 2023) was a Scottish author, historian, and sports promoter living in Glasgow. Webster was the organiser of the Highland Games around the world for over 50 years.

Webster was the Chairman of Scottish Weightlifting, and served as the Scottish weightlifting national coach, as well as referee, and competitor in that sport. He attended the 1960, 1968, and 1972 Olympics as part of the Scottish delegation and worked at the World & European Championships every year from 1961 to 1966 as either a technical official, referee, or coach. Webster was coach of the British team at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Malta in 1983, and he also served for many years as Scottish National Weightlifting Coach. Webster also competed in weightlifting and in the sport of powerlifting. Webster was also an official in bodybuilding, and was a founding member of the National Amateur Bodybuilding Association (NABBA).

In the 1995 Birthday Honours, Webster was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to sport.

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent history of physical culture and bodybuilding. It’s self-published and has a few grammar and typo errors but not so many as to distract the reader. Fantastic black and white photos throughout the book of strong men and bodybuilders too. Worth a read or sitting on the book shelf of anyone into muscle appreciation or bodybuilding.