Sheridan interviews athletes in psychologically demanding sports about their mental game. Mostly fighters, in jiu-jitsu, mma, boxing or wresting, but also ultrarunner David Horton. Everyone is driven in some way, but what stands out is how people use different strategies and find motivation in different ways. There may be some commonalities, like humility and a willingness to learn. Recommended. ( )

Good content, bad writing. ( )

At the end of this book, I understood that this was a sequel. Maybe the first book had all the good material, because this one read like a collection of superficial vignettes. I wrestle myself, and I'd bought this book in the hope of learning how to become mentally stronger, but was disappointed.
The author is too much in awe of his UFC heroes to probe any deeper than the platitudes which are being served verbatim, without reflection or analysis by the author, in his conversations with them. The only bit of insight came from the initial chapter on wrestling (Dan Gable), but unfortunately the author's lack of interest for and indeed antipathy for that sport got the better of him, so it feels like he chooses not to explore many an interesting avenue. The rest of the book feels like adolescent hero-worship drivel. A disappointment. ( )

Sheridan, a mixed martial artist (MMA), Harvard graduate and former Merchant Marine, attempts to mine and explain the unfathomable element that distinguishes successful fighters from the vanquished. He interviews several types of fighters (Olympic wrestlers, MMA fighters, Muay Thai fighters, boxers) but never really draws any eloquent or strong conclusions about the warrior mind.

He spends a couple days interviewing wrestling great Dan Grable--widely regarded as the greatest Olympic wrestler ever--yet comes away with not much else than Dan worked harder than everyone else; he travels to a Muay Thai camp in Thailand and concludes that the camaraderie of the camp is what sustains champions; he interviews Brazilian jiu-jiutsu master Royce Gracie and learn that Royce learned his art by "keeping his mouth shut" when practicing with his teachers (who also were his father and grandfather).

The small conclusions that he does manage to elucidate are buried in many copious descriptions of MMA fighting technique; anyone but the most dedicated MMA fighter will likely speed-read or skip these sections. (I've been practicing martial arts since I was a teen and I've dabbled in the ground-fighting techniques of MMA and I could not get through these sections; I can't imagine that a lay reader could either.)

I'd like to say that Sheridan just needed to do more research, but that doesn't seem to be the problem. He traveled all over the planet to interview for this book and practiced the martial art of each of the interviewees. Rather, this book needed another--possibly more--re-writes and a more demanding and exacting editor. ( )