Try free for 30 days
-
The Professor in the Cage
- Why Men Fight and Why We like to Watch
- Narrated by: Quincy Dunn-Baker
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from Wish List failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
The Professor in the Cage
Buy Now for $26.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
When a mixed martial arts (MMA) gym moves in across the street from his office, Jonathan Gottschall sees a challenge and an opportunity. Pushing 40, out of shape, and disenchanted with his job as an adjunct English professor, part of him yearns to cross the street and join up. The other part is terrified.
Gottschall eventually works up his nerve and starts training for a real cage fight. He's fighting not only as a personal test but also to answer questions that have intrigued him for years: Why do men fight? And why do so many seemingly decent people like to watch? Gottschall endures extremes of pain, occasional humiliation, and the incredulity of his wife to take us into the heart of fighting culture - culminating, after almost two years of grueling training, in his own cage fight.
Gottschall's unsparing personal journey crystallizes in his epiphany, and ours, that taming male violence through ritualized combat has been a hidden key to the success of the human race. Without the restraining codes of the monkey dance, the world would be a much more chaotic and dangerous place.
What listeners say about The Professor in the Cage
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Brian
- 19-02-2016
Sound research and engaging storytelling
This is not your typical story of how a boring man became great, it is rather an exploration of the engaging topic of violence and evolutionary psychology, it presents answers to many questions that we as men have asked without an answer. Walking the talk the professor goes to look for answers in the literature and in the cage.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- John Birmingham
- 10-02-2019
OMG I LOVED THIS BOOK.
Probably because it's an intellectual examination of a brutal martial art and a wider thesis about the connection between masculinity and violence... Beautifully put together by an aging professor who should not be in the cage at all. And it speaks to me as a guy who is too old to be going to jujitsu any more. But I keep going any way. Great book. Seriously. It gave me all the feels.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Father Dave
- 05-12-2018
Profound and beautifully written
As a professional fighter, I found this book full of insight. As a professional wordsmith, I was equally impressed with the delivery of that insight. We’ll done, brother. It’s time to make the transition to boxing so that the saga might continue. 🥊
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!