Product Description

Bill Bryson meets Bruce Lee in this raucously funny story of one scrawny American’s quest to become a kung fu master at China’s legendary Shaolin Temple.

Growing up a ninety-pound weakling tormented by bullies in the schoolyards of Kansas, young Matthew Polly dreamed of one day journeying to the Shaolin Temple in China to become the toughest fighter in the world, like Caine in his favorite 1970s TV series, Kung Fu. While in college, Matthew decided the time had come to pursue this quixotic dream before it was too late. Much to the dismay of his parents, he dropped out of Princeton to spend two years training with the legendary sect of monks who invented kung fu and Zen Buddhism.

Expecting to find an isolated citadel populated by supernatural ascetics that he’d seen in countless badly dubbed chop-socky flicks, Matthew instead discovered a tacky tourist trap run by Communist party hacks. But the dedicated monks still trained in the rigorous age-old fighting forms—some even practicing the “iron kung fu” discipline, in which intensive training can make various body parts virtually indestructible (even the crotch). As Matthew grew in his knowledge of China and kung fu skill, he would come to represent the Temple in challenge matches and international competitions, and ultimately the monks would accept their new American initiate as close to one of their own as any Westerner had ever become.

Laced with humor and illuminated by cultural insight, American Shaolin is an unforgettable coming-of-age tale of one young man’s journey into the ancient art of kung fu—and a funny and poignant portrait of a rapidly changing China.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #220964 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In this smoothly written memoir, 98-pound weakling Polly makes the age-old decision to turn his nerdy self into a fighting machine. Polly's quest for manhood leads this guy from Topeka, Kans., to the Shaolin Temple, ancient home of the fighting monks and setting for 10,000 chop-socky movies. As much a student of Chinese culture as he is a martial artist, Polly derives a great deal of humor from the misunderstandings that follow a six-foot-three laowai (white foreigner) in a China taking its first awkward steps into capitalism after Tiananmen Square. Polly has a good eye for characters and introduces the reader to a Finnish messiah, a practitioner of "iron crotch" kung fu, and his nagging girlfriend. We get the inside dope on Chinese dating, Chinese drinking games and a medical system apparently modeled on the Spanish Inquisition. The last hundred pages of the book lose focus, and Polly doesn't convincingly demonstrate how he transforms himself from a stumbling geek to a kickboxing stud who can stand toe-to-toe with the highest-ranked fighter in the world. Although Polly may fall short in sharing Shaolin's secrets, as a chronicler of human absurdity he makes all the right moves. (Feb.)
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Review
A funny, offbeat tale of a man and a nation coming of age. -- J. Maarten Troost, bestselling author of The Sex Lives of Cannibals

A lot of people talk about becoming a real live ninja and don't do a thing. That's bullcrap. But this guy actually did it! In conclusion, Matthew Polly is the complete opposite of a wimpy baby. -- Robert Hamburger, author of REAL Ultimate Power: The Official Ninja Book

A nicely developed narrative. -- Kirkus

A sensibility more alien to my own than Matthew Polly's is hard to imagine. I consider foreign cultures to be really...foreign. I don't spiritually quest; I go to church. As for the martial arts, I own a gun. But I loved American Shaolin. Reading it was like being abducted by an alien-a brilliant, funny, and hospitable alien who took me to another universe of sensibility. There I enjoyed myself immensely. -- P.J. O'Rourke

Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li and David Carradine all played Shaolin Monks, but Matthew Polly actually lived it. In American Shaolin, he enters China's most famous temple, the birthplace of zen and martial arts, and uncovers unique insights on religion, sex, politics, and kicking butt-a revealing confession of monastic life in modern China. -- Gene Ching, Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine

I picked up American Shaolin and read it straight through. It is first rate. Polly's book tells more about what's going on in China and has more insights into the real China than anything in recent years. It is a wonderful true-life story with profound, behind-the-headlines observations about Chinese life. A tip of the Stetson to Matthew Polly. -- Dan Rather

Re-enter the dragon-Matthew Polly's gerbil style will totally defeat your dragon style! Just call him a hard-boiled egg: white on the outside, yellow on the inside. The most Asian of Kansans will Wu-Tang you into the apocalypse. -- Mark Oppenheimer, author of Thirteen and a Day

Review
“I loved American Shaolin.”
—PJ O’Rourke

“An original and insightful book.”
—Boston Globe

“Polly is an easy amateur to root for.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“It takes a special kind of person to leave the comforts of Princeton University and move to rural China to smash his forearms against tree trunks. Meet Matthew Polly.”
—NY Post

“I picked up American Shaolin and read it straight through. It is first rate. Polly’s book tells more about what's going on in China and has more insights into the real China than anything in recent years. It is a wonderful true-life story with profound, behind-the-headlines observations about Chinese life. A tip of the Stetson to Matthew Polly.”
—Dan Rather

Customer Reviews

Best book I've read in a long time
I couldn't put this book down. It's amazingly honest, incredibly funny, and makes one want to have lived the experience. If you don't like it you've got an iron heart.

Great Read
I really enjoyed this book. Not only
did I learn about the culture of China
and Shaolin, but it was a gripping
funny book. Truly a gifted author.
I wish he would write more.

Excellent, Excellent Book
I just loved this book. It's such a useful glimpse into Chinese life of the period, and a really entertaining story of an ordinary American kid who just one day up and says, "I'm going to China and study at the Shaolin Temple"....and does it! Every boy's Walter Mitty fantasy come to life.

The one major regret I have with it, and why I only gave it four stars instead of five, is that it comes to a stop rather abruptly. He comes home, goes to school, and years later comes back to visit the Shaolin Temple and remark on the changes that have taken place.

But not a word on how his experiences may have affected his later life in any meaningful way. Maybe they didn't, but that would have been a shame since he put so much effort into the journey. Just a word on how he might have used his amazing powers for good back home would have been nice, or how it might have changed his attitudes and perceptions as he grew older.

Well, it's still a great read and very rewarding. Maybe there's a supplement somewhere that fills in the gaps. If anyone knows of one, please let me know. Thanks.