Matthew Polly is an award-winning travel writer for Slate. A Princeton University graduate and Rhodes Scholar, Polly has also written for Esquire, Playboy, and The Nation. He lives in New York.
“Polly earned my respect. He's got a ton of heart. He did the work
and played the part.” — Randy Couture, former UFC heavyweight
champion
“Matt Polly's Tapped Out succeeds where all other MMA-related books
fail: it tells a fight story for both the male and female reader.”
— MMAConvert.com
“You have to give credit to the author for making a huge investment
in proper training, the opportunity cost that he could have spent
on more lucrative gigs, as well as the emotional pain Polly endured
on the road to glory.” — TheSweetScience.com
“He’s a fighter. Not just a writer.” — New Hampshire NPR
“Hypnotic…Tapped Out manages to humanize a sport once
demonized as “human cockfighting” by deconstructing the stereotype
of the martial-arts tough guy.”--The New York Times
“You have to give credit to the author for making a huge investment
in proper training, the opportunity cost that he could have spent
on more lucrative gigs, as well as the emotional pain Polly endured
on the road to glory.”--TheSweetScience.com
“He’s a fighter. Not just a writer.”--New Hampshire NPR
“The Best MMA Book of 2012.”
—The Bleacher Report
“A vivid, breezy read.”
—Sports Illustrated
“Polly’s self-deprecation in the painful learning process stands
out as much as the witty prose. His delivery is
Plimpton-esque.”
—ESPN.com
“It is safe to say that if George Plimpton, the fellow who embodied
participatory sports writing by pitching to Major League Baseball
all-stars, playing quarterback for the Detroit Lions, and otherwise
humiliating himself, were still alive, he’d cringe at Polly’s
endeavor.”
—The Boston Globe
“Polly takes his training seriously, but as a writer, he never
takes himself too seriously, which is one reason why his book works
as well as it does.”
—Bill Littlefield, NPR’s "It’s Only a Game"
“A gregarious and charming protagonist, Polly comes across as
self-deprecating, yet his enthusiasm and passion for martial arts
are unmistakable. Readers familiar with MMA will be gratified to
hear how affable their heroes are and will recognize themselves in
the author’s shoes. Those who previously lacked knowledge of this
modern craze will respect both Polly, for undertaking this odyssey,
and the fighters whose grueling training regimens he followed.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Polly is hilarious as a narrator. He gets beaten, tossed, choked,
and twisted like a dishrag on every page, yet maintains a humble
sense of humor that is both charming and unique. Tapped Out is so
in-your-face good you’ll check your jaw for bruises.”
—CultureMob.com
“Polly’s memoir of a middle-aged, thoroughly out-of-shape couch
potato’s quest to become a UFC-style cage warrior is one of the
funniest yet most insightful books that I’ve come across in quite a
while.”
—SecondAct.com
“Tapped Out is a knockout for MMA fans, who will laugh at the
intimate portraits Polly sketches of some of the sport’s most
famous personalities. But it also works for those not familiar with
the sport. It may even inspire you to start training. I say buy it
and read it. You won’t be disappointed.”
—OpposingViews.com
“In between throwing up on the subway following training sessions
and getting yelled at by Xtreme Couture coaches for his terrible
diet, Polly actually learned a great deal about this sport and its
denizens, and the book is a must-read for any MMA fan.”
—Ben Fowlkes, MMAFighting.com
“Tapped Out has a big heart that will make you enjoy its quirks as
much as its virtues. It’s a delight to read and has a much greater
mass appeal than most of its contemporaries. This book is a
must-read for the MMA fan and a probably-should-read for everyone
else.”
—TheFightNerd.com
“Matt Polly’s Tapped Out succeeds where all other MMA-related books
fail: it tells a fight story for both the male and female
reader.”
—MMAConvert.com
“Polly earned my respect. He’s got a ton of heart. He did the work
and played the part.”
—Randy Couture, former UFC heavyweight champion
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