The Underdog

Joshua Davis

Corgi, 2007 - Biography & Autobiography - 285 pages

'Davis embodies the unique idiocy that made America great' Mil Millington, author of Things My Girlfriend and I Argue About Joshua Davis had a dream. He dreamt of being the best. It didn't really matter what he was the best at, he just wanted to be number one, to say that he had made it. This is how it began: Josh was driving through the Mojave Desert when he saw a sign for the American arm-wrestling championship ndash; all comers welcome. He decided to enter. He came fourth, out of four, but this was enough to secure him a place on Team USA and the chance of a show-down with the 'Russian Ripper' at the world championships in Poland (that didn't end very well either). But Josh had tasted the dizzy rush of competition and wanted more. And more turned out to be the most outlandish contests in the world ndash; from bull fighting in Spain and backward running in Italy, to sumo wrestling and the World Sauna Championship in Sweden. Joshua's quest is by turns hilarious, harrowing and a little insane, but it is also inspiring ndash; because, after all, every underdog deserves his day.

About the author

Though young Joshua Davis has accumulated a lifetime of failure, as you'll see in the pages of The Underdog. But things are finally looking up for him. He is now an accomplished author and journalist and his work has appeared in GQ, Wired and Maxim. In April of 2003, he covered the Iraq war for Wired and later that year became a contributing editor for the magazine. He now lives in San Francisco.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Underdog
• Author: Joshua Davis
• Edition: illustrated, reprint, revised
• Publisher: Corgi, 2007
• ISBN: 0552154393, 9780552154390
• Length: 285 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Editors, Journalists, Publishers; Biography & Autobiography / General; Humor / Form / Essays; Sports & Recreation / Extreme Sports; Travel / Essays & Travelogues