In March the University of Iowa Press published A Wrestling Life: The Inspiring Stories of Dan Gable by Dan Gable and Scott Schulte. The book has sold like hotcakes and was just added to The New York Times Best Sellers list for sports books, one of the prominent bestseller lists in the United States.

“Everybody who's ever heard about Coach Gable’s life or seen him wrestle or coach really has been fascinated by his amazing achievements and the things he’s overcome,” says Allison Means, UI Press marketing manager. “Although Coach Gable has been featured in a number of books and profiled in countless publications, this is the first time he’s told his story in his own words.”

In A Wrestling Life: The Inspiring Stories of Dan Gable, famed wrestler and wrestling coach Dan Gable tells engaging and inspiring stories of his childhood in Waterloo, Iowa; overcoming the murder of his sister as a teenager; his sports career from swimming as a young boy, to his earliest wrestling matches, through the 1972 Olympics; coaching at the U  from the Banachs to the Brands; life-changing friendships he made along the way; and tales of his family life off the mat. A celebration of determination, teamwork, and the persevering human spirit, A Wrestling Life captures Gable’s methods and philosophies for reaching individual greatness as well as the incredible amount of fulfillment and satisfaction that comes from working as part of a team.

On the surface, A Wrestling Life might seem like an unusual book for a university press to publish but the chemistry between Coach Gable, co-author Scott Schulte, and the Press has proven to be a natural fit.

“Both the Press and Coach Gable demand excellence in their own way so it’s been a joy to work with him and see the book succeed at such a high level,” Means says. “It’s amazing to continue working with Coach Gable, who means so much to both Iowans and the sport of wrestling, and to see how much he continues to inspire those around him whenever we’re working with him at an event.”

The book can be purchased from the University of Iowa Press website.