Where Are They Now? Joe Assirati: Reminiscences of Britains Renaissance of Strength
IRON GAME HISTORY VOLUME 2 NUMBER 5 Joe Assirati: Reminiscences of Britain’s Renaissance of Strength Al Thomas, Ph.D. Like all history, iron game his- its heroes. It’s instructive, of course, to tory is stories. The history here comes attend to the tale-as-tale and to find to us from strongman storyteller, Joe in it yet another piece with which to Assirati, one of the few extant eye wit- complete, and give meaning to, the iron nesses to the most colorful epoch in the game puzzle that each of us carries annals of British strengthdom. The around, unfinished, in his mind. But closer to the fact-ness of the past event, even more, it’s sweet to feel, in the sto- the better and more authoritative the ryteller’s telling, his love for our won- history. But truly objective history derful game and its history. doesn’t exist. However stoutly pur- When Terry and Jan Todd returned sued, there is, in history, always the from a recent trip to England, they alloy of the teller’s perception, preju- spoke glowingly about meeting and dice, and predisposition: in short, his working out with Joe Assirati (of the personality. And without this aura of famous Assirati clan, cousin of Bert), personality, there would be no joy in a marvelous specimen of weight- stories and their telling, and (to come trained manhood, 87-years-old, an full circle) without stories and their inveterate storyteller. Encouraged by telling, there would be precious little the Todds, I wrote to Joe and discov- history.
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