Review of "Wrath of the Dragon"

While I have never been much of a martial arts fan, whether in the heyday of kung fu or currently with UCF "mixed martial arts", I was intrigued by the synopsis of this book about Bruce Lee.  If a non-fan like me can thoroughly enjoy a book on Lee, imagine how his fans will feel once they read it.  Here is my review of "Wrath of the Dragon." 

 

Title/Author:

“Wrath of the Dragon: The Real Fights of Bruce Lee” by John Little

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:

Thanks to the movie “Enter the Dragon”, Bruce Lee became a household name and helped spawn interest in the art of kung fu.  However, he had long been involved in martial arts long before he appeared in movies.  This book by John Little is an excellent read about Lee’s involvement in the sport as a student, teacher and fighter as well as an actor.

The book’s synopsis states that Little spent over 30 years researching information on Lee, including eyewitnesses to his fights.  There are two that are especially important in understanding the development of Lee’s mastery of martial arts.  One is what can be best described as a boxing match between schools in Hong Kong in which Lee’s small school only had three fighters, but one of them was Lee and he used martial arts techniques not seen by any other boxer to gain the only win for his school.

The other comes later in his life, after he has immigrated to the United States and that is a fight with Wong Jack Man, another martial arts master, in a match that was supposed to be in secret as unlike the other fights portrayed in the book that are in a controlled environment, this one was on a rooftop and a no-holds-barred atmosphere.  The attempts to keep it secret were so deep that reading about the means of getting to the rooftop were almost as exciting as reading about the match, which was an important milestone in the growth of the Bruce Lee legend.

His success in his business for teaching martial arts is also described in detail as well as his fights.  No matter the topic, Little does a masterful job of describing the life of Bruce Lee through his real-life fights and encounters. Anyone interested in the life of Lee or martial arts will want to add this book to their library.

I wish to thank ECW Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Link: Amazon.com: Wrath of the Dragon: The Real Fights of Bruce Lee eBook : Little, John: Kindle Store