About this item
An English professor begins training in the sport of mixed martial arts and explores the science and history behind the violence of menWhen a mixed martial arts (MMA) gym moves in across the street from his office, Jonathan Gottschall sees a challenge, and an opportunity. Pushing forty, out of shape, and disenchanted with his job as an adjunct English professor, part of him yearns to cross the street and join up. The other part is terrified. Gottschall eventually works up his nerve, and starts training for a real cage fight. He's fighting not only as a personal test but also to answer questions that have intrigued him for years: Why do men fight? And why do so many seemingly decent people like to watch?In The Professor in the Cage, Gottschall's unlikely journey from the college classroom to the fighting cage drives an important new investigation into the science and history of violence.
About the Author
I am a Distinguished Fellow in the English Department at Washington & Jefferson College. My research at the intersection of science and art has frequently been covered in outlets like The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times, Scientific American, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nature, Science, and NPR. I'm the author or editor of seven books, including The Storytelling Animal, which was a New York Times Editor's Choice Selection and a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize. I live with my wife and two young daughters in Washington, Pennsylvania.
