Unstoppable: From Underdog to Undefeated: How I Became a Champion

Anthony Robles was born with one leg-- but that didn't stop him. With the encouragement of his family, friends and coaches, he began wrestling in junior high school and finished with a NCAA championship. Unstoppable is not only an autobiography; it's a recipe for success and overcoming the odds. Despite his deformity, Robles writes passionately about his successes and the drive behind them.

This is an incredible, inspiring sports memoir from the 2011 NCAA National Wrestling Champion and 3-time All-American wrestler Anthony Robles. When he was born to a teenage mother, he had only one leg, and she was counseled to give him up for adoption. But the beginning of his life was marked with a love that was tougher than any obstacle -- his mother's. Throughout his childhood, Anthony refused to be left behind with anything. When his prosthetic leg became more of a hindrance than his crutches, he would get rid of it and play soccer or football or whatever else he wanted using his crutches to run and keep up with everyone else. In high school, he began to wrestle, and he is brutally honest about how poorly he did in his freshman show more year. In order to compete, he had to create a new style of wrestling that would compensate for his missing leg, and take advantage of his fast-improving upper body strength and developing grip. His coaches helped him develop routines to push those strengths to new heights, and Robles was undefeated as a wrestler during his last two years of high school. College brought new challenges, both at home and at school, and his story of learning from his mistakes and finding new ways to succeed is amazing. Perfect for anyone who loves the sport of wrestling, or anyone interested in sports challenges! 7th grade and up. show less

I had no knowledge of Anthony Robles or wrestling before reading this book. I was delightfully surprised at the thorough explanations of the sport and style high school and collegiate wrestling. The authors did an excellent job of turning what had the potential to be just another sports-helped-me-overcome story into a well-written and balanced story of triumph and family closeness. I could tell when each author was speaking but neither overshadowed the other. The authors complemented each other quite well and were therefore able to tell this remarkable story without sappiness or turning it into a trite recitation. This book is very well-written and inspiring. I venture to suggest it should be required reading for students interested in show more taking up the sport of wrestling. show less

Well-written about what could be a pity party, but the author and his mother chose a far different path to take. Life is a journey for everyone, but for someone who could have just sat back and had everyone wait on him hand and foot-no pun intended here, Mr. Robles chose to go down a stronger, more viable path where he believed that he was worth something and that he was the best. Kudos to a strong mother....Moms are like that with their babies.

I must say that the title of this book was chosen properly!. Anthony Robles is unstoppable in character, determination, and spirit. I kept thinking that this book has to be made into a movie because the descriptions of wrestling matches and maneuvers were a little hard to visualize. However, the most significant element to his story is that at times I had to remind myself that he has one leg. The book doesn't harp on his disability to the point of exhaustion. What it accomplishes is to display Anthony as a regular guy with an extraordinary wrestling and athletic ability that just so happens to have one leg.

I enjoyed the fact that he was able to meet and bond with some Marine amputees. That must have been quite a wonderful event to see show more so many like himself excelling and living there lives.

One issue in the story that was so baffling to me was how so many saw his disability as an unfair advantage to the other athletes because they weren't used to matches with someone missing a limb. Also, the fact that his one leg made his upper body freakishly stronger than most, was another factor that people pinpointed. How absurd are these statements. The man is living his entire life at a distinct disadvantage and has learned to overcome this problem.

I think it is quite fitting that he is a motivational speaker; he is a hero to all with or without disabilities. What makes this story so great is that he seems to be emotionally grounded even with all the fanfare and his well-deserved celebrity. His mom is definitely the pulse behind this incredible man's journey, and the book described perfectly how family is so important in shaping one's life.

I recommend this book for all book lovers, not just sports-minded individuals. When you are having a bad day or facing a difficult obstacle, just think of Mr. Robles, if he can do it, you can do it. show less

In the interest of full disclosure here is my background on this sport. I am not a wrestler, I am a wrestler's mom. My son wrestled for six years, middle school through high school. While he lettered in the sport and qualified for State twice he was never a standout. Certainly he was no Anthony Robles. I wanted to be clear as to my perspective in regards to this book. So here goes:

Collegiate wrestling suffers from a distinct lack of positive PR. And to be absolutely clear, this type wrestling has nothing to do with pro wrestling except for sharing a term (just wanted to clear up any confusion).

In comparison to other sports, wrestling is all but invisible when it comes to media coverage and financial resources. There are multiple reasons show more for this but one of the main factors is Title IX legislation. This was an effort to try to gain parity for 'girl' sports in regards to 'boy' sports as far as resource allocation is concerned in public schools. One of the side effects of this mandate is that 'boy' sports programs were dropped, mainly on the college level. And wrestling was the sport that often took the hit (Roble had to personally deal with this issue). While wrestling hasn't disappeared from the college scene the fact is that it has become close to impossible to use wrestling as a scholarship vehicle has taken a heavy toll on the sport. This is unfortunate as wrestling has a great deal to offer an athlete. Wrestling is, hands down, the most physically demanding sport out there. And while you are part of a team the effort is 100% individual - you cannot hide behind teammates. But the main beauty of the sport is that it gives a chance to kids that might otherwise not be able to play sports. Are you small and lightweight? We've got a spot just for you. Are you big and heavy? Hello and welcome. Uncoordinated? We can fix that. Have a disability? It depends but being deaf, blind or missing limbs will not prevent you from wrestling. Case in point - Anthony Robles.

It would be difficult for things to be more bleak for young Robles - born to an unwed mother and missing a leg from birth. And things did not improve as Anthony grew older and dealt with a there-and-gone-again stepfather, an unstable home life and poverty more often then not. But through the pure grit and determination of Anthony and his mother, Judy, Anthony managed to do what many able bodied wrestlers never achieve - stand on the podium at the 2011 National Wrestling Championship as the 125 lb champ.

This is the story of UNSTOPPABLE and as an education on wrestling this book deserves a 5 star rating. It tells the story of the highs, the lows and exactly what it takes to be a wrestler, expecially the challenges of one who is missing a leg (I found it amusing - and understood completely - when and why other less skilled wrestlers complained that the lack of a leg was an advantage). Anthony tells his story in his own words with much use of the wrestling lingo that other wrestlers will surely appreciate. It is a book that wrestlers would benefit from reading as well as those considering wrestling as a sport. Parents would also benefit from reading this book in order to get an idea of what this sport entails especially if they are not yet familiar with it.

That said, I do have some serious reservations about the book. One reservation is that Anthony details the use of techniques to make weight that are, at best, unhealthy and, at worst, illegal. The state in which my son wrestled had strict policies against this sort of thing but generally the attitude was 'see no evil, speak no evil' and people pretended it wasn't happening. I don't feel that Anthony was a good role model in this regard. The other reservation I have is with the attitude of some wrestlers of 'breaking their opponent so they never want to wrestle again' which Anthony brings up in the book. While he never mentions that he shares this attitude, I had the uncomfortable feeling that his account was somewhat whitewashed to hide this. This comes from the fact that the wrestlers/programs he admired DID have this attitude (plus the fact that he is an admirer of MMA - which strikes me as a street brawl with an audience). My opinion is that wrestling is hard enough without having 'blood sport' attached to it. So while I found the book to be generally inspiring these reservations prevent me from giving my whole hearted approval.

Bottome line: good book, great for the wrestling enthusiast, 3 1/2 stars, recommended but with reservations. show less

Excuses. We’ve all got ‘em. I’m too tired. I’m too busy. I’ve only got one leg. Wait. That last one doesn’t apply to most of us. One guy it does apply to is 2011 NCAA National Wrestling Champion Anthony Robles, but he’s never used it, not even once.
Robles’ autobiography, due on shelves in October, is a study in determination, of never giving up, of refusing to be defined by your limitations but instead developing your strengths through sheer, inexhaustible force of will. In fact, if Robles has one weakness, it’s that his unyielding determination almost makes his success feel too easy. Full review: http://runmamas.com/blog/2012/09/unstoppable-book-review.html