In the midst of these clashing images and circumstances, Patera represented the United States in the weightlifting competition, coming off a gold medal at the Pan American games in 1971.

"Ken Patera crushed competition and broke records everywhere," the book's description notes. ... Pan Am Games and the Olympics –- and was the first American to ever clean & jerk over 500 pounds." ...

An American weightlifter, Ken Patera, was training for a rematch against a Russian superheavyweight, Vasiliy Alexeev, at the 1972 Olympics. In an earlier competition, Mr. Alexeev had narrowly beat ...