Author(s): John Keir

NZ Non Fiction

Extraordinary stories. And ordinary stories. Stories rarely told by men. Revealing. Insightful. Honest. For 50 years the Atrium Club has operated as a gym for men only. But the Atrium is like no other gym. It's a club -- unashamedly a safe haven for an unlikely mix of gentlemen; a place for mind and body where the relationships and the camaraderie are as important as the exercise. The members include rich listers as well as those down on their luck; knights of the realm; sports stars; leaders in the fields of business, industry, medicine, law, academia, military and the media. Many have unique connections to the issues of our times. One man spent his childhood in a Japanese POW camp, another flew the first New Zealand troops into Vietnam, one was sued by David Lange for defamation, another played cricket for New Zealand, one helped save Sir Edmund Hillary on Mt Everest, another lost a child to terrorism in the 2005 London bombings, and one walked away from a horrific plane crash.