Review: Four Horsemen: A Timeline History By Dick Bourne

Four Horsemen: A Timeline History
Dick Bourne
Create Space, 2017
Paperback

Dick Bourne's Four Horsemen: A Timeline History was released in the spring of 2017. For those with an interest in the history of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling / Jim Crockett Promotions, Bourne's Mid-Atlantic Gateway is a key resource for preserving and accessing information concerning the territory's history. This is Bourne's sixth release pertaining to the history of the Carolina based promotion and its successor World Championship Wrestling. Some of Bourne's previous releases include: Big Gold, Ten Pounds of Gold and The Minnesota Wrecking Crew.  All titles are available through Amazon and The Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Review: No Is A Four Letter Word: How I Failed Spelling But Succeeded In Life by Chris Jericho

No Is A Four Letter Word: How I Failed Spelling But Succeeded In Life
Chris Jericho, Paul Stanley (Foreword)
Da Capo Press, 2017
Hardcover, Ebook

Chris Jericho has been one of the top names in pro wrestling for over two decades. While his in-ring career has been stellar, Jericho is one of the few names from the industry who has made successful transitions into other realms of entertainment. Jericho, as the front man and lead singer for the heavy metal band Fozzy, has toured the world as both a headline act and as supporting performer for many of music's legendary acts. Jericho has also hosted the very popular Talk Is Jericho Podcast on the Podcast One network since 2013. Prior to No Is A Four Letter Word, Jericho penned three New York Times best selling memoirs: A Lion's Tale: Around The World In Spandex, (2007) Undisputed: How To Become The World Champion In 1,372 Easy Steps, (2011) and The Best In The World... At What I Have No Idea (2014). Unlike his previous books, No Is A Four Letter Word is written as a motivational book that, while it contains biographical information, is not strictly an autobiography.

Review: Mad Dog: The Maurice Vachon Story By Bertrand Hébert & Pat Laprade

Mad Dog: The Maurice Vachon Story

Bertrand Hébert, Pat Laprade, George Toombs (Translation) Paul Vachon (Foreword) Kathie Vachon (Afterword)

ECW Press, 2017 

Paperback, Ebook

Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon is one of the very rare individuals in pro wrestling history that has transcended time. While many younger wrestling fans have never seen one of Mad Dog's matches or promos, his remains a name that is universally synonymous with the pro wrestling industry. Be it his in-ring style, prominence during the territory days, over the top character, appearances outside of the wrestling industry, Olympic profile, membership in one of the industry's most famed families or the media blitz surrounding a tragic auto accident, Mad Dog Vachon is firmly cemented in the minds of generations of wrestling fans as one of the true legends of the industry. Bertrand Hébert (Accepted) and Pat Laprade (Sisterhood of the Squared Circle) previously collaborated on the 2013 Wrestling Observer Book of the Year: Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screw Jobs. This English version of Mad Dog: The Maurice Vachon Story was translated from the 2015 French Edition by George Toombs and features a foreword by, brother, Paul "Butcher" Vachon and, widow, Kathie Vachon.

Review: Louisville's Greatest Show: The Story of The Allen Athletic Club By John Cosper

Louisville's Greatest Show: The Story of The Allen Athletic Club
John Cosper
Create Space Independent Publishing, 2017
Paperback, Ebook

When one thinks of the hotbeds of professional wrestling history, Louisville, Kentucky does not immediately jump to mind. While it may not have the profile of New York or The Carolinas, the emotional roller coaster of Dallas or the Game of Thrones like political backdrop of Tennessee, the history of professional wrestling in and around Louisville is no less intriguing. What makes the history of Louisville wrestling so interesting is that it is the story of a continuous ebb and flow of success and failure. It is filled with stories of professional and personal strife and conflict. It features a eclectic mix of history's biggest names at various stages of their careers and personalities who, through choice or fate, are not known to the average wrestling fan. In many ways Louisville could be considered the Everyman of wrestling territories.

Review: Crazy Is My Superpower By A.J. Mendez Brooks

Crazy Is My Superpower: How I Triumphed By Breaking Bones, Breaking Hearts and Breaking The Rules

A.J. Mendez Brooks

Crown Archetype, 2017

Hardcover, Ebook, Audiobook

Available at:

Amazon US CA UK

Indigo

Barnes & Noble

Note: After getting about 80 percent of the ebook completed, a friend of the site - thanks, Dave - was nice enough to give me his copy of the audio book. While I tend to stay away from suggesting specific formats, the audio book absolutely enhanced my enjoyment of this title.  This is not a knock of the written version, but Mendez Brooks does an amazing job - the best I've yet to hear in the pro wrestling genre and is, at the very least, comparable to most authors - of bringing her words off the page. While there are  factors such as cost and availability, if all of these are the same, I highly recommend the audio book version.

Review: Bruiser Brody by Emerson Murray and Scott Teal

Bruiser Brody
Emerson Murray, Scott Teal (Editor)
Crowbar Press, 2007
Paperback, Ebook

This review is re-posted from a 2009 message board post I wrote.  It's been tweaked slightly. 

Emerson Murray's 2007 book Bruiser Brody cover the life and career of one of professional wrestling's most enigmatic personalities. This is Murray's sole professional wrestling book and was edited by Scott Teal of Crowbar Press. In 2015, it was re-released in ebook format.

Review: Is Wrestling Fixed? I Didn't Know It Was Broken By Bill Apter

Is Wrestling Fixed? I Didn't Know It Was Broken

By Bill Apter, Jerry Lawler (Foreword), Joey Styles (Afterword) 

ECW Press, 2015

Paperback, Ebook, Audiobook

Bill Apter is at the top of the short list of well-known and well respected professional wrestling journalists. The long time editor of Pro Wrestling Illustrated and its sister magazines was such a guiding force in the publications that they are still, years after his departure, referred to as "The Apter Mags." Is Wrestling Fixed? is Apter's autobiographical look at his almost 50 years covering the professional wrestling industry. 

While best remembered as a kayfabe guarding journalist - unlike Dave Meltzer, Wade Keller, etc - who was semi-complicit in the pro wrestling ruse of yesteryear, this book is not "a work." Apter's story is that of a young wrestling fan who gradually grows from "unofficial" freelance photographer to staff contributor for Stanley Weston's family of magazines to being one of the key players in the professional wrestling industry. While many of the variables pertaining to the professional wrestling industry and journalism as a whole have changed, Is Wrestling Fixed? is certainly a good read for those with an interest in covering the sport.

Review: Inside Out: How Corporate America Destroyed Professional Wrestling By Ole Anderson

Inside Out: How Corporate America Destroyed Professional Wrestling

By Ole Anderson w. Scott Teal

Crowbar Press, 2003

Paperback, Ebook

Long time wrestler and booker Ole Anderson is a legendary name in professional wrestling. A former member of both the Minnesota Wrecking Crew and The Four Horsemen, Anderson's name should be near the top of any list of legendary tag team competitors. Anderson was also a prominent booker in the Georgia and Carolina territories for periods between the 1970s and 1990s. Inside Out is his first book.

Anderson makes a very persuasive argument regarding the corporate expansion of the wrestling industry in the mid 1980s and its detrimental impact on the wrestling industry.  Though Anderson presents a relentless thesis against the current structure of the industry, it is not a pre-requisite to agree with all of his arguments in order to enjoy the book.

Review: Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Canadians By Greg Oliver

The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Canadians
Greg Oliver with Foreword By Jacques Rougeau
ECW Press, 2002
Paperback, Ebook

Slam! Wrestling's Greg Oliver is one of the wrestling industry's most respected and prolific historians.  Oliver's The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Canadians (2002) is one of Oliver's masterful works that thematically chronicle key individuals and events in the history of professional wrestling. The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame series also includes: The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams (2005), The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels (2007) and The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heroes and Icons (2012). The Canadians is the only book in the series that was not co-written with Steven Johnson. Oliver is also the co-writer of Slam! Wrestling: Shocking Stories from the Squared Circle (2009) and was one of four contributors to Benoit: Wrestling With The Horror That Destroyed A Family and Crippled A Sport (2007) and has also written several books on the history of hockey.

Review: Pro Wrestling FAQ: All That's Left To Know About The World's Most Entertaining Spectacle By Brian Solomon

Pro Wrestling FAQ: All That's Left To Know About The World's Most Entertaining Spectacle

Brian Solomon

Backbeat Books, 2015

Paperback, Ebook

Former WWE magazine editor Brian Solomon pens a very complete look at the history of professional wrestling. Solomon is the former editor of WWE and Smackdown magazines and is the author of the WWE release WWE Legends.

Covering the evolution of the sport from its carnival days to the present, Pro Wrestling FAQ touches on many of the industry's most influential people and most significant events with a level of detail that is often not seen in books that cover such a wide timeline. Solomon is at his best when covering significant events of the late 19th and early 20th century as he presents a historical narrative in a concise yet comprehensive look at the dark ages of professional wrestling.  The book is rife with biographical and/or historical information concerning many different personalities, events and regions.  While it is essentially a reference book, it is also written in a manner that makes it an entertaining and - despite its length - a very easy read.

Review: Yes! My Improbable Journey To The Main Event of Wrestlemania By Daniel Bryan and Craig Tello

Yes! My Improbable Journey To The Main Event of Wrestlemania
Daniel Bryan and Craig Tello
St. Martin's Press, 2015
Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audiobook

Daniel Bryan's Yes My Improbable Journey To The Main Event of Wrestlemania is an auto-biographical chronicle of the the career of WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan. The book, released in July of 2015, tells the story of Daniel Bryan (Byran Danielson) from his birth up to the point of his main eventing Wrestlemania XXX. Despite having a stellar independent career wherein he had developed a strong following due to his in ring skills and unrivalled ability to connect with audiences, Bryan struggled to be taken seriously as a top star in the WWE. The issue for Bryan was not if fans or even many of his co-workers would accept him as a top star, but rather whether or not the higher ups in the WWE would allow him to have the chance. The book is co-written by Craig Tello (Diary of a Heartbreak Kid, WWE: 100 Greatest Matches,)

Review: The Squared Circle: Life, Death and Professional Wrestling by David Shoemaker

The Squared Circle: Life, Death and Professional Wrestling
David Shoemaker (AKA The Masked Man)
Gotham, 2013
Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audiobook

David Shoemaker (AKA The Masked Man) is known for his contributions to Deadspin - Dead Wrestler of the Week - and Grantland (Cheap Heat Podcast.) The Squared Circle: Life, Death and Professional Wrestling is his first book.

Shoemaker's book, which is essentially a spin-off of his Dead Wrestler of the Week article, is a well written and well researched book.  Most chapters focus on the life and death of a deceased professional wrestler. Shoemaker does a very good job giving the reader a complete and concise picture of the wrestler's life and career. In all cases these become a microcosmic look at the culture of the professional wrestling industry.

Booker T: From Prison To Promise by Booker T Huffman

Booker T: From Prison To Promise: Life Before The Squared Circle
Booker T. Huffman w/ Andrew William Wright
Medallion Press, 2012
Hardcover, Ebook

Booker T's From Prison To Promise chronicles the tumultuous early life of one of professional wrestling's most decorated competitors.  Booker T rose to prominence in the mid 1990s as one half of Harlem Heat.  While the pair were celebrated as a tag team, few were surprised when Booker T. eclipsed his tag team success and became one of the top performers in the industry.  From Prison To Promise chronicles Booker T's life from childhood through to his run in the Global Wrestling Federation. From Prison To Promise: Life Before The Squared Circle is Booker T's first book. My Rise To Wrestling Royalty was released in 2015. Both books were co-written with Andrew William Wright co-author of The Road Warriors: Danger, Death and The Rush of Wrestling.

Review: Pure Dynamite By The Dynamite Kid Tom Billington

Pure Dynamite: The Price You Pay For Wrestling Stardom

Tom "The Dynamite Kid" Billington with Allison Coleman

SW Publishing (Original) Winding Stair Press (Reprint), 1999

Hardcover, Paperback

The Dynamite Kid, born Tom Billington, is best remembered as one half of the British Bulldogs. Paired with his cousin, Davey Boy Smith, the Bulldogs were the pre-eminent tag team team during the early part of the WWF Hulkamania era. Whereas many of their contemporaries were big men who worked formulaic matches with limited moves sets, the British Bulldogs were a smaller team (by mid 80s WWF standards) that combined an array of unique tag team spots with cutting edge individual repertoires that gained them praise from critics and fans alike. Despite the fact that their main stream North American run last slightly over three years, the pair are widely regarded as one of the best teams of all time. In the early 90s the team parted ways.  While Smith went on to singles success in the WWF, The Dynamite Kid vanished from the North American scene. For a number of years, to the casual fan he was little more than a seldom mentioned footnote.

Review: Hardcore History The Extremely Unauthorized History of ECW By Scott E. Williams

Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized History of ECW

Scott E. Williams, Shane Douglas (Foreword) Photos By George Tahinos

Sports Publishing, 2006

Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audiobook

In the industry's peak period of the mid-late 1990s, WWF and WCW battled for the top spot in what is now called The Monday Night Wars.  While revisionist history typically marginalises the impact of the era's indy promotions, the ECW has remained a near mythical cult like industry leader. Extreme Championship Wrestling was not only the home for many of wrestling's most memorable performers, its edgy and unapologetic presentation was the inspiration for many of the industry wide changes that lead to the lead to the largest international boom in wrestling history.

Review: Wrestling For My Life By Shawn Michaels

Wrestling For My Life:
The Legend, The Reality, And The Faith of a WWE Superstar
Shawn Michaels w/ David Thomas. Triple H and Steve Austin (Forewords)
Zondervan Trade Books, 2015
Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audiobook

Wrestling For My Life is Shawn Michaels' second book and the second one I wrote a review for, Heartbreak and Triumph was released in 2006. I will be posting that review (from 2007) in the coming days.

Shawn Michaels is widely considered one of the best-in ring performers in the history of pro wrestling. While always a top quality performer, Michaels battled a wide range of issues when away from the ring. In 1998, a serious back injury forced Michaels to walk away from the sport at the height of his career.

Review: More Than Just Hardcore By Terry Funk

More Than Just Hardcore
Terry Funk with Scott E. Williams. Mick Foley (Foreword)
Sports Publishing, 2005
Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audiobook

For over 60 years, Terry Funk was everywhere in the wrestling industry.  While a small number of people can make that claim, no other can boast a run in the NWA as World Champion, stints the WWF at the height of both the Hulkamania and the Attitude eras, time with ECW as a Hardcore Legend, a career long status as one of Japan's most successful American competitors and many smaller stops in between.  Funk, who was spent his career evolving his style without changing his persona, is considered by many who study the sport to be one of the best of all around performers of all time. As Mick Foley says in his foreword, "I can't accurately say who the best of all time is, but I can say without hesitation that Terry Funk is the greatest wrestler I have ever seen." Apart from his legendary wrestling career, Funk has also had some success as a character actor and stunt co-ordinator in such films as Road House and Paradise Alley.

Review: Capitol Revolution By Tim Hornbaker

Review: Capitol Revolution: The Rise of The McMahon Wrestling Empire

Tim Hornbaker, ECW Press, 2015

Paperback, Ebook

Hornbaker's follow up to his 2007 book The National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of The Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling, does not disappoint.  Capitol Revolution is an amazingly well researched book that follows the involvement of the McMahon family in sports promotion throughout the majority of the 20th century.  Hornbaker shows the birth and development of what would become pro wrestling's largest empire against the backdrop of the formation and expansion of the NWA and the growing involvement of the various state athletic commissions. The book shows an industry that was filled with fragile political alliances that were as important to its success as the in-ring product was. Hornbaker provides a great overview of the promoting careers of Jess McMahon, Vincent J. McMahon and Joseph "Toots" Mondt in a time period that is not often covered in other books.  While Mondt, due to his longevity and more colourful nature, is the more central character of the three; the book gives more insight into the lives and careers of Jess and Vince McMahon Sr. than any other contemporary source on the market.