Released: TrumpMania: Vince McMahon, WWE and the Making of America's 45th President by Lavie Margolin

TrumpMania: Vince McMahon, WWE and the Making of America's 45th President
Lavie Margolin, Box Brown (Illustration) John Lister (Editor)
Create Space, 2017
Paperback, Ebook

TrumpMania by Lavie Margolin was released on paperback and ebook this month. The book is the story of the relationship between Donald Trump and the WWE. Author Lavie Margolin examines the influence the WWE, its performers and owners have had on the POTUS. TrumpMania is Illustrated by Box  Brown and edited by John Lister.

TrumpMania is available at Amazon US CA UK

Review: Teeny: Professional Wrestling's Grand Dame By Brennon Martin

Teeny: Professional Wrestling's Grand Dame
Brennon Martin
Create Space, 2017
Paperback, Ebook

Available At:
Amazon US CA UK
Indigo 
Barnes & Noble

Christine "Teeny" Jarrett is something of an unsung pioneer in the professional wrestling industry. Decades before the likes of Stephanie McMahon and Dixie Carter were praised as trailblazing females making their marks in the male dominated world of pro wrestling, Jarrett - known more informally as Miss Christine or Teeny - was a true force in the industry who left a lasting impact on those she worked for and with. Current wrestling fans are no doubt very familiar with Teeny's grandson Jeff Jarrett and many, at the very least, are aware of her son Jerry Jarrett. While both younger Jarretts have made significant impacts on the professional wrestling industry, Mrs. Jarrett's has been somewhat lost due to the passage of time. A popular figure in and around the "Memphis Territory" from the 1940s to the 1990s, Jarrett's official roles ranged from ticket seller to promoter. While she excelled in these official occupations, she was also well known and well respected for her honesty, work ethic and morality. Teeny: Professional Wrestling's Grand Dame, written by Mrs. Jarrett's grandson Brennon Martin, chronicles the life and career of Christine Jarrett. The self-published book was released in February 2017 and is currently available in Paperback and Ebook. This is Martin's first book.

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: Sisterhood of the Squared Circle: The History and Rise of Women's Wrestling By Pat Laprade & Dan Murphy

Sisterhood of the Squared Circle: The History and Rise of Women's Wrestling
Pat Laprade & Dan Murphy w. Natalya (Foreword)
ECW Press, 2017
Paperback, Ebook

The role of women in the professional wrestling industry is an ever evolving - at times devolving - one that is often seen as less crucial than that of their male counterparts. Some of this is a result of pure numbers as the percentage of female performers has never come close to equalling that of the men, however, many other factors have contributed to this lack of prestige within the annals of wrestling history. One could argue that promoters have misused women's wrestling more often than they have used it. That all being said, there is an absolute wealth of important females who shaped not just women's wrestling, but the pro wrestling industry as a whole.

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.

New Release: "Teeny" Professional Wrestling's Grand Dame. By Brennon Martin

Brennon Martin, grandson of Christine Jarrett (AKA Teeny) has released a new book chronicling the life and times of one of the most influential females in the pro wrestling business. Jarrett was a key figure in the office of the Memphis wrestling territory for several decades. She was the mother of promoter/booker Jerry Jarrett and grandmother of Jeff Jarrett.

The book has been added to the Amazon stores: USA CAN

Review: Fritz Von Erich: Master Of The Iron Claw By Ron G. Mullinax

Fritz Von Erich: Master Of The Iron Claw
By Ron G. Mullinax
Hats Off Books, 2005
Paperback, Ebook

Note: This review was a difficult one to write due to the amount of conflicting information and debated subject matters relating to the Von Erich family. As I did while reading the book, I looked at the book as a purely autobiographical piece. I've tried to avoid falling down a rabbit hole of over analysing things about Fritz Von Erich and the Von Erich family that are based on rumour and/or conjecture. The book was written posthumously by a friend of Von Erich and took the form of a basic autobiography. Many readers may prefer a more in-depth work or a salacious tell-all, however, the author (whose own motives have been questioned) opted to tell Von Erich's story from his perspective. He does not question Von Erich's narrative as a typical biographer is likely to do.

The story of the rise and fall of the Von Erich family is a tragic yet captivating story that has intrigued wrestling fans for several decades. Fritz Von Erich was a successful wrestler and promoter. Von Erich was the guiding force behind the revolutionary Texas promotion

Re-release On Ebook: Fritz Von Erich: Master Of The Iron Claw

Ron Mullinax's 2005 Fritz Von Erich: Master of The Iron Claw was released in ebook format earlier this week. Mullinax, who worked with Von Erich in his final days, re-tells Von Erich's story as it was told to him. Though I have not read it since it was a new release, I remember it being an entertaining read, though it was a very controversial release.

Available for order at Amazon US and Amazon Canada.

Review: Chris and Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death by Irvin Muchnick

Chris and Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death
Irvin Muchnick, Phil Mushnick (Foreword)
ECW Press, 2009
Paperback, Ebook, Audiobook

This review was written in 2011.  Minor edits were made for this posting.

Journalist Irvin Muchnick's 2009 book Chris and Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death is an interesting marriage of pro-wrestling and true crime. Muchnick, a prolific author whose work has appeared in publications such as People and Sports Illustrated, is an unapologetic critic of the shortcomings of the professional wrestling industry.  His wrestling related work frequently deals with premature deaths, drug use and abuse within the industry and the generally dangerous life choices made by many of the industry's practitioners. Muchnick's other works include: Wrestling Babylon, Concussion Inc, and Justice Denied: The Untold Story of Nancy Argentino's Death in Jimmy Superfly Snuka's Hotel Room. He is nephew of late Kansas City promoter and former N.W.A. President Sam Muchnick.

Review: Justice Denied: The Untold Story of Nancy Argentino's Death In Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka's Motel Room by Irvin Muchnick

Justice Denied: The Untold Story of Nancy Argentino's Death In Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka's Motel Room
Irvin Muchnick
Amazon Digital Services, 2013
Ebook

Irvin Muchnick has been one of professional wrestling's foremost critics since the late 1980s.  This book is a short collection of his writings dating back to 1992 regarding the death of Nancy Argentino in 1983. Argentino - the girlfriend of WWF Star (and later Hall of Famer) Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka - died after suffering a severe head injury while touring with Snuka. While some claim it was an accidental fall, others have speculated that Argentino was the victim of abuse at the hands of Snuka and that the grappler was directly responsible for her death. Muchnick's works include: Pro Wrestling Babylon: Tales of Drugs, Sex, Death and Scandal (2007), Chris and Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death (2009) and Concussion Inc: The End of Football As We Know It (2015.) Muchnick operates the website http://concussioninc.net/

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.