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.

Released: The Greatest Wrestling Ever in the History of Nashville Vol. 1

The Greatest Wrestling Ever in the History of Nashville Volume 1 by Scott Teal & Don Luce is now available for order at crowbarpress.com. The book, #2 in Crowbar's "Greatest Cities of Wrestling" series is an  in depth look at Nashville's wrestling scene from 1907 to the 1960s.

New Release: Wrestling In The Garden: The Battle For New York: Works, Shoots and Double-Crosses By Scott Teal & J Michael Kenyon

Scott Teal and J Michael Kenyon's Wrestling In The Garden: The Battle For New York: Works, Shoots & Double Crosses is a new release from Crowbar Press that features a comprehensive listing of every wrestling card to have taken place at Madison Square Garden between 1875 and 2016. Wrestling In The Garden is currently available exclusively at Crowbar Press.

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: Drawing Heat by Jim Freedman

Drawing Heat
Jim Freedman
Crowbar Press (Re-release) 2010 / Black Moss Press, 1988
Paperback, Ebook

In the early 1980s Jim Freedman, a college professor at the University of Western Ontario, began working on a book about professional wrestling. Unlike many others who had a specific subject to cover or personality to profile, Freedman allowed his book to be shaped by his experiences rather than pick and choose events that meshed with a pre-determined theme or thesis. The majority of Freeman's piece revolves around a series of tours run by Ontario based wrestler/promoter "Wildman" Dave McKigney.  McKigney, best known as the trainer of Terrible Ted the Wrestling Bear, allowed Freedman to be a part of some tours he ran in Ontario and to write about his experiences. The result of his gradual immersion into the world of professional wrestling is Drawing Heat.