Notice: Wrestle Book Review on OSW Podcast Network

Wrestle Book Review is now available in podcast format on the new OSW Podcast Network at piledriverwrestling.net. The network features an amazing collection of independent fan made and free podcasts that delve into current news and past events from the pro wrestling galaxy. Always enjoyable, perpetually informative and insanely funny, it's a very worthy stop while you wander the web. Come on by and take a listen.

Wrestle Book Review Podcast.

Review: Booker T: My Rise To Wrestling Royalty By Booker T. Huffman

Booker T: My Rise To Wrestling Royalty
Booker T. Huffman w/ Andrew William Wright, Foreword by John Bradshaw Layfield
Medallion Press, 2015
Hardcover, Ebook

Booker T. Huffman and Andrew William Wright (co-author of The Road Warriors: Danger, Death and The Rush of Wrestling) return with their second book chronicling the life of one of the wrestling industry's most decorated performers.  My Rise To Wrestling Royalty (2015) picks up where the first book, From Prison To Promise (2012) left off. While his first book detailed his young life prior to entering pro wrestling, this one extensively covers his career from his early days in WCW through his 2012 entry into the WWE Hall of Fame. 

Huffman gives readers a very complete picture of his active and prolific in ring career. He (and Wright) pay great attention to detail with regards to dates, locations and elements of specific matches and angles. There are no major peaks in Booker T's career that are omitted.   Huffman also gives the reader a lot of thoughts and insight into many of his angles,

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: WWE: The Attitude Era By Jon Robinson

WWE: The Attitude Era
Jon Robinson
Brady Games / DK Publishing, 2015
Hardcover, Ebook

A few years ago, with competition from WCW at its peak, the once family friendly - often times live action cartoon - WWF began producing a racier product. The period, best defined as mid 90s to early 2000s, has become known as The Attitude Era. With a beer-swilling, middle-finger raising and foul-mouthed champion, scantily clad women, pimps, porn stars, octogenarians giving birth to appendages and very thinly veiled race wars in the forefront of the product; the wrestling industry came as close as ever to entering the main stream of entertainment.  Traditionalists criticized the era for its excesses, but the vast majority of fans - many of them initially attracted by the adult themes and shocking story lines - loved it.

Review: Dusty: Reflections Of Wrestling's American Dream

Dusty: Reflections Of Wrestling's American Dream

Dusty Rhodes and Howard Brody

Sports Publishing, 2005

Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audiobook

"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes had a remarkable career as a professional wrestler and booker that has spanned 40+ year period. Rhodes made his wrestling debut in the late 60s and became one of the biggest names in the history of the industry.  Rhodes first gained national prominence as a member of the Texas Outlaws with Dick Murdoch, he later had a long and historic run in Eddie Graham's Championship Wrestling From Florida, as a main event star in NWA Mid-Atlantic, a memorable stint in early 90s WWF and as commentator with World Championship Wrestling.  Rhodes also served as the booker with most of these organizations during his respective tenures. As is common with both top stars and powerful people in the industry, Dusty Rhodes is a very polarizing person/character.

Review: Damn! Why Did I Write This Book? by Jayson (JTG) Paul

Damn! Why Did I Write This Book?
Jayson (JTG) Paul
Self Published, 2015
Ebook

JTG is best known for his 8 year stint as a member of the WWE Roster as both a singles wrestler and one half of the tag team Cryme Tyme. Damn! Why Did I Write This Book? chronicles the author's WWE tenure focusing, mainly, on his backstage interaction with other talents and management. This is JTG's first book. 

Damn! Why Did I Write This Book? was a surprise release this week. While it did not get the pre-release