Review by Choice Review
Beekman (history, Ohio Univ.) has written an excellent account of the history of professional wrestling from its origins in ancient civilizations to its current status as "entertainment" in the US. His meticulous research is evident in the copious documentation. He includes an insightful discussion of the business practices wrestlers and promoters have engaged in to preserve this "pseudo-sport" and make it one of the US's leading entertainment industries. Like Elliot Gorn's The Manly Art: Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting in America (CH, Apr'87), Beekman's historical view of the rise of professional wrestling looks at how the sport mirrors blue-collar society. Readers may have difficulty--as this reviewer did--keeping track of the names of individuals, organizations, and cartels that pepper this history. The book includes a notes section and a lengthy bibliography. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers. T. K. Ambrose Berea College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
The biggest question about pro wrestling is, Why, when it's one of the oldest and most consistently popular sports in history, does it maintain an unshakable reputation as marginal, disreputable, and sleazy? The book's author--a history professor and not a slavish fan of the sport--begins at the beginning, with a discussion of wrestling's worldwide history and appeal. Then he zeroes in on the U.S., with which pro wrestling has become inextricably linked. It's a story of sportsmanship, ego, celebrity, greed, and rivalry. It's just like any other sports story, in other words, and that's the book's central theme: for all its image problems, pro wrestling is, when you come right down to it, a sport like any other. An eye--opening reappraisal of a much--maligned sport, and (for wrestling fans) perhaps a much-needed vindication. --David Pitt Copyright 2006 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
