Book Review Archives - Slam Wrestling

Hebner autobiography pulls out a victory

Posted by Jon Langmead | Mar 3, 2025 | Featured Home Page, Gary Howard Memorial Library

Despite being a business cloaked in layers of secrecy so thick that comparisons to underground...

Novel ‘The World Belongs to Jane & Me’ has shades of Adrian Street

Posted by Jason Presley | Feb 23, 2025 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

A young Welshman, Johnny “The Kid” Arnold, seeks an escape from a life in the coal...

Barry Horowitz book deserves a pat on the back

Posted by Jonathan Schwartz | Feb 3, 2025 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

One of the perks of writing for SlamWrestling.net is that I sometimes get to review books about...

Stardom book Chases the Dream

Posted by Alex Podgorski | Jan 26, 2025 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

As Japanese women’s wrestling or “joshi” grows and becomes a bigger part of mainstream pro...

Family shines light on Curtis Iaukea in new book

Posted by Jason Presley | Jan 19, 2025 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

Curtis Iaukea was one of the most legendary professional wrestlers produced by the state of Hawaii. Athletic, eloquent, erudite and possessing a forehead like a World War I battlefield, whether wrestling as Prince Kuhio, Prince...

Pat Rose’s book leaves you on the hook

Posted by Brad McFarlin | Jan 11, 2025 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

The Ring To The Reel: The Pat Rose Story is a quick read, at just under 100 pages not including...

Niagara sensei moonlights as wrestler and author

Posted by Sully Khan | Jan 10, 2025 | Canadian Hall of Fame, Gary Howard Memorial Library, The Sporting Connection

The book Life as an Art: Paint Your Picture with Your Passion, released in 2022, tells the story...

Book excerpt: VERNE: Inside & Outside the Ropes

Posted by Guest Column | Dec 16, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

EDITOR’S NOTE: Brian Ferguson’s book on Verne Gagne, VERNE: Inside & Outside the...

‘After the Bell’ best enjoyed after ‘The Last Fall’

Posted by Thomas Starr | Dec 14, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

The world of wrestling literature is littered with great works of non-fiction. Bertrand Hebert and...

‘VISITORS’ is a beautiful, bloody, transgressive book of photography

Posted by Josh Olsen | Dec 9, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library, The Artistic Canvas

At this point, it might go without saying that I’m a fan of trading cards, specifically...

Trish gets the spotlight, again, in ‘Female Firsts’ book

Posted by Greg Oliver | Nov 17, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library, The Sporting Connection

Women’s sports have been enjoying a moment in the sun, with the recent WNBA finals,...

Retro Review: Ron Hill’s autobiography looks at wrestling outside the big time

Posted by Cory Santos | Nov 16, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

The death of Kevin Sullivan brought a million stories of a legendary career spanning decades in...

Passion for Stone Cold comes through in ‘Stunning: The Wrestling Artistry of Steve Austin’

Posted by Gina Femia | Nov 3, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

Wresting and Art are not two words that you normally find co-existing in the same sentence. Often...

Windsor wrestling ‘opus’ has a heck of a lot of Detroit too

Posted by Todd Denault | Oct 17, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

When one thinks of professional wrestling hotbeds, cities with long historical ties such as New...

Translated ‘Kings of Wrestling’ a major contribution to wrestling history

Posted by Nathan Hatton | Sep 8, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library, The Sporting Connection

If your reading goes a little further afield than wrestling history to include ‘aligned’ interests...

Sarah Rowe’s ‘From the Farm to Our Table’ proves to be re-readable

Posted by Slam Wrestling | Sep 6, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

By CALAMITY KATE – For SlamWrestling.net Since giving birth to my son, Van, over two years...

Part 1 of Steve Keirn’s story compelling and emotional

Posted by Caleb Smith | Aug 17, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

Steve Keirn and Ian Douglass have formed a “fabulous” tag team for a well-written and...

‘Tod is God’ a revealing look at ECW

Posted by Adam Bazzana | Aug 5, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

You would expect a book written about the origins of a company revered for its violence and...

‘One Fall To A Finish’ finishes trilogy on British wrestling

Posted by Steve Swift | Jul 24, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

“Harry Potter!” That’s what I remember first about Greg Lambert. The chant that rang...

‘Sumo Libre’ the mash-up you didn’t know you needed

Posted by Greg Oliver | Jul 19, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library, Interviews

Children’s picture books have to be colorful, engaging, and re-readable. They also generally...

Rousey’s ‘Our Fight’ might be best book on WWE’s machinations yet

Posted by Greg Oliver | Jul 15, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library, The Sporting Connection

By now, a lot of the more salacious and condemning aspects of Ronda Rousey’s second...

‘Dramatic Dreams’ a deep dive into wacky world of DDT Pro-Wrestling

Posted by Alex Podgorski | Jun 20, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

First the DDT was a pesticide. Then it became a finishing move for Jake “The Snake” Roberts (and...

Ken Patera’s book is weighty and ribald

Posted by Caleb Smith | Jun 18, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library, The Sporting Connection

Ken Patera is a unique figure in the microcosm of professional wrestling. He seems to always be...

Starer’s ‘Total Suplex of the Heart’ draws on personal experiences

Posted by Josh Olsen | Jun 12, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library, Interviews

Joanne Starer, creator of the comic book The Gimmick, “a Coen Brothers–style dark comedy” set in...

‘What Happened to Our Wrestling?’ flawed but insightful

Posted by Thomas Starr | Jun 5, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

If you are a listener to Jim Cornette’s podcasts, you have heard of — and from —...

Retro review: WWE’s ‘Big Apple Takedown’ will leave the reader puzzled

Posted by Jonathan Plombon | Jun 1, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

Professional wrestlers aren’t just professional wrestlers. Their skills and talents extend beyond...

Wrestling subplot to ‘Victory Parade’ only part of ‘gorgeous, heartbreaking book’

Posted by Josh Olsen | May 27, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

Victory Parade is a striking new book written and drawn by the Eisner Award-nominated painter,...

Book looking at legal side of pro wrestling a long time coming

Posted by Jonathan Schwartz | May 17, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

Working with SlamWrestling.net gives me the opportunity to read and review books. It’s one of my...

Retro review: Matysik’s ‘Drawing Heat the Hard Way’ has value to today’s bookers

Posted by Thomas Starr | May 13, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

Larry Matysik’s third book, Drawing Heat the Hard Way: How Wrestling Really Works, includes a...

Adrian Adonis biography both tough and flowery

Posted by Arin De Castro | Apr 19, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

The first-ever biography of former WWF and AWA tag champion ‘Adorable’ Adrian Adonis,...

‘Macho Man’ biography a ‘let down’

Posted by Todd Denault | Apr 12, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

I must admit to feeling a little bit spoiled by the last couple of wrestling biographies that I’ve...

‘The Six Pack’ a fun read on ’80s wrestling nostalgia

Posted by Josh Olsen | Apr 2, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

In 2015, Brad Balukjian opened a pack of 1986 Topps baseball cards, then he “embarked on a quest...

‘Club Kick Out!’ a delightful, colorful graphic novel

Posted by Greg Oliver | Mar 23, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

With a kid who is about to leave for university, there are just less opportunities for me...

‘Pro Wrestling Erasure Poems’ an emotional slobberknocker

Posted by Josh Olsen | Mar 17, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

The subgenre of wrestling poetry, or poetry about wrestling, is a thriving art. Books such as...

‘Ballyhoo!’ centers on Jack Curley but tells a bigger, important tale

Posted by Cory Santos | Feb 11, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

I’m a sucker for wrestling history books and especially those that focus on the key...

Rafi Kohan’s ‘Trash Talk’ highlights wittiest, grittiest smack talkers

Posted by Amos Mina | Jan 21, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library, The Sporting Connection

A great rivalry can make any sport more entertaining. As a die-hard fan of mixed martial arts,...

June Byers bio a ‘robust history of her life and career’

Posted by Gina Femia | Jan 10, 2024 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

I’ll be the first to admit that, compared to most, I’m a newer wrestling fan. I only came to the...

Author Sheldon Goldberg takes ‘The Last Fall’

Posted by Jamie Hemmings | Dec 11, 2023 | Gary Howard Memorial Library, Interviews

After facing some serious health issues after the 2022 Cauliflower Alley Club (CAC) reunion, not...

Poems in ‘The Perfect Bastard’ a ‘love letter to wrestling’

Posted by Gina Femia | Nov 28, 2023 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

When poet Quinn Carver Johnson started studying gender in college, they realized that “Wrestling...

‘The He-Man Effect’ not about wrestling but it sure applies

Posted by Greg Oliver | Sep 18, 2023 | Gary Howard Memorial Library, Not Another Collectible!

Brian “Box” Brown is no stranger to professional wrestling (or this site). He’s...

‘Alondra’ an impactful YA book, written by an unlikely fan

Posted by Greg Oliver | Aug 21, 2023 | Gary Howard Memorial Library, Interviews

At first glance, you might not think that Gina Femia would be a wrestling fan. Femia is a...

Trump the draw, but ‘Power Players’ presides on the bookshelf

Posted by Greg Oliver | Aug 16, 2023 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

Wrestling fans that run across Power Players: Sports, Politics, and the American Presidency at...

Dropkick Murphy’s ‘Legendary Life’ about far more than wrestling

Posted by Cory Santos | Jul 6, 2023 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

When I first heard of the book Dropkick Murphy: A Legendary Life, I was excited, as being a native...

Rowell is back with a Sheik compilation

Posted by Trapper Tom Leturgey | May 22, 2023 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

Gary “G.J.” Rowell is back with a compilation of three previous books, largely about Edward...

Marc Mero: From Badd To Good: The Inspiring Story of a Wrestling Wildman

Posted by Mihir Kore | Apr 4, 2023 | x-to-be-proofed

MARC MERO STORIES Mar. 19, 2025: Marc Mero’s life has been a wild ride Feb. 4,...

Berry provides a quality stop to ‘Wrestleville Volume 2’

Posted by Trapper Tom Leturgey | Feb 12, 2023 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

Vinny Berry’s Wrestleville: Where Wrestling Lives Volume 2 is exactly the kind of book that needs...

Passion, effort shines through in Charting the Territories

Posted by Sammy Kiss | Feb 7, 2023 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

As a 12-year-old kid, my first glimpse of professional wrestling came with weekly editions of WWE...

George Gordienko finally has his day with great biography

Posted by Cory Santos | Dec 20, 2022 | Gary Howard Memorial Library, The Artistic Canvas

George Gordienko might very well be the greatest wrestler you have never heard of. As an American...

Justin Credible’s book totally relatable

Posted by Jonathan Schwartz | Dec 15, 2022 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

Time was, if you were a professional wrestling fan with a desire to read about your heroes, your...

Foye’s book offers fantastic insight Into Keiji Muto’s many faces

Posted by Alex Podgorski | Nov 14, 2022 | Gary Howard Memorial Library

With Keiji Muto being in wrestling news of late, fans of his have a golden opportunity to read...

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