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WRESTLING BOOKS
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Listen, You Pencil Neck Geeks
Description: Never have I been so pleasantly surprise by a wrestling book. I continually passed on buying this book for one reason or another. Finally I picked it up around Christmas 2004. For some reason, I had gotten the impression that this was a short book, but I was mistaken; 272 action packed pages of unmistakable Blassie-wit kept me interested from cover-to-cover.
I'm embarassed to admit that I was completely oblivious of the sorts of things Freddie Blassie did before he became the Trash-talking manager that I grew up watching. I had read about the legendary feud that was waged between he and John Tolos but I had no idea what the true extent was (Read Chapter 11). We're talking about a man who wrestled from his teens, well into his 50s and was extremely sought after by promoters up until the day he retired from the ring. This book was a refreshing look at the way wrestling USED to be, from a guy who truly was "all business" and loved every minute of it. Blassie paid more dues than the entire 2005 WWE roster combined.
Rating: On a scale of 1-to-10, I'd easily give this a nine. I usually take points away from WWE-produced books that have the subject kissing McMahon's butt. Blassie does speak fondly of both Vince Jr. & Sr. but his feelings are very genuine. I always knew Blassie was a legend --- now I know exactly why!
Reviewed by Brad Dykens on January 30, 2005.
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Description: If you are reading this, you might be a younger fan, anywhere from the ages of 8 to 30. If this is the case, then you might not remember Freddie Blassie. That's ok, it's really hard to remember old wrestlers in the sport of pro wrestling because it's such an evolving sport. But that's what this book is here for; Blassie's story isn't just a story about his life, it's the story about wrestling's past, a history lesson.
With the opening introduction we can already tell this is special. Vince McMahon himself, invites us in to take a look at someone very special to him; now how can this book not be interesting? As the book begins we see that Blassie comes from a very different America than what we come from. His is a darker America, a more unsettling one. And is expected, the wrestling is a bit darker and more unsettling than the one we know.
With that, Freddie shows us the rich beginnings of the sport we all love and also gives us secrets to some of the business. And this becomes interesting because Freddie starts to not only tell us about himself and how he started, but about how wrestling started. Wanna know where the term "Kay Fabe" came from??? Read the book. Wanna know how wrestling evolved from carnivals to shows??? Read the book. Wanna know how peroresu, Japanese wrestling started??? Read the book. But not only that, Blassie also gives his own takes on some of wrestling's biggest names. If you thought what Flair said about Hart was rough, wait till you hear what Blassie thinks of Haystacks.
After you read it, you really start to appreciate wrestling more, and I know it's hard for some of you out there, but you really start to appreciate McMahon and everything he's done. So, that is why I think EVERY WRESTLING FAN SHOULD READ THIS BOOK, OR THEY'RE NOT A WRESTLING FAN because this isn't just about one of wrestling's greats, it's also just about wrestling.
Rating: I give 10 out of 10
Reviewed by andrew Lee on August 6, 2005.
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