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Product Description
Observer
'Funny, tragic, and full to the brim with outrageous arse-whupping, The Wrestling does its subject proud.'
Book Description
The hilarious, absurd and tragic story of British wrestling, told by one of the most talented non-fiction writers around.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Whilst wrestling thrives in the rest of the world its British cousin seems in terminal decline. This is the background against which Simon Garfield stirs the meomories of the "glory days" of wrestling in Britain. He tells the tale through the words of others and has produced not a definitive history but an entertaining parable of egotistical "characters" and rivalries that last to the present day. The book is never completely open about the realities of a professional wrestling match but instead allows the reader to feel like an outsider hearing careless wispers from behind the curtain. The vow of silence these men took seems to remain with most of them today. This is to some extent misguided, as anyone who is a fan of America's WWF knows. There the big names to not "insult" the fans intelligence by insisting it is real at all costs. In interviews and books outside the WWF's world (and sometimes in it) they make no secret of the way things are. And that is why so many people find it a form of entertainment that appeals to them. The wrestlers for the most part make up history to suit there own ends and thus presented together on the page form a hilarious patchwork of stories. Sometimes all the contributers are pulling in the same direction and a heart warming (or horrifying) story presents itself. Other times it desends into funny or meloncoly slanging matches about who "f***ed it all up". This is a slightly frustrating book if you already are aware of some of the behind the scenes bust ups and stories but to others it will delight at every turn. The last 2 chapters are the most depressing with two young(ish) talents from the current scene are quietly wallowing in the poverty of British wrestling as they compete with insulting rip-offs of WWF characters (usually the ones they ripped off were rubbish in their first incarnation). The underground scene has picked up slightly since the book was written with talented foreigners visiting occasionally and some "new-age" talent popping through. However the only thing that drives these youngsters on is getting out to America or Japan. At the base end of the market promoters are still presenting the outdated style of many mentioned in the book and the product is slowly dying. This book leaves us with lovely memories of a very British "sport".......one which is gone, best forgotten.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When I think of the (few!) books I've read in the past 5 years, this one keeps coming back to me. Simon Garfields style of quotation over narration (as per his Radio One book - almost as great as this) works well here with an obviously (inadvertantly in some cases) hillarious cast of heros, daredevils and madmen who loved the sport and reaped very few benefits. It's a sad story of the decline of a great 'spectacle' I loved in my youth on World Of Sport. Listening to the stories of being paid 15 quid a fight and squashing the puss out of pig-bitten fingers pre-fight only makes you love this era more and wonder quite where it all went wrong with American Wrestling! Gloriously entertaining stuff.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What can I say about this book it is truly an outstanding piece of literature on the beloved spectacle that is known as Wrestling, it will make you laugh and cry and share the emotions of the giants of the ring. Find out more about the real workings of an industry which in the Uk is dying but yey so vibrant throughout the world. If being a wrestling fan is an embarrassment then you're in good company with the likes of the Royal Family former PMS and Paul Mc Cartney to name a few. If there is one book you must read on the greatest spectacle on earth read The Wrestling.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
In memory of my Dad
Finished it in a sitting. Very good. The format is a series of reminiscences and anecdotes but extremely entertaining and informative for all that -without really trying. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Martin Amis
very enjoyable
The reviews are right. Its very good. You don't have to be a wrestling fan either or a sports fan. Its an absorbing read, full of characters, funny stories, sad at times. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Shaggy Horgan
Grappling with the past
This is a wonderful look back at the British world of wrestling, which was such a fixture on Saturday afternoons in the 1970s and 80s. Read more
Published on 3 Jan 2010 by Random Reader
the definative book
This has to be the definative book about British wrestling,written at just the right moment in time before the likes of Giant haystackand Les Kellett had gone to the big ring in... Read more
Published on 21 Mar 2008 by Mb Davis
A walk down memory lane......
It is all here in this lovely book by Simon Garfield. For those of us who remember "Good Afternoon Grappling Fans!" by Kent Walton, this book is a must. Read more
Published on 26 Jun 2007 by L. Hay
the best of uk wrestling
Simon Garfield gives a timely reminder of the days before the World Wrestling Federation,a time when World of Sport was supreme and Saturday afternoon was taken up with an old... Read more
Published on 31 Mar 2003 by geoff turner
Listmania!
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