The Squared Circle: Life, Death and Professional Wrestling (Hardcover) by David Shoemaker

from mstrust

With the beginnings of what would be modern professional wrestling, as apposed to Greco-Roman Olympic-style, the author gives the history of sideshow wrestling and it's first headliners, then goes into the top acts, mostly from the 1940's to present day. But this isn't about wrestlers who were ju...

from Smokler

Clear, cogent, brilliantly argued look at pro-wrestling as a struggle between sport and drama, between real life and entertainment, the ultimate encounter with real life being death. Comes from Shoemaker's columns on dead wrestlers for Grantland and at time feels too much like a bundle of columns...

from branimal

David Shoemaker rose to prominence with his weekly Deadspin column, "Dead Wrestler of the Week". At first glance, the column's title seems unnecessarily harsh but Shoemaker writes with a real passion for those who entertained us during their sometimes short lived career. At some point, he decided...