Wrestling Spoken Here follows the main character Robbie and his friend Matt through Robbie's first season as a high school athlete. Readers will enjoy the combination of humor and drama which develops in the story. High School sophomore Robbie Renfro is not the most confident young man in the world. He has grown up in a working class neighborhood, has a disgruntled father that drinks too much, and a problem with the neighborhood bully looming on the horizon. Robbie is by no means a natural, but his efforts lead to a growing confidence both on and off the mat. He must deal with competition, with issues at home, and with local bully Jake the "Snake." Racial tension interjects itself as Jake picks a fight with one of Robbie's black teammates, a situation that places Robbie in the middle of troubling issues. "I read it from cover to cover in one sitting." Former N.C. State head coach Jerry Daniels "It took me back to high school." Dr. Jim Decker, East Carolina University
Experience the thrilling journey of a wrestling superstar in this no-holds-barred memoir from the first undisputed WWE heavyweight champion. Chris Jericho is the first undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the WWE and WCW, and has been called one of the fifty greatest wrestlers of all time. Now retired, he is writing his memoir, telling the story of his journey from wrestling school in Canada to his time in leagues in Mexico and Japan to his big break in the WCW. He'll dish the dirt on how he worked his way through the ranks alongside major wrestling stars like Chris Benoit and Lance Storm to become a major superstar.
In his own words, Bret Hart’s honest, perceptive, startling account of his life in and out of the pro wrestling ring. The sixth-born son of the pro wrestling dynasty founded by Stu Hart and his elegant wife, Helen, Bret Hart is a Canadian icon. As a teenager, he could have been an amateur wrestling Olympic contender, but instead he turned to the family business, climbing into the ring for his dad’s western circuit, Stampede Wrestling. From his early twenties until he retired at 43, Hart kept an audio diary, recording stories of the wrestling life, the relentless travel, the practical jokes, the sex and drugs, and the real rivalries (as opposed to the staged ones). The result is an intimate, no-holds-barred account that will keep readers, not just wrestling fans, riveted. Hart achieved superstardom in pink tights, and won multiple wrestling belts in multiple territories, for both the WWF (now the WWE) and WCW. But he also paid the price in betrayals (most famously by Vince McMahon, a man he had served loyally); in tragic deaths, including the loss of his brother Owen, who died when a stunt went terribly wrong; and in his own massive stroke, most likely resulting from a concussion he received in the ring, and from which, with the spirit of a true champion, he has battled back. Widely considered by his peers as one of the business’s best technicians and workers, Hart describes pro wrestling as part dancing, part acting, and part dangerous physical pursuit. He is proud that in all his years in the ring he never seriously hurt a single wrestler, yet did his utmost to deliver to his fans an experience as credible as it was exciting. He also records the incredible toll the business takes on its workhorses: he estimates that twenty or more of the wrestlers he was regularly matched with have died young, weakened by their own coping mechanisms, namely drugs, alcohol, and steroids. That toll included his own brother-in-law, Davey Boy Smith. No one has ever written about wrestling like Bret Hart. No one has ever lived a life like Bret Hart’s. For as long as I can remember, my world was filled with liars and bullshitters, losers and pretenders, but I also saw the good side of pro wrestling. To me there is something bordering on beautiful about a brotherhood of big tough men who pretended to hurt one another for a living instead of actually doing it. Any idiot can hurt someone. —from Hitman
Whether on the other side of the world or in our own backyard, languages everywhere are fading into oblivion. Mark Abley explores what the human family stands to lose — and explains why some endangered languages continue to thrive. Within the next couple of generations, most of the world’s 6000 languages will vanish, due mainly to the unstoppable tide of English. With an open mind and a well-worn passport, award-winning journalist and poet Mark Abley tells entertaining and vital stories about why languages matter. From Oklahoma to Provence, aboriginal Australia to Baffin Island, the cultures are radically different, but the problems of shrinking linguistic and cultural richness are painfully similar. Abley’s investigation provides a stunning glimpse of the beauty and intricacies of languages like Yiddish and Yuchi, Mohawk and Manx, Inuktitut and Provençal. More importantly, it offers a sympathetic and memorable portrait of the people who still speak languages under threat. When a language dies out, gone too are stories that have been told for centuries, unique ways of seeing the world, and perhaps even ways of solving problems both large and small. Abley believes we must see languages as abundant sources of richness, wonder and usefulness. And he shows that hope still exists: that the determination of even one person can revive a whole language and its culture, in the process creating something new, changing and alive — exactly what languages do best.
A man with three different names ties together the stars of professional wrestling, country music, and the New York Mets. John Arezzi was a lifelong Mets fan who dreamed of a job in baseball. In 1981, he took a job with the Mets Class A team in North Carolina. But Arezzi had another love: professional wrestling. He ran a fan club for the villainous “Classy” Freddie Blassie as a teenager, then progressed to wrestling photographer, and finally even stepped into the ring himself as John Anthony. Eventually he escaped to pursue a new life in altogether different world: country music. After adopting a new name, John Alexander, his many accomplishments include discovering both Patty Loveless and (decades later) Kelsea Ballerini. But wrestling is tough to shake … In the 1990s, Arezzi hosted the pioneering radio talk show Pro Wrestling Spotlight. He also ran the first major conventions, assembling a wrestling who’s who to meet with fans. He promoted shows, both at home and abroad, and was a key figure behind importing lucha libre into America. Mat Memories is Arezzi’s chance to hold the mic, and he holds nothing back — he names names and tells the untold behind-the-scenes stories: from the ring, the stage, and the diamond.
From the Rock 'N' Wrestling Connection to the Attitude and Divas eras to the women's wrestling evolution happening now, A Diva Was a Female Version of a Wrestler is a loosely chronologized cultural criticism of World Wrestling Entertainment's herstory. Lifelong wrestling fan and critic Scarlett Harris uses big ideas, such as #MeToo, the commodification of feminism and how we tell women's stories, to chart the rise and fall and rise of women's wrestling, and vice versa.
From beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author and WWE Hall-of-Famer Mick Foley comes a Yuletide tale like no other. After a lifetime of putting his body on the line to entertain his dozens (and dozens!) of fans, the Hardcore Legend is paying the price – physically and emotionally. When the final bell on Mick's career tolls, not in the ring, but in a neurologist's office, his future seems far from merry and bright. Until Mick is given the chance to become Santa Claus – not dress up, not pretend, but become Santa – allowing him to rediscover the joy of performing. Fully committing to his new mission, Mick details the drastic measures he takes to keep the Christmas magic alive for his young children, as well as the many children he meets in his travels who are in need of some Christmas Spirit. In order to fully embrace his new red-suited responsibilities, Mick enters the fascinating world of the Santa subculture, where he hones his Christmas craft while worrying he’ll be excommunicated from the Santa world for, among other things, his Santa character being run over by a motor vehicle on Christmas Eve on WWE television. And with the help of an unlikely elf – 8-time Grammy award winner Norah Jones – Mick learns valuable lessons about the real power and responsibility of wearing the red suit. Because true success as Santa comes not by appearing in front of millions on TV, but by touching peoples' lives by creating "Santa moments" for both the young and the young at heart. Part jolly memoir, part whimsical ode to a lifetime love affair with Christmas, part solemn tribute to the power of finding the best part of oneself in the unlikeliest of places, Saint Mick offers the magic of Christmas on every single page. With a foreword by Stephanie McMahon, and featuring never-before-seen photos of the whole Foley family!
The Bible tells us that believers are transformed by the renewing of their minds. Another way of putting this is taking into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. This means learning how to think of all of life, including sport, from a biblical perspective. Michael Fesslers book is drenched in Christian worldview. Those who wrestle with its truths will be richer for it. I wish that I had been able to drink from its wisdom as a young man but am grateful to be able to do so as an old(er) one. Jack Spates, MDiv, Baptist Bible College & Seminary and former head wrestling coach at Oklahoma University My belief has always been that wrestling is a microcosm of life. Most of the things that we are going to experience in life are going to be experienced in a wrestling career. Michael does an excellent job in paralleling the relationship between faith and wrestling. His book expresses the importance of developing the total athletespiritually, physically, emotionally, and socially. I look forward to the day when people (including wrestlers) from every nation, tribe, people and language will gather to worship our God. (Revelation 7:9, 11). Gene Davis, director of wrestling at Athletes in Action and bronze medalist in the 1976 Olympic Games Michael Fessler concisely captures the heart of a Christian wrestler pursuing Gods glory. The book is captivating in combining biblical truths with real-life stories. You will be encouraged and inspired to think about the gospel as greater than athletic glory as Fessler explains the biblical basis for competing. Just as Fesslers approach to use wrestling as a tool for the gospel, we at Athletes in Action use the sport of wrestling to share the gospel around the world. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is passionate about their faith and the sport of wrestling. Rob Bronson, International Wrestling Team coordinator at Athletes in Action
The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.
Explores how the sixteenth president rebounded from the disintegration of the Whig Party and took on the anti-Immigration party in Illinois to clear a path for a new Republican Party.
