Queen of the Ring

I'm a bit late on reviewing this book as I was having personal problems so here goes!  I think this is one of those books where you gotta be a wrestling fan in order to fully appreciate it.  The book is about not only the story of Mildred Burke but about the history of women's wrestling in the United States.  Author Jeff Leen has done his research on the sport of professional wrestling.  I seriously admire his research skills as he has gone out of his way to verify facts by checking IRS records for wrestler's earnings during the 20th century, verifying marriage licenses, birth records, addresses and so on.  He talks about the importance of showmanship in professional wrestling, especially in women's wrestling. Mildred Burke wanted to convey the idea that she was a woman first and wrestler second.  She dressed glamorously, coming to the ring decked out in diamonds, a fur coat, a manicure, make up and coiffed hair.  Leen didn't just write about Burke's wrestling career but about her personal life, as well.  These two are intertwined as Burke married her first wrestling manager, Billie Wolfe.  These two together were responsible for the creation of women's wrestling as a respectable sport.  Billie Wolfe was a savvy businessman who, with Burke, created a thriving business.  Their marriage, however, was purely business as Burke had no love or attraction to Wolfe due to his abusive and womanizing ways.  Leen then points out how American women's wrestling was the reason why joshi puroresu (Japanese women's pro wrestling) became such a huge thing in Japan following the American tour of women wrestlers that included Burke and Johnnie Mae Young (who studied at Wolfe's wrestling school).  Leen also included the FBI investigation of the National Wrestling Alliance and Burke's involvement in that and the seeming decline of not just women's wrestling but pro wrestling as a whole (women's wrestling soared during the Golden Age of Wrestling).  This is a book that I would highly recommend to any wrestling fan.