The Bottom Line
This book will let you know everything about the history of the National Wrestling Alliance. The book is filled with stories of illegal cooperation, backstabbing, and battles with the federal government. This book proves that sometimes the action outside of the ring can be more interesting than what happens inside the ring. This book is recommended to anyone that is a fan of the golden era of pro wrestling.
Pros
- A very thorough history of the National Wrestling Alliance.
Cons
- Not reader friendly - could have used charts and timelines to make it less confusing.
Description
- The book is 372 pages and features a smaller font than is usual in a wrestling book.
- There are 16 pages of glossy photos in the middle of the book that are in black & white.
- The book is only available in soft cover.
Guide Review - National Wrestling Allinace by Tim Hornbaker
The book is filled with all the information one could want about the history of the National Wrestling Alliance. Unfortunately, at times the book reads more like a history text book that you are forced to read rather than an enjoyable book about your favorite hobby. At times, the book can become a blur of names and dates. At these points, the book could be more user-friendly and would have greatly benefited by the inclusion of time lines and chart. Since this is the type of book that you would hold onto for reference instead of a one time read, the inclusion of an index should have been another thing added to the book.
As far as the content of the book, this book contains the most content I have ever seen that details the people and events that surrounded the way wrestling used to be run in the territorial era. The book dedicates chapters to some of the most influential people in the history of the N.W.A. Sam Muchnick, Lou Thez, Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Fred Kohler, and Toots Mondt get this treatment. WWE fans will enjoy the chapter on Mondts as it details his formation of the company with Vince McMahon Sr.
If you are a fan of wrestling history, I recommend this book. This book brings to life some names that are famous but unfamiliar because of the lack of recording matches from that era.
