While there’s nothing new here for serious fans, this is a fun biography for young readers (the stated target age is 7 to 9).

It’s part of a series title “First Names”, the idea being that the reader will feel like they are on a first name basis with a curious mix of historical and contemporary figures, placing Johnson alongside Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela and Elon Musk.

The book is simply a repackaging of Johnson’s life story (with an emphasis on inspiration), plus explanations of various concepts such as how wrestling works and the positions and depth chart in college football. For the wrestling sections at least, it will all be familiar for anyone who has read Rock’s WWE book and watched the Young Rock series.

It does open with a neat acknowledgement for young readers that would be welcome in certain other wrestling biographies: the author explains that while the facts in the book are based on public record, some of the wording of conversations and descriptions of Johnson’s thoughts at the time are constructed (with direct quotes in italics.)

At 150 pages, it’s a relatively comprehensive bio given the intended audience. For the wrestling section at least, it’s mostly accurate with the only questionable points being a slight overstating of how choreographed matches are, plus a suggestion the Intercontinental title was WWE’s top championship.

As noted, it’s probably not got much appeal for readers of this blog, but would make a good gift for nieces and nephews who know Johnson only as a movie star and could use a little education on his squared-circle origins.

Read on Amazon