Published in 1970, it doesn’t appear this book had much input from McManus beyond his celebrity name. That’s no bad thing however, as the book is not specifically about McManus, but rather a series of features on British stars of the day.

The couple of dozen articles largely resemble the type of profile you’d expect to find in magazines of the era such as The Wrestler, concentrating more on personalities and lives outside the ring than attempting to give a career history.  Some of the stories are outlandish, though at a guess Arnold is faithfully retelling his conversations with the wrestlers rather than using literary license. How accurate the stories the wrestlers told is of course another matter.

The book is very well illustrated, with a particular highlight being a young, slender and well-defined Jean Ferre (Andre the Giant) absolutely dwarving McManus.

All in all, it’s certainly worth keeping an eye out for if you’re a collector or have a particular interest in the UK scene, but not worth paying a fortune to acquire.

Buy on Amazon