This may be a case of lowered expectations, but I found this surprisingly readable and insightful.

It’s the usual approach by ghostwriter Scott Teal of keeping the narrative coherent while still reflecting the subject’s voice, and grounding the career account somewhat in reality in terms of dates and places, while still allowing the subject scope to make some perhaps questionable claims about their status and importance.

This isn’t merely a chronological account of Atlas’ career but rather has a lot of explanations of how he learned the business, different promoters approaches to booking him and teaching him psychology, and the pros and cons of life on the road.

Atlas also has clear views on topics such as racism and drug use that may surprise some readers but are expressed and explored so that even people who disagree with him can understand his viewpoint. There’s also far more detail on foot domination fetishes than you would ever expect and a full account of the night Bruiser Brody was killed just feet away from Atlas.

The main narrative of the book is Atlas throwing away his potential, leading to periods out of the business and homelessness and his recovery. It’s very much a tale of somebody taking responsibility for their own decisions.

Even if your first instinct is that you don’t have much interest in the career of Tony Atlas, this may still be worth a look for something that covers all manner of aspects of a life in 70s and 80s pro wrestling.

Read on Amazon