Accepted

July 1, 2016

Patterson, born Pierre Clermont, is an icon in professional wrestling and a great storyteller. Patterson grew up poor in Montreal in the 1940s and became enthralled with watching wrestling matches as a teen. After telling his parents he was gay, Patterson's strict father forced him to leave home. Although a native speaker of French, Patterson knew some English and made a new home in Boston, where he began a professional wresting career. Throughout the book, Patterson, along with Hebert (coauthor, Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screw Jobs) talks about his lifelong partner, Louie Dondero; his love of pulling pranks on his friends; learning the business of wrestling; and that many in the wrestling world knew he was gay, although he didn't come out until 2014. The stories he tells are intriguing, especially those about creating the careers of superstars such as Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and The Rock. VERDICT Fans of professional wrestling and those interested in LGBTQ rights from the 1960s to the present will find much to enjoy in this book from the first WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) intercontinental champion.--Jason L. Steagall, Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 23, 2016
Two stories are at work in this memoir from Patterson, one of the greatest performers and creative minds in the history of professional wrestling. One story is the tale of a young French-Canadian man growing up in Montreal in the 1950s, struggling with his sexuality. He meets the love of his life in Boston and finds acceptance for their romance in both the broader society and his macho, closed-to-outsiders industry. “Being gay turned out to not be an issue at all,” he writes. “As long as I took five- and ten-dollar wrestling payoffs without complaining.” That story line is surprisingly wistful, tender, and accessible to all readers. The second, however, is a behind-the-scenes look into the wrestling world that will lose all but the most fervent fans. Many names from World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) are referenced without context. Others are purposefully not named. Major events are mentioned without details that might help newcomers grasp the situation. This inside-wrestling aspect may narrow the book’s readership. But Patterson is a very good storyteller, and his tales from the road about well-known personalities such as the fun-seeking Andre the Giant and the forever-young-at-heart Ray Stevens are wonderfully told, and many of the wrestlers’ time-killing pranks are laugh-out-loud funny.

June 1, 2016
Born Pierre Clermont in 1941 in Montreal, Pat Patterson is one of the consummate performers in the history of professional wrestling. In this intimate and candid memoir, he describes his world travels as a wrestler, his success as a member of the popular Blond Bombers tag team, and his personal life with the late LouisDondero, his partner of 38 years. Patterson's being gay didn't affect his relationships with most of the wrestling community; his family supported him, and most of the wrestlers and management didn't find his sexuality to be an issue. He partied with Andre the Giant, mentored Dwayne The Rock Johnson, and was a confidant of Vince McMahon, Jr., and eventually a vice president of the WWE. Part confessional, part history, and part autobiography, this rambling narrative of a man who believes being a wrestler is the greatest job in the world will be of great interest to wrestling fans fascinated by the early days of the sport.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)