Gotch: An American Hero
"This is a great book about the greatest wrestler of all time. But it is much more than a story about a wrestler. It's also an exciting history of sports and sports figures at the beginning of the 20th Century. Of all of those early century sports legends, Gotch was the most famous. I liked the way the author told about Gotch's wrestling on the floor of the Roosevelt White House and in front of the largest crowd to see a sporting event in Comiskey park. The author's story telling ability makes it very easy to get wrapped up in this book until Y2K." --Dale Anderson, columnist WIN Magazine<br /><br />As a long time devotee of the sport of wrestling, I found Gotch: An American Hero to be an entertaining trip through the past. Frank Gotch is a truly outstanding sports figure in American history and deserves to have a book written about him by America's top wrestling historian. I highly recommend this book. --Andre Gibson, International Wrestling Institute & Museum website columnist<br /><br />Mike Chapman just released the best written book of his career (he has 12 titles to his credit). Chapman's latest, "Gotch: An American Hero" is an historical novel based upon the life of professional wrestler Frank Gotch, America's first world champion. This book is 279 pages long and has the makings of a movie written all over it (are you listening Hollywood?).When reading the book you'll wish you had lived back in the early 1900's...and were able to train right alongside Gotch, Farmer Burns, Dan McLeod and the others. "Gotch: An American Hero" is written in a down-home Iowa dialect that doesn't really exist anymore, and even if it never did, reading the dialogue will be like drinking poetry. Each sentence pulls you closer into the fantasy world of old-time pro wrestling. Every page comes to life and throws you into a realm of "the good old days" of real professional wrestling. Gotch's matches and his life are covered in vivid detail and presented in such a realistic fashion that you'll feel like the champion is your friend. It isn't often that you'll read a book and feel like you're right there, watching the whole parade. You will when you read "Gotch: An American Hero." This book belongs in the library of every grappling enthusiast. --Matt Furey, publisher GAIN Magazine