Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror That Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport Book

[Kam]

Book Description:

In the wake of the horrific double-murder suicide, four noted wrestling writers grapple with the life and death of Chris Benoit in this book by Steven Johnson, Heath McCoy, Irvin Muchnick, and Greg Oliver, all respected investigative journalists committed to looking at this terrible event with integrity and passion. All four authors have been interviewed extensively about the Benoit situation, including by CNN and Fox. The book will discuss the subject from distinct perspectives: The media’s coverage of the story and the role of the media in the story itself will be covered by Steven Johnson. Heath McCoy establishes the facts of the case and examines Benoit’s Alberta wrestling roots. Irvin Muchnick gives his opinion on the pop-cultural relevance and the place of this tragedy in wrestling’s dark history. Greg Oliver discusses the Benoit story in the context of the pro-wrestling industry and personal correspondence with Benoit.

Buy It:

UK: £6.59 (Amazon UK)
USA: $10.17 (Amazon USA)

Wrestling 101 Shop - Wrestling Books (For UK & USA)

[The Icon]

Isn't a bit early for this type of thing?

[bigmatt]

Yeah this book has been written too early in my opinion.How can the authors have a clear understanding of how much this has affected the buisness prior to all the hearings and scanals of this thing being handled in the public spotlight from now on.There is bound to be more repercussions after this has taken place and this publication just seems to be an attempt to cash in on the subject while it is still fresh rather than dealing with the real issue.It might even have made more money if serious repercussions occur in the long run and there is more to write about,of course there could always be a second book.

[G2G]

But look how many books, documentaries, articles, dvd's, movies etc came out after an say 9/11 or the Columbine School Massacre etc.

As tragic as this Benoit murder-suicide was, the unfortunate fact is that people will always be curious about situations like this, and there will always be a huge demand for this story regardless of how early it is.

[luke_dolan]

i shall look forward to reading it

[John Hancock]

I love the title, but yeah, it might be a tad early.

[Fiona]

I think this book came out at the perfect time. What with the Marion Jones doping scandal and the Michell report on steriod use in the MLB the Beniot story has been pushed to the back burner. I have found a review of the book in USA today and since I'm technically challenged I will just re-type the important bits.

Taken from USA today.

This is real life. And death. A horrible, horrible story, yet without explanation. To be sure, it would be wrong to let conjecture blur with fact. But this much is certain, the bodies are stacking up in wrestling. Curt Hennig was known as "Mr. Perfect." He died of an overdose in 2003, and his father blamed steroids and painkillers. Davey Boy Smith — the "British Bulldog" — died of heart failure in 2002. The coroner suspected steroid involvement. Eddie Guerrero died of heart failure in 2005. Steroids were a probable factor. Counting Benoit, that makes four men gone, before the age of 45. Professional wrestling lives in its own blustery universe, far from the radar screen of mainstream sports. There is shouting and posturing, and heaven knows where the sham ends and the authentic begins. This is the reason, no doubt, that while the baseball steroids scandal and Marion Jones are magazine cover fodder, there is no public outcry about the fate of performing hulks with nicknames in quotation marks. Easy to dismiss it all as part of the circus. But not in todays world. A cold, hard look needs to be taken at what went wrong with Benoit, what made him a madman. And beyond that, a make-believe world has genuine trouble to confront. This business enterprise cannot be fooled by its own fantasies. Professional wrestling writes its own endings, and produces its own plot twists. Losers become winners, villains turn into heroes, and the champion thought dead somehow lives again. But Chris Benoit won't. Neither will his wife or little boy. Steps have to be taken to make sure this never happens again.

[bigmatt]

Is anyone intending to buy this?

[HBKFan88]

I'm definitely NOT buying it. I still think no matter how bad what Benoit did, I'll always respect the guy. I dont want people burying him just for what he did, he gave us pretty entertaining stuff in his career. What's the point in getting it if's just a book bashing Chris Benoit?

[The Beltster]

Yes, the business is really crippled...oh no, wait...no, its not.