"Incredibly
Strange Tales from an Incredibly Strange Wrestler"
SEVEN
YEARS OF STRANGE WRESTLING
By Bob Calhoun
Foreword by V. Vale
ECW PRESS
Book Review
by Carl Macki
For a writer,
he's not so strange, just vivid and colorful. Even comforting, as he
nuances the edges to soften the scariness of the insanity on
which he reports.
As
a wrestler in high school, I found this account of Calhoun's (aka known
as Count Dante) wierd and wonderful experiences in the ring
on the mat to be about as refreshing as an elbow is the jaw. Really. It
is painfully exciting and Calhoun is a master at weaving you in,
grappler to the end.
We don't have to compare it to or harken back to
the days of Gorgeous George or even Andy Kaufman to appreciate the wit
and brilliance of Calhoun's narrative of his own bouts and others in
this movement (punk rock-style lucha
libre seems to be in a sleeper hold for now--but I could
be wrong on this).
In addition, the author is the co-writer of The Godfather of Grappling
with Gene Lebell, who is a guru of sorts in the wrestling, martial arts
and stunts field.
I highly recommend this book by a gifted writer who also tours with his
band Count Dante and the Black
Dragon Fighting Society. I think he'll be appearing at Quimby's
Bookstore in Chicago in September as well.