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

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