The Queen of the Ring: Sex, Muscles, Diamonds, and the Making of an American Legend (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780802144829)

The Queen of the Ring is the story of Mildred Burke, the longest reigning champion of female wrestling. In this in-depth account, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jeff Leen pulls back the curtain on a forgotten era when a petite midwesterner used her beauty and brawn to dominate America's most masculine sport.
At only five feet two, Mildred Burke was an unlikely candidate for the ring. A waitress barely scraping by on Depression-era tips, she saw her way out when she attended her first wrestling match. When women were still struggling for equality with men, Burke regularly fought--and beat--male wrestlers. Rippling with muscle and dripping with diamonds, she walked the fine line between pin-up beauty and hardened brawler.
An unforgettable slice of Americana, The Queen of the Ring captures the golden age of wrestling, when one gritty, glamorous woman rose through the ranks to take her place in athletic history.

Author: Jeff Leen
ISBN-10: 0802144829
ISBN-13: 9780802144829
Publisher: Grove Press
Language: English
Published: 07/13/2010
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.40w x 1.10d

Review Citation(s):
New York Times Book Review 08/22/2010 pg. 20