Arts & Literature
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Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America
"Riveting, essential reading." -Rick Perlstein, author of Reaganland
The definitive biography of Vince McMahon, former WWE chairman and CEO, charts his rise from rural poverty to the throne of one of the world's most influential media empires-and features never-before-seen research and exclusive interviews with more than 150 people who witnessed, aided, and suffered from his ascent.
Even if you've never watched a minute of professional wrestling, you are living in Vince McMahon's world.
In his four decades as the defining figure of American pro wrestling, McMahon was the man behind Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, John Cena, Dave Bautista, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, and Hulk Hogan, to name just a few of the mega-stars who owe him their careers. For more than twenty-five years, he has also been a performer in his own show, acting as the diabolical "Mr. McMahon"-a figure who may have more in common with the real Vince than he would care to admit.
Just as importantly, McMahon is one of Donald Trump's closest friends-and Trump's experiences as a performer in McMahon's programming were, in many ways, a dress rehearsal for the 45th President's campaigns and presidency. McMahon and his wife, Linda, are major Republican donors. Linda was in Trump's cabinet. McMahon makes deals with the Saudi government worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And for generations of people who have watched wrestling, he has been a defining cultural force.
Accessible to anyone, regardless of wrestling knowledge, Ringmaster is an unauthorized, independent, investigative chronicle of Vince McMahon's origins and rise to supreme power. It is built on exclusive interviews with more than 150 people, from McMahon's childhood friends to those who accuse him of destroying their lives. Far more than just an athletics or entertainment biography, Ringmaster uses Vince's story as a new lens for understanding the contemporary American apocalypse.
The definitive biography of Vince McMahon, former WWE chairman and CEO, charts his rise from rural poverty to the throne of one of the world's most influential media empires-and features never-before-seen research and exclusive interviews with more than 150 people who witnessed, aided, and suffered from his ascent.
Even if you've never watched a minute of professional wrestling, you are living in Vince McMahon's world.
In his four decades as the defining figure of American pro wrestling, McMahon was the man behind Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, John Cena, Dave Bautista, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, and Hulk Hogan, to name just a few of the mega-stars who owe him their careers. For more than twenty-five years, he has also been a performer in his own show, acting as the diabolical "Mr. McMahon"-a figure who may have more in common with the real Vince than he would care to admit.
Just as importantly, McMahon is one of Donald Trump's closest friends-and Trump's experiences as a performer in McMahon's programming were, in many ways, a dress rehearsal for the 45th President's campaigns and presidency. McMahon and his wife, Linda, are major Republican donors. Linda was in Trump's cabinet. McMahon makes deals with the Saudi government worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And for generations of people who have watched wrestling, he has been a defining cultural force.
Accessible to anyone, regardless of wrestling knowledge, Ringmaster is an unauthorized, independent, investigative chronicle of Vince McMahon's origins and rise to supreme power. It is built on exclusive interviews with more than 150 people, from McMahon's childhood friends to those who accuse him of destroying their lives. Far more than just an athletics or entertainment biography, Ringmaster uses Vince's story as a new lens for understanding the contemporary American apocalypse.
Editorial Reviews
"This revelatory biography of Vince McMahon argues convincingly that pro wrestling can explain contemporary America. It's a knockout."
-Publishers Weekly, Starred review
"Ringmaster is riveting, essential reading even if, like me, you have no taste for professional wrestling. All you need is an appetite for good stories of how the best-which is to say, the worst-conmen get over. Follow Abraham Riesman through that looking glass, and you even may creep closer to understanding how the U.S. managed to make one president."-Rick Perlstein, New York Times bestselling author of Nixonland and Reaganland
"If you're vaguely interested in a ludicrously buff mogul who booked himself to beat God in a wrestling match, or just interested in the definitive book on America's last truly riveting carny showman, this is a story that forces you to turn the page. But this book isn't just about Vince McMahon, the ringmaster. It's about his circus of abused elephants, magicians, musclemen dipped in bleach, and acrobats who fall to their death, a "family business" which turned into the bloodiest version of Succession."-The Spectator
"A vivid, warts-and-all portrait of the man behind WrestleMania-and much of the worst of contemporary politics."-Kirkus
"RINGMASTER examines how seemingly innocuous pastimes like professional wrestling have shaped American culture and warped it beyond measure. In Abraham Riesman's telling, Vince McMahon emerges as a powerful figure of terrifying complexity, his rise and fall in lockstep with the country's. RINGMASTER brilliantly pulls back the curtain of kayfabe to reveal the pulsating reality underneath-and how the lines, once blurred, can never be separated again."-Sarah Weinman, bestselling author of The Real Lolita and Scoundrel
"To understand what's at the heart of carny culture is to understand what's at the heart of a huge swath of the American experience. As Abraham Riesman demonstrates in this highly readable, sharp...
-Publishers Weekly, Starred review
"Ringmaster is riveting, essential reading even if, like me, you have no taste for professional wrestling. All you need is an appetite for good stories of how the best-which is to say, the worst-conmen get over. Follow Abraham Riesman through that looking glass, and you even may creep closer to understanding how the U.S. managed to make one president."-Rick Perlstein, New York Times bestselling author of Nixonland and Reaganland
"If you're vaguely interested in a ludicrously buff mogul who booked himself to beat God in a wrestling match, or just interested in the definitive book on America's last truly riveting carny showman, this is a story that forces you to turn the page. But this book isn't just about Vince McMahon, the ringmaster. It's about his circus of abused elephants, magicians, musclemen dipped in bleach, and acrobats who fall to their death, a "family business" which turned into the bloodiest version of Succession."-The Spectator
"A vivid, warts-and-all portrait of the man behind WrestleMania-and much of the worst of contemporary politics."-Kirkus
"RINGMASTER examines how seemingly innocuous pastimes like professional wrestling have shaped American culture and warped it beyond measure. In Abraham Riesman's telling, Vince McMahon emerges as a powerful figure of terrifying complexity, his rise and fall in lockstep with the country's. RINGMASTER brilliantly pulls back the curtain of kayfabe to reveal the pulsating reality underneath-and how the lines, once blurred, can never be separated again."-Sarah Weinman, bestselling author of The Real Lolita and Scoundrel
"To understand what's at the heart of carny culture is to understand what's at the heart of a huge swath of the American experience. As Abraham Riesman demonstrates in this highly readable, sharp...
Readers Top Reviews
Alex
Good Book, that's worth a read. It brings together a somewhat comprehensive and sometimes unflattering history of Vince Jr. The one-star reviews seem to nitpick unjustly, just so they can downgrade the book, such as Vince's politics and the author's opinion on certain wrestlers. In regards to his politics, if anybody has read or heard of Vince Jr., knows his politics are intertwined with his business and have been for decades, therefore it should be mentioned.
JOHNSwampThingDtom n
From the very beginning this is a political hit job on Trump and Desantis (overture section). Then throughout the book author uses out of context quotes from past interviews from various sources (e.g. Playboy magazine, etc) to support his point of view. This book lacks a lot of credits in several way. He couldn’t even get actual photos for this book, just used drawings for McMahon which cheapens the creditability further. Don’t waste your time and money on this worthless book!
thomas .
He may not be a good person when it comes to business but he’s giving a lot of stars there fame,if he did not do it someone else would,cool book,a little price but worth it.😀
Steven Eisenpreis
He's been compared to Walt Disney, P.T. Barnum, the Brothers Grimm, even Hugh Hefner, but after you read this slamming new book, you'll agree that there's nobody exactly like Vincent Kennedy McMahon, although, it pains me to say, Donald Trump may come in a close second. Whether you've been a fan since WrestleMania 1 or before, a newcomer to the sport,(Yep! I called it a sport!) or are completely opposed, RING MASTER is an entertaining, intelligently-written, well-researched, well-reported book as exciting as the spectacle it covers. One read from introduction to epilogue, and you'll smell what I'm cooking! Watcha gonna do, brother...but read this book?!?
Short Excerpt Teaser
Chapter 1: Fall (1945–1957) 1 FALL (1945–1957)
Vince McMahon, like many of his wrestlers, didn't grow up with the name he now uses. His father ran a successful wrestling promotion that stretched throughout the Northeast, but Vince was born and raised far away from that empire. He wasn't even a wrestling fan as a child. WWE has often highlighted the boss's adoration for the man everyone now calls "Vince Senior." But until young Vince was an adolescent, he'd never met the man. He was Vinnie Lupton, and he didn't know if he loved his dad or not.
In his formative years, Vinnie was the son of two people of whom he rarely speaks: Vicki Hanner and Leo Lupton Jr.-his mother and stepfather.
Which is to say, he was a son of North Carolina, however much he may obscure that fact. The sizable Hanner and Lupton clans had been in the state for generations.
Vince McMahon, like many of his wrestlers, didn't grow up with the name he now uses. His father ran a successful wrestling promotion that stretched throughout the Northeast, but Vince was born and raised far away from that empire. He wasn't even a wrestling fan as a child. WWE has often highlighted the boss's adoration for the man everyone now calls "Vince Senior." But until young Vince was an adolescent, he'd never met the man. He was Vinnie Lupton, and he didn't know if he loved his dad or not.
In his formative years, Vinnie was the son of two people of whom he rarely speaks: Vicki Hanner and Leo Lupton Jr.-his mother and stepfather.
Which is to say, he was a son of North Carolina, however much he may obscure that fact. The sizable Hanner and Lupton clans had been in the state for generations.
